Faculty & Instructor Guide to the Library & Academic Support Services at CVTC

If you are interested in learning more about the value of information, including considerations with copyright, fair use, and plagiarism, please read "Chapter 7: Information Has Value" from Teaching Information Literacy Reframed (Burkhardt, 2016).

The following lessons from Teaching Information Literacy Reframed may be helpful in your classroom:

• Citation Styles
• Plagiarism

The article "Copyright and Plagiarism: The Bare Minimum Instructors Need to Know" from Wiley (2019) is a quick reference and will help build your understanding of these topics as an instructor.

Plagiarism.org also has a wealth of knowledge for you to browse.

Why Plagiarism Happens

We know that plagiarism happens - and for any number of reasons...

• the internet makes finding information easy
• there's a misconception that if something is on the internet, it's "free" to use
• students feel pressure to get a good grade, don't feel like the class/assignment is important, don't understand the assignment, or don't have enough time to complete it

but most often:

• students simply don't understand the nature of plagiarism

Detecting Plagiarism

Many times, plagiarism is easy to spot. You're reading through a student's assignment and it just doesn't sound like them. A quick way to find out if a student has plagiarized is to enter a passage of their writing into a Google search. Additionally, within a Canvas assignment you can select "Plagiarism Review" via Turnitin.

Preventing Plagiarism

1. Discuss CVTC's Academic Honesty policy with students - specifically the section on plagiarism.

2. Explain your expectations and consequences for plagiarism.

3. Engage students in understanding why plagiarism is harmful, instead of simply saying "it's wrong".

• When students don't complete their own work, they aren't learning.
• It takes away a student's credibility and integrity.
• It devalues academic scholarship.
• As noted in the Academic Honesty policy, it can have serious consequences.

4. Make it difficult to plagiarize.

• Create assignments that can't be answered with a Google search.
• Teach students how to correctly quote and paraphrase.
• Teach students how to correctly cite, including how to take proper notes so citing is easier.
• Connect with students - if they feel a responsibility to you, they are less likely to be dishonest.

If a Student Plagiarizes

Despite your best efforts, students might still plagiarize. If this happens, approach the situation as a learning opportunity. Conference with the student to learn more about why they plagiarized and then reteach necessary concepts. This connection will likely stop any future attempts at plagiarism, but you should still discuss with the student the specific consequences if it were to occur again.