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Assignment 3 Issues Patrice O. Toulson Georgia Southern University

2 Ledyard High School, (September, 2008). Plagiarism/Cheating Policy. Retrieved from http://www.ledyard.net/lhs/parents/plagiarism.html http://www.ledyard.net/lhs/parents/plagiarism.html Ledyard High School in Ledyard, Connecticut believes it is important to have a clear policy concerning plagiarism so there will be no confusion for parents and teachers. Their definition for plagiarism states that Cheating by students is attempting to take credit for someone elses work, using unauthorized materials, or otherwise acting to deceive the evaluator in an assignment, project, or test. Their policy is broken down into two different degrees of plagiarism. The first one is intentional plagiarism. It is defined as obvious, substantial, or verbatim reproduction of information, fabrication of sources or other deliberate misdocumentation or submitting other peoples work as your own. The other type of plagiarism is known as technical plagiarism. It is defined as poor paraphrasing, improper citation that misrepresents a source, insufficient citation and poor integration of direct quotes within the students work. When plagiarism is suspected, parents will be notified and a committee of teachers will review the case. They will use turnitin.com and other search engines to help them prove the case. For intentional plagiarism the student will get a grade of zero and disciplinary consequences. The National Honor Society will also be informed. For technical plagiarism, the teacher will take points off of the students assignment. The strengths of this policy are that the school has defined two different types of plagiarism and has each one defined. I like the idea that they take into consideration that one is more serious, the intended plagiarism, and the other one, technical plagiarism, is more of not realizing they may be actually doing anything wrong. It also has

3 consequences already spelled out for each type of plagiarism. It also has the procedure listed as to what will take place once plagiarism is suspected and has the academic and disciplinary consequences spelled out for each type. The student and parent are aware beforehand of what will take place and the consequences that will be handed out if plagiarism is proven. The weaknesses that are seen are that the committee of teachers is not established until the plagiarism occurs. It seems that this committee should already have been established at the beginning of each school year. They need to be aware they possibly may have to do this if a case arises. They need to be prepared ahead of time in case the need comes up. Another weakness that it has is that for a technical plagiarism case, the teacher determines the points that need to be deducted. While the teacher has control over the discipline since it occurred in his/her class, it seems that there could be a chart already established with the number of points taken off in relation to the number of occurrences that has taken place. This seems like it would take the heat off of the teacher somewhat. North Penn High School, (n.d.), Plagiarism. Retrieved from http://www.npenn.org/55776091610554/blank/browse.asp? a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=51525 http://www.npenn.org/55776091610554/blank/browse.asp? a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=51525 North Penn Elementary, Middle and High School in Lansdale, Pennsylvania define plagiarism as the act of using another persons ideas or expressions in your writing without acknowledging the source (MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Third Edition). Usually when plagiarism takes place, the situation is handled by

4 the individual teacher and the administrator for that particular school. The policy that they have in place requires that the teacher meets with the department chair and/or media specialist to discuss what actually is occurring. If they agree that further investigation needs to take place, the department chair and the teacher meets with an assistant principal. If all three parties agree, the teacher will inform the student that it is believed that he/she plagiarized and a behavior referral will be filled out and the students parents will be notified. If the student agrees that he/she did plagiarize then the student would get a zero for the assignment if it was a first incident, zero and possible suspension for the second incident and if it is a third incident the student would get a zero and suspension. If the student doesnt admit to plagiarizing, the assistant principal will meet with the student and the student will give his side of the story. After hearing both arguments, the assistant principal will make a decision and inform all involved. If the assistant principals decision is challenged by the parents/guardians or the teacher, the incident is referred to the principal for final decision to be made. The strengths of this policy are that everything is spelled out specifically as to who does what and in what steps they do it. Everyone knows ahead of time who will be involved and what they are to do. This policy also has the consequences spelled out for first, second and third incidences. Parents and students are well aware of this policy before the beginning of the year so they are not caught blindsided if it happens. The weaknesses found with the policy is that it is a little confusing with the consequence if this is the second time that plagiarism occurs. It states that the student will receive a zero and possible suspension. It seems that this would cause some inconsistency if you suspend one student for plagiarizing two times and then another

