Running head: PLAGIARISM LEARNING ACTIVITY 1

Plagiarism Learning Activity

Mardelin Martinez

EDU 520

Michele Herrera

PLAGIARISM LEARNING ACTIVITY 2

Introduction

Students attending a higher education institution are not fully prepared to cor-

rectly cite all of the sources they use in a paper. It is not always intentional, but plagia-

rism happens more times than one would like. Some students believe if they change

the wording, they can claim it as their own work: this is incorrect. Students in higher ed-

ucation should be given the appropriate teachings on avoiding plagiarism but research

shows that it is “apparent that many graduate students are ill-prepared for the chal-

lenges of postgraduate study” (Bretag, 2013, p. 1). A graduate student should be a

master at correctly citing sources but unfortunately they are not. Students are expected

to abide by academic integrity and rules put out against plagiarism but institutions are

not providing them with enough resources and information to succeed. A lesson on

plagiarism mediated by the PlagiarNO app will give students a better understanding of

how to cite sources correctly and this will be the basis of this paper.

Theoretical Framework: Transformative Learning

Transformative learning theory is appropriate for a plagiarism learning activity because

this “theory has two basic kinds of learning: instrumental and communicative learning”

(“Transformative learning,” n.d.). The focus of instrumental learning is on “learning through

task-oriented problem solving and determination of cause and effect relationships” whereas

communicative learning focuses on “how individuals communicate their feelings, needs and

desires” (“Transformative learning,” n.d.). Through meaning structures “(perspectives and

schemes),” students will “understand and develop through reflection.” This “reflection is similar

to problem solving” and provides students with an ability “to understand [themselves] more and

then understand [their] learning better” (“Transformative learning,” n.d.).

PLAGIARISM LEARNING ACTIVITY 3

This learning activity will provide opportunities for students to learn through cause and

effect using problem solving to get a better understanding of plagiarism and how to correctly cite

sources. In addition, students will transform their writing into more scholarly and plagiarism

free papers. They will know how to distinguish between what is theirs and what should be

credited to someone else thus becoming better writers in the process.

Technology Mediates Learning

The technology that will be used to mediate learning would be tablets with an interactive

app that links to the instructors tablet and smart board. The app is called PlagiarNO. The

instructor will begin the mediation by having all of the students sign in and it will provide

students with paragraphs from different books or articles and it will ask them “to identify various

paragraphs as plagiarized or not plagiarized,” paraphrased or self’s work (Ferree & Pfeifer, 2011,

p, 291). Once the students have mastered identifying the differences, the app will again display

paragraphs but will ask students to quote a sentence and cite the source. This includes the

author, date of publication, title, and name of journal as well as other information needed to

correctly cite a source. PlagiarNO is able to pick up on the wording of what the student quotes

and compares it to the sentences from the paragraph of the article or book. It will mark the

student wrong if it finds that there are a lot of similarities in the wording without the proper

citation.

The instructor will work with the students on the smart board having them all answer the

problem with their mobile device. When all students have an answer they can anonymously

raise their hand with the answer to the problem on their device that is linked to the instructor’s

device. Those students who are afraid to answer a problem aloud will feel more comfortable to

participate. The instructor will know who the student is but the class will not know which

PLAGIARISM LEARNING ACTIVITY 4

student’s answer is being displayed on the smart board. Then, the instructor will discuss the

correct and incorrect aspects of what was answered. When students are incorrect, the app will

show the correct answer, once the instructor is finished discussing the answer, as well as keep

track of what areas the student is weak in. Students can improve in areas that they are lacking or

misunderstanding because the app will prompt them with questions in those areas. Students may

work together in groups or individually using a tablet that they own or some other form of

mobile device giving students more opportunities to understand how to cite correctly.

This technology supports teaching and learning in many ways. Kulkulsa-Hulme (2013)

states “it is recognized that mobile learning often leads to unexpected outcomes as learners

explore their environment, find new artifacts, and discover perspectives of which their teachers

were unaware” (p. 15). PlagiarNO provides opportunities for the student to grow and develop

the correct way to cite sources and to be able to recognize when something is being plagiarized.

It shows the student their progress and that can be a really motivating factor. PlagiarNO will

give the instructor access to the student’s progress so they will be able to provide additional

assistance in areas that they are weak in.

