01/01/2024

New Year, Same Strategy

Written by Courtney Cullen

It is the start of the new year. Since Boxing Day, you have likely been inundated with new things to try for the New Year, New You! Unlike those cosmetic products, diet pills, and work out devices, I am not going to ask you to make major changes in your practice today. Instead, I am going to tote the same old strategies to help reduce academic misconduct: communication. Communication should happen in your course syllabus, on every assignment, and to clarify why in the course of your pedagogy. Let's take a look back at some of the ways communication has been promoted through this blog:

Syllabi Design: though posted at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, clarifying course expectations around academic integrity continues to be critical in helping maintain academic integrity in the classroom. The syllabus is more than just a laundry list of due dates for students, its the contract for the course. (Also, if you have already started ungrading, keep it up!)

Setting Expectations: save yourself and your students the confusion of muddling through. Set clear expecations early and communicate those expectations often.

Don't reinvent the wheel: Check out the interventions provided by your institution. You do not need to create anything from scratch, let your administration do it for you! Use what already existst to educate your students on academic integrity.

Be consistent: Reporting academic misconduct is critical, but so is how you approach these conversations.
What strategies are you continuing this year? Tell us by tweeting @TweetCAI.

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