ORIENTATION & YOU! Spring 2012

• 10:00 – 10:05 – Welcome Back with Chuck Paine!

• 10:05-10:50: Plagiarism & You! with Brian Hendrickson

• ******* 10 minute break *******

• 11:00 – 11:15 – Library Visit & You! With Dena Kinney

• 11:15-11:45: Outcomes Process & Portfolios & You! with Chuck Paine

• 11:45-12:00: Final Updates & You!: Committee Sign-up Sheets, the Wiki & a brief word about TLCs with Samantha Tetangco

Plagiarism and You!

A Very Serious PowerPoint Presentation

by Brian Hendrickson

Fun with Plagiarism

In Groups of 3 or 4, read the sample paragraph you’ve been given & answer the following questions:

1. Is this plagiarism, & why? 2. How would you find out? 3. What would you do about it?

Understanding PlagiarismPlagiarism is a culturally & disciplinarily contingent concept.

Plagiarism vs. Misuse of Sources:• Plagiarism: an intentional attempt to cheat,

i.e. “circumvent assessment”• Misuse of Sources: a failure to meet course

objectives regarding source use, resulting from a lack of skill &/or comprehension of conventions, often resulting in “patchwriting”

Preventing Plagiarism: Teachers

Clearly articulate your definition of plagiarism & why you disapprove of it.

Explain source use within specific rhetorical contexts (audience, purpose, constraints).

Mention source use in assignment guidelines & rubric, & weigh in proportion to other objectives/outcomes.

Preventing Plagiarism: Teachers (cont.)

Model effective source use in course materials & in-class exercises.

Scaffold source use exercises.

Teach source use “micro-skills” separately.

Preventing Plagiarism: Teachers (cont.)

Repetition, memorization & copying can be effective learning strategies.

Teach students “language chunks” that they can “steal” for their own purposes.

Compose original assignments.

Preventing Plagiarism: Teachers (cont.)

Ask students to freewrite original ideas first.Students should receive peer & instructor feedback on source use – failures & successes – within context of effective argument.Design assignments & sequences that encourage students to research a topic in depth & develop their ideas over time.

Preventing Plagiarism: Teachers (cont.)

Guide students in learning & practicing the source use conventions of a discipline in which they have an interest &/or will focus their studies.

Encourage students to choose topics related to the content of that discipline.

Preventing Plagiarism: Programs/Institutions

Discipline-specific source use conventions are intimately connected to disciplinary knowledge production.

Distinguish between plagiarism & misuse of sources.

More deliberation & research within & across disciplines regarding plagiarism management & representation.

Preventing Plagiarism:UNM Core Writing Policy

Plagiarism Procedures (intentional or otherwise)

1. Consult CW director, course coordinator, TA mentor, or other instructor w/ at least a year of CW teaching experience to discuss assignment & evidence & to levy appropriate sanction.

2. Document all correspondences w/ student through email; make copies of evidence.

3. Require student to schedule conference to discuss assignment. Ask another CW instructor with at least a year of CW teaching experience to witness; student must know in advance another person will be present.

Preventing Plagiarism:UNM Core Writing Policy (cont.)

Plagiarism Procedures (intentional or otherwise)

4. In conference, ask student to explain what constitutes plagiarism as outlined in syllabus & discussed in class.

5. If he/she demonstrates clear understanding of policy, explain how student has plagiarized, pointing to specific examples in assignment.

6. Give student opportunity to explain his/her actions. At this point, INSTRUCTORS SHOULD USE DISCRETION TO DETERMINE IF STUDENT INTENTIONALLY OR UNINTENTIONALLY PLAGIARIZED.

Preventing Plagiarism:UNM Core Writing Policy (cont.)

Misuse of Sources (usu. inaccurate or missing citation or “patchwriting”)

1. If student misunderstands plagiarism policy, reiterate to the student w/ specific examples of source misuse found in assignment.

2. Require student to sufficiently redo or revise assignment or face the consequences for plagiarism.

3. Request student demonstrate he/she understands plagiarism policy, assignment in question, & potential consequences of failing to adequately redo or revise assignment.

4. Document incident through email to student.

Preventing Plagiarism:UNM Core Writing Policy (cont.)

Plagiarism (usu. major chunks)1. Consult CW director, course coordinator, TA

mentor, or instructor w/ at least a year of CW teaching experience to determine if assignment exhibits plagiarism, & if so, whether student:

Fails assignment in question; Is dropped from class w/ WF, W, or WP: or Fails the class.