Plagiarism Learning Activity

The plagiarism learning activity will be an introduction into what plagiarism and

paraphrasing is and tips on how to correctly use citation to avoid taking credit for another

person’s work. This learning activity will give students the knowledge and skills they need to

successfully cite sources used in a paper using the PlagiarNO app to mediate learning in and

outside of the classroom.

The learners that will benefit from this lesson are college students who are in their first

year of undergraduate. This learning activity is critical for college students because “plagiarism

PLAGIARISM LEARNING ACTIVITY 5

can be ‘plaguing’ if it is not discussed, understood, and enforced by the professor right at the

beginning of the course and throughout the semester” (Hall, 2011, p. 182). Plagiarism is a big

issue for most college students who really need “more induction, information, training, and

support to ensure they have the necessary understanding and skills to fulfill their academic

responsibilities” (Bretag, 2013, p. 3). Ferree & Pfeifer (2011) firmly state that “instructors must

educate students about plagiarism and they must work together with their institutions to ensure

that students who commit plagiarism are sanctioned accordingly” (p. 296). If all students had

access to an in-depth lesson in plagiarism and ways to avoid it, there would be much fewer cases

of dismissal from universities because of academic dishonesty.

Learning Objectives

After the students take part in the activity, they will be able to use proper APA citation

and will be able to differentiate between paraphrasing and plagiarism. In addition, students will

be able to develop a correctly cited paper and reference page. It is essential for college students

to be able achieve these learning outcomes to successfully graduate from their institution. The

instructor will show students examples of correctly and incorrectly APA cited papers and explain

the rational for each. The PlagiarNO app will mediate the student’s learning by prompting them

excerpts and asking them to direct quote or paraphrase a response to the question. The content

area that will support this activity is academic writing. In order to provide students with a

strong foundation of plagiarism and how to avoid it, students need to understand basic writing.

Students will have created a few papers with citations, if any, that they felt were appropriate and

students will swap papers to peer review if APA format was correctly used and if citations were

correctly used. Students will be paired up by the instructor. Writing a few papers and reviewing

their peers will allow them practice to be able to recognize what they should be avoiding when

PLAGIARISM LEARNING ACTIVITY 6

citing articles, books, websites and other resources.

Steps of Implementation

The steps to implement this lesson are as follows: First, the instructor will prompt

students to use the PlagiarNO app that will mediate the activity and take the initial quiz “to

measure their baseline understanding of plagiarism” (Ferree & Pfeifer, 2011, p. 291). The results

are instant and the instructor can pair a strong person with one that is weaker to give them peer

support if needed. The instructor will then discuss what the definitions of plagiarism,

paraphrasing, citation, direct quote, APA citation format and any other definition the instructor

feels could be beneficial after review of the results of the initial quiz. The instructor will have

asked the students beforehand to come to class with a few papers already written and cited in the

best way they currently know how. The students will be asked to swap papers with the person

they are assigned to work with for this short group assignment at the beginning and end of the

learning activity to see progress. The instructor will present problems with PlagiarNO on the

smart board and allow students to answer anonymously through their mobile device. With every

problem that is answered, the instructor will take this opportunity to explain why the answer is

correct or incorrect.

The PlagiarNO app will not show students the result of their answer until the instructor

clicks the “show answer” button after reviewing the correct answer with the class. This will

allow the students not to be distracted by answering questions correctly or incorrectly but gives

them the opportunity to learn from the instructor. As each student answers the problems, the

PlagiarNO app will keep track of where the student is having trouble. Once the instructor feels

that students have solved enough problems with the class, the students will be asked to work

individually with PlagiarNO which prompts students with different problems to solve that are

PLAGIARISM LEARNING ACTIVITY 7

focused in areas where they were previously having trouble in. The instructor will come around

and assist students who are having a hard time, answer questions and praise those who are doing

it correctly.

Motiviation for Student Success

Student motivation is supported in this learning activity because it allows a break from

straight lecture giving students a hands-on experience which allows them to feel in control of

their learning. The anonymous hand raising will motivate a shy student to feel comfortable and

less intimidated to answer the problem and participate in class. This learning activity provides

opportunities for students with a number of learning styles to thrive: auditory, visual and hands-

on. Also, since students are able to see their progress throughout the use of PlagiarNO, the

student will be motivated to continue to practice so they will get a higher score.

