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Academia, Love Me Back

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Re: Academia, Love Me Back

#31

Post by gravypod »

CalChris wrote: post #28
gravypod wrote: post #25

I've had professors do this to me. I don't understand what's wrong with