2. Dean of Students Office recommends reporting plagiarism.

Problematic Methods of Preventing Plagiarism

Plagiarism Detection Programs• Can’t distinguish between

plagiarism & patchwriting.• Can’t detect plagiarism from

subscription databases & “paper mills.”

• Ironically have their own property-rights issues.

Problematic Methods of Preventing Plagiarism (cont.)

Extensive Explicit Instruction in Citation Conventions

Research suggests ineffectiveness of extensive explicit instruction in grammar…

…same probably goes for citation.

Problematic Methods of Preventing Plagiarism (cont.)

Severe, Inflexible Plagiarism Penalties…

...Discourage students from discussing uncertainties for fear of punishment.

SOURCESCouncil of Writing Program Administrators. Defining &

Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices. Council of Writing Program Administrators. 2003. Web. 9 Jan. 2012.

DeSena, Laura Hennessey. Preventing Plagiarism: Tips & Techniques. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2007. Print.

Haviland, Carol Peterson, & Joan Mullin, eds. Who Owns This Text? Plagiarism, Authorship, & Disciplinary Cultures. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 2008. Print.

Howard, Rebecca Moore, & Missy Watson. "The Scholarship of Plagiarism: Where We've Been, Where We Are, What's Needed Next." Writing Program Administration 33.3 (2010): 116+. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 9 Jan. 2012.

Pecorari, Diane. Academic Writing & Plagiarism: A Linguistic Analysis. New York: Continuum, 2008. Print.

Final Group DiscussionHave you changed whether or not you think your paragraph exhibits plagiarism? Would you now handle the situation differently?

What can you do as an instructor to encourage effective source use among your students (one or more examples)?

OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT

What they are, why they help us, and where we’re headed with all this

Why Have Outcomes and Do Assessment?

• Being responsible, not just accountable– Assess thyself, lest others do your assessment for

you • Making the program coherent and cohesive• Making our values transparent• Improving our teaching

Why Outcomes and Assessment?—Program Coherence

• Our responsibility to the university, to other faculty, and to our students

• Our responsibility to ourselves to articulate our values

• Commensurability, not duplication, across all sections– Independence and respect for teachers alongside

responsibilities

Why Outcomes and Assessment?—Transparent Values

• “Everyone got Cs and Ds, and we’re like, ‘What?!’ and she’s like, ‘Because you did all these things wrong; you all didn’t blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,’ and we’re like, ‘Well, yeah, because you didn’t tell us we were supposed to do that!’” —Conversation overheard in UNM SUB

• “What exactly are you teaching in English 101 anyway?”—Deans, faculty, etc.

Why Outcomes and Assessment?—Improvement

• “If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”—Yogi Berra

• Assessing student learning, not individual teachers (not yet anyway)

• Augmenting the program outcomes with your own outcomes

What Makes a Good Outcome?

• Has to measurable and thus observable– Goals vs. outcomes

• Describes what we really value • Locally grown—describes what we really value

The Future

• Let’s revamp our outcomes and make sure they– Are transparent– Reflect the needs of our students and other

stakeholders– Capture what we really value

Final Updates & You

1. Committees2. Wiki Update3. TLC Update

4 Committees• Assessment & Outcomes Committee – coordinated by

Sam Tetangco• Portfolio Prompts & Portfolio, etc. – lead by Brian

Hendrickson• Textbook Re-evaluation committee – lead by Sam

Tetangco• Rewriting the Textbook Insert Committee – lead by

Lindsey Ives

SIGN UP SHEETS AVAILABLE! Limited space

WIKI TLC Group Highlights

(as a way to tour our Wiki & encourage sharing)

• Food Justice Report• Classic Film Review• 101 Lesson Plans• 102 Lesson Plans

WIKI: English 102 Sequences Added

• Earth Day Proposal• Commentary for the Alibi• Debate Leading to Position Paper• Writing the World Symposium - Sequences

Re-imagining TLCs - a teaser• Most programs require some sort of involvement,

sometimes its 3-4 development meetings you are required to attend, other times its weekly grading groups. On the involvement scale, we don’t rank very high, but TLCs are useful in helping the program cohere

• This semester’s TLC will involve providing feedback and suggestions for what the TLCs can do.

• Opportunities to give talks, presentations on sequences, community panels (& audience participants), more wiki posting things, etc.

• In short, stay tuned…

That’s all folks!

Don’t forget to Sign up for Committees!