In addition, the PlagiarNO app will provide informal opportunities because students will

be able to use it both inside and outside of class. Students enjoy having learning available at

their fingertips. The instructor and students have a chance to “participate more actively in the

quest to crystallize what is actually needed for effective learning” (Kukulska-Hulme, 2013, p.

14). Another informal opportunity is that students can use their computer or mobile device to

search examples of correct ways to cite sources and create a reference page. Kukulska-Hulme

(2013) states “mobile learning has proved its effectiveness and broad appeal in many informal

learning situations” (p. 15). This activity will take place in a classroom with access to the app

both inside and outside of class to provide the student with extra help and practice. Allowing

students to gain access in and out of class will strengthen their skills in avoiding plagiarism and

help them gain skills in how to correctly cite sources. Instructors will be able to access a

student’s progress and view who has signed on to complete extra practice and can offer extra

PLAGIARISM LEARNING ACTIVITY 8

credit to give students more motivation to sign on after class.

Assessment and Evaluation

The instructor will ask students to perform two tasks at the end of the lesson to assess

whether or not this activity achieved the learning outcomes. If the student does not perform at a

more advance state than when they began the lesson, the instructor will need to take appropriate

action on an individual basis or change aspects that were not working in the lesson. The first

task students will perform to assess their understanding would be a post-test which is similar to

the initial quiz. The second task would be to have students perform another swap of their writing

assignment with the same assigned person as earlier in the lesson to see if there was

improvement in correcting improper citations.

The instructor will be able to tell that the learning activity design and technology choices

were good choices because they will see students show a greater understanding of proper citation

as well as APA format including the reference page. The instructor will know whether or not

using the technology of the smart board, tablets and PlagiarNO app were good choices while

they observe the students during the lesson. If students show interest in actively participating

using the app and they notice students are enjoying the activity this means they are more likely to

be retaining the information being presented. If the student seems disconnected from the lesson,

the instructor will have to find a way to make that student more engaged possibly by calling on

them to answer a problem. The students should be able to differentiate between plagiarism and

paraphrasing as well as use proper APA citation and create a reference page. If they are not able

to complete these tasks, the instructor will need to take appropriate action such as adjusting the

lesson or working individually with the student to improve their understanding.

PLAGIARISM LEARNING ACTIVITY 9

Detailed Assessment and Evaluation of Learning Activity

In order to properly evaluate and assess this learning activity, the instructor will first use

their tablet to send a “post-test to measure the students’ level of comprehension of the various

skills covered” to the class through the PlagiarNO app (Ferree & Pfeifer, 2011, p. 295). The

post-test consists of about fifteen to twenty questions where the student will be asked to read the

paragraph and cite a sentence correctly and also ask the student to identify the statement as

paraphrased, plagiarized, or correctly cited. In addition, there will be a few questions that will

ask the student to fill in the blank on a reference page.

The results of this test will be compared to the initial test to see the growth in each

student’s understanding of plagiarism, paraphrasing, APA citation format and the reference page.

These results are also instant as the initial one was but to the instructor is the only one who can

see the score. Instructors can share these result with the students individually at the end of the

lesson if there is time. This is the only score that students will not automatically get so that the

instructor has time to speak with them about their progress. Landau, Druen & Arcuri (2002)

state “students who received feedback about their performance on the PKS (Plagiarism

Knowledge Survey) and students who studied examples of plagiarized text were better able to

detect plagiarism when completing a second PKS” (p. 114). Should a student not have an

improved score, the instructor must find time to stay and review after school or make it

mandatory for those students to practice on the PlagiarNO app. This will allow those students

that are having trouble to become more knowledgeable with different examples in their problem

areas. The student will be asked to take the post-test again in a week to see if they have

improved with extra help from the instructor and mandatory practice with PlagiarNO.

Another task that students will perform so that instructors can assess the effectiveness of

PLAGIARISM LEARNING ACTIVITY 10

this learning activity is to have students swap their pre-written papers again with their peer and

correct any incorrect citations or format issues they notice. Smith (2014) cites Zinn (1998) who

“states that peer evaluation should be considered for every writing classroom”… because it helps

students “learn ‘how to handle language better as a result of well-structured meaningful group

assessment and interaction’” (p. 2). The students should have an easier time reviewing their peer

because they have more knowledge about what it takes to correctly cite the paper. The instructor

should be able to see a difference in reviewing from the first paper at the beginning of the lesson.