5 student plagiarizes the second time and they dont get suspended. This seems as though this could cause problems and one could be accused of playing favoritism. Another weakness found is when the principal makes his final decision. If the parents/guardian or teacher still has problems with the decision, it would seem that it would have to go further. The next step would probably be that it would go to the superintendant but this is not spelled out. Terryville High School (2008), Terryville High School Plagiarism Policy. Retrieved from http://www.plymouth.k12.ct.us/page.cfm?p=395 http://www.plymouth.k12.ct.us/page.cfm?p=395 Students at Terryville High School in Terryville, Connecticut are expected to reference all sources of information consulted for any type project whether it is a visual, written or spoken. Their definition of plagiarism is copying anothers ideas and/or works, whether it is intentional or not and using the information as their own. Deliberate and/or consistent lack of proper documentation and citations and in-text documentation that is not reflected in the Works Cited page is also considered plagiarism. Before a project or paper is assigned, the teacher must provide an assignment sheet with detailed information, a rubric and a clear guideline that gives acceptable amounts of help from peers or adults. The students have responsibilities as well. They are to submit authentic work, follow the project instructions and deadlines, follow the schools Research and MLA Style Guide per teachers directions, cite in-text or in-project sources and format Works Cited pages correctly. If the teacher believes plagiarism has taken place, the teacher will establish the level of plagiarism as outlined on their policy. The first degree may happen due to ignorance or inexperience on behalf of the student. The student may

6 simply use a paragraph or a few lines of text but fail to cite the source. However the majority of the paper is the students own work. There are two consequences that could be used for this degree. The student could be made to take a make-up assignment that is more difficult or a grade reduction could be taken on the assignment. The second degree examples could include using one or more paragraphs of someone elses without citing it and could be incorrect citation such as improper paraphrasing. In the second degree, it is obvious that most of the work is someone elses and has not been referenced. Consequences for the second degree could consists of a grade reduction on the assignment, a letter in the students academic file and notification to the National Honor Society advisor, if appropriate. The third degree is a severe case and most of the students work has been taken from other sources but they failed to give credit to the appropriate sources. An example of third degree is purchasing a term paper and using it as the students own work or citing sources that are not actually sources. Another way the student could be found to be third degree is if they have plagiarized before. Consequences for third degree could consists of 1) no credit given on the assignment, 2) a letter in the students academic file, 3) Notification to the National Honor Society, 4) a drop in the grade for the term or year, and/or 4) Disciplinary action. The strengths of the policy are that the teachers and students both have responsibilities and they are outlined in the policy so everyone knows what is expected of them at the beginning of the project. Another strength is the different degrees of plagiarism that the district has established. They consider that there are varying degrees and some forms of plagiarism are more serious than other degrees.

7 The weaknesses are few. If there has to be a weakness, it would be in the consequences for each degree. Some consequences overlap among the three degrees. It seems that the consequences would be different for each degree. The newly developed policy for my school would be somewhat of a combination of the three previous policies that we have looked at. Once plagiarism was thought to have occurred, the teacher should contact the committee that has already been established at the beginning of the year. The committee would consist of the teacher whose class the incident occurred in, the assistant principal and the media specialist. After discussing it with the committee and using internet sources such as turnitin.com and everyone agrees that it does appear that it occurred, the parents will be notified to inform them that plagiarism is thought to have occurred and the steps of the plagiarism policy will be instated. The committee will meet with the student and get his/her view on the incident. If the student admits to the accusations, the proper consequences will be handed out. If the student does not admit to it, the principal will be brought in to hear both sides of the case and will make the final decision. If the parents/student or teacher appeal this decision, it will be taken to an assistant superintendant or the superintendant for final decision. The policy will have three degrees. The first degree will be considered unintentional. The student may have failed to cite a paragraph or a few lines but the majority of the paper is obviously the work of the student. Consequences for this would be points taken off on the assignment. The second degree would be that it is obvious that most of the work is not the students and proper citation has not been given. Examples of second degree could include one or more paragraphs not being cited or incorrect citation. Consequences would include re-doing the assignment at school in front of a member of

8 the committee and a letter in the students academic file. In third degree, it is obvious that the majority of the work is someone elses and the sources have not been cited. Examples of third degree would be the purchasing of material online, including references that are not real, and using two or more paragraphs of someone elses without proper citation. If the student has been caught plagiarizing before this incident, that would also warrant the incident being third degree. The consequences for this degree would be suspension of three days and a zero on the assignment, letter in the students academic file and Saturday work detention.