Upon completing this lesson, you should be able to:
1. "Readings of Plagiarism" [html file]2. "Sample Lesson -- Taking Notes: How to Find Main Ideas and Put Them in Your Own Words," [html file]3."Plagiarism and the Web", [PDF File]
Plagiarism is frequently a problem with students. They do not always understand that the teacher is not interested in learning facts about their research topic but they are interested in seeing what the students themselves have learned. Sometimes students put off writing a report and think no one will catch them turning in a page from an encyclopedia if they change a few phrases. Sometimes the problem is simply that they do not know how to put information into their own words.
The internet has made this kind of cheating even easier. There are Internet sites from which students can download complete reports on various subjects. These papers are then be turned in to their teacher as their own work. Because they are not encyclopedic entries but student level writing, it can be difficult to determine that a local student has not written the paper but that it was written and placed on the internet for universal use.
The best defense is to educate the students on the issue of plagiarism in two main areas:
Plagiarism is defined as taking ideas or writings from someone else and passing them off as one's own. This is wrong on many levels. For one, it breaks copyright laws. For another, it cheats the student out of learning. Also, when someone accepts as their own the work of someone else, the person who created the original work is not given credit due him or her. The owner of the work should fairly and properly be acknowledged for the work that was accomplished. But perhaps most important, we really do know a thing if we can tell it to someone else. Copying work by others cheats the student out of thinking about what is being learned, and applying that knowledge to other situations. It is the student who suffers most. The included readings give more detail on plagiarism itself and show ways of reducing the problem of plagiarism with students today.
A general rule to follow in avoiding plagiarism is to treat others' ideas as just that, another person's work. Using quotation marks and citations properly will help students obey the rule. One of the hardest concepts for students to understand is that, even if they write someone else's idea in other words, it is still the first person's idea and should be cited. The idea of respecting and honoring the work of others is so important for students to learn, perhaps even more important than the information they are gathering for the required report.
There are several note-taking tools which can help a student think about what they are reading and put it in their own words. Three of these are outlining, summarizing, and paraphrasing. Also, if students would: (1) write down what they know about a topic before they begin their research, (2) keep note cards with quotations and paraphrases from their readings, and (3) write down their own reactions to what they discover, they will better be able to discern which is theirs and which is someone else's idea. The accompanying lesson plan information with Assignment #4 can help give ideas on how to teach the use of these tools.
1. Complete the assigned reading.2. In a short paper, describe your feelings about the readings assigned with this lesson. Complete your paper by answering the following question: Though the readings available for this lesson generally deal with older students (high school and college age generally), what aspects of plagiarism are important to teach the elementary age student?
3. Informally, survey several teachers in your building about plagiarism and determine to what degree they feel it is a problem. Include at least two teachers each from the lower and upper grades in your survey. Report your findings to determine at what grade level a lesson on plagiarism would be more appropriate.
4. Working with an appropriate grade level classroom teacher (determined in Assignment #3), prepare a lesson on note taking for students. (You may use the "Sample Lesson -- Taking Notes" Handout or you may write your own lesson.) Teach the lesson to at least one class and write a paragraph or two on how it went. Enclose a copy of your lesson with your assignment. Your lesson should include:
- Student Learning Objective: State the objective of the lesson on plagiarism
- Introduction: A clear, active explanation of plagiarism
- Instruction: Good and bad examples of plagiarism appropriate for the lesson audience
- Practice and Feedback: "Hands-on" project on plagiarism
- Review/Summary: Review the important points of your lesson
- Evaluation: How will you know that your audience has learned your objective
5. Do a search on the internet on plagiarism using a search engine such as Yahoo or Google. Search the same subject on the state Pioneer web site using the EBSCO journal database. In writing summarize your findings. Include copies of the articles found with this assignment.
"Taking Notes: How to Find Main Ideas and Put Them in Your Own Words." 1998.
Internet sites using the word 'plagiarism'.