Students will be able to use the skills they learned from the plagiarism learning activity

with PlagiarNO to review their peer’s paper in a much more ease and detail than before. The

pre-written papers will be compared to evaluate the level of understanding of the student who is

performing the review. The papers also allow the instructor to see the baseline of writing and

citing sources for the student writing them. Instructors should notice that the students reviewing

the pre-written papers are making edits to the paper that are in much more detail than when they

initially reviewed at the beginning of the activity. If students are not giving feedback to their

peers in a more detailed manner, it may be because they do not fully understand the information

from the lesson. The instructor should then take time either during class or outside of class to

work with the student(s) and go through the paper pointing out where they could have corrected

their peer. In addition, the instructor should review the terms plagiarism, paraphrase, APA

format citation and the reference page during their discussion to be sure the student has

clarification on what each means.

Conclusion

This learning activity will allow students to gain a better understanding of the definitions

of plagiarism, paraphrasing, APA format and the reference page. The instructor will mediate

PLAGIARISM LEARNING ACTIVITY 11

learning with the PlagiarNO app, smart board and tablets. The app will give students

opportunities to answer problems with the class and individually and will keep track of any

difficulties the student is having so the app can continue to display problems in the areas they are

having trouble in. The instructor will advise students to practice outside of class. Students will

have the opportunity to review their peer’s paper twice to give them a chance to practice proper

citation. At the end of this activity, students will be able to identify the differences between the

terms as well as create a scholarly written paper with proper sources cited in APA format and a

well written reference page. This will be a great strength for students to have because

unfortunately, plagiarism is a very big problem for students in higher education. Even graduate

students struggle with knowing how to correctly cite sources they use in a research paper.

If students do not understand the proper way to cite sources, they will plagiarize and this

could result in dismissal from a university. Some students do not plagiarize purposely, but some

do. This activity will help both groups because if students are plagiarizing just because they feel

they can, this activity will show them that educators are really looking for a student’s true work

and not a copy and paste paper (Hall, 2011, p. 181-182). Students need this information to

succeed but educators need to do their “part in developing student integrity and honor by paying

close attention to students tempted to plagiarize, and enforce your policies with strict

consequences that deter these types of behaviors” (Hall, 2011, p.182). In addition, “educators

must also continue to consistently enforce sanctions against offenders” (Ferree & Pfeifer, 2011,

p. 296). A learning activity on plagiarism with an app to mediate the learning is extremely

important for student success in academic writing.

Should instructors need additional support with this learning activity, they should visit

http://mypathtomyfuture.wordpress.com/plagiarism-learning-activity/ for additional resources on

PLAGIARISM LEARNING ACTIVITY 12

plagiarism and how to avoid it.

PLAGIARISM LEARNING ACTIVITY 13

References

Bretag, T. (2013). Challenges in addressing plagiarism in education. Plos Medicine, 10(12), 1-4.

Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=a9h&AN=93395357&site=eds-live

Ferree, C. W., & Pfeifer, H. L. (2011). The 'write' stuff: simple techniques designed to teach

students how to avoid plagiarism. Journal Of Criminal Justice Education, 22(2), 286-

303. doi:10.1080/10511253.2010.517768

Hall, S. E. (2011). Is It Happening? How to Avoid the Deleterious Effects of Plagiarism and

Cheating in Your Courses. Business Communication Quarterly, 74(2), 179-182. Retrieved

from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ924857&site=eds-live

Kukulska-Hulme, A. (2013). Limelight on mobile learning. Harvard International Review,

34(4), 12-16. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=bth&AN=86388520&site=eds-live

Landau, J. D., Druen, P. B., & Arcuri, J. A. (2002). Methods for Helping Students Avoid

Plagiarism. Teaching Of Psychology, 29(2), 112-115. Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=6472491&site=eds-

live

Smith, T. (2014). Evaluation of student writing. Evaluation of Student Writing -- Research

Starters Education, 1. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=e0h&AN=31962599&site=eds-live

Transformative learning (Jack Mezirow). (n.d). Instuctional Design. Retrieved from

http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/transformative-learning.html