Navigating between cheating and learning in the digital space. Why students cheat instead of learning through new technologies?
What would you use as discriminating factors between learning and cheating?
Hi Ronald,
Thank you for your prompt reply. If I get your question correctly, I mean a student has the opportunity to learn from the technological resources available, but there is also a possibility to use the technological resources for cheating purposes. I mean, why do students abuse the resources (cheating), instead of using them for learning purposes?
The obvious generality is that students want the grade, not the knowledge. Using technology to get answers quicker so they can get the A or the Pass or whatever grade they are seeking lets them move on to their next activity without having to dwell on the content and actually learn. Many older adults feel that younger adults and youth are very much focused on a quick response, the immediate gratification, and either do not know or are not willing to wait for a better response.
In the educational setting, this is especially prevalent when the class or workshop is not one of choice or interest but a "requirement" for the program, certificate, or degree. If the student is not interested in the content, they just want to get that final result that gives them the credit. One would find much more interest in the learning if the course is an elective or one that directly applies to the students' field of interest.
Again, this is a generalization. It does not apply to every young adult or youth, but to the culture of the generation. There are, of course, exceptions. Those students who understand that the learning is the final product, not the grade, will take the time to learn from the technology. But for the majority, it is an easy way to get the grade.
I like this question because it raises the issue of not only why students might cheat rather than choose deep learning -- or is it that they define things differently than we do? Maybe they rationalize that it is not really cheating if they at not motivated or find the task meaningless, irrelevant to their interests, or just plain not worth putting effort into truly learning? Or maybe underneath it all some students just do not see cheating as 'wrong' and at in need for a look at their choices as value indicators?
I think Patsy has a point here. A lot of students think they can do whatever they want, have no motivation to actually learn or engage with the topic etc. The generalisation, sadly, has a lot of truth in it, particularly the notion of entitlement and instant gratification or even simpler "self".
Of course this is aggrevated by different factors, some completely out of our control but in the actual learning environment we can apply two simple things:
1. Make cheating more difficult
2. Make offenders realise it is not worthwhile.
What do I mean?
First of all learning and assessment can to some degree be designed to limit cheating and promote learning as well as original work. Secondly we must stress that cheating is wrong and by going through the process of "you cheated" and drawing a clear line of what is acceptable and what not.
Cheating has always been a factor and it always will be but it is up to us and society how we treat it.
Roland
Dear all fellow researchers who shared your understanding about the issue very kindly,
Thank you so much for sharing,
I have learned a great deal from your responses.
Tefera
Cheating is not new and it existed before modern technology. So cheating didn't start with technology. Just like there are more resources for learning now, there are also more options to cheat. In the past, students spent hours creating cheat sheets. Now they make use of their cell phones to take photos and transmit questions/answers.
How to stop cheating? Well, you can never eliminate it completely just like crime even in very safe countries. Cheating will exist as long as the exams are considered the gateway for success or failure. If you are certain that you would be a failure in life if you don't pass the exam, then it is worth taking the risk and people cheat. For example, China's feared "gaokao" exam. India also has similar issues. In both India and China, police are called to protect question papers and supervise the exams. Where there is tremendous pressure on getting grades, there will be cheating.
US and some other countries exams are not nationwide (I am not talking about SAT/GRE/AP exams). The exams are unique to each classroom and created by the teachers. So mass scale cheating is eliminated. Cheating happens only in individual classrooms.
Teachers can design assessments in a way to eliminate memorization and focus on thinking and figuring out. This is easy for me to say but hard to implement. You can do this type of assessment in design or hands-on courses. This will reduce cheating significantly. But it is difficult to do this in theoretical classes.
Hi Mariappan,
Thank you so much for your insightful, deep, and critical analysis.
I share the same with you that technology exacerbate the magnitiude and intensity of cheating. Also, the fact that mitigating cheating requiers collective efforts, and the centerpiece starts with the teacher.
Kind Regards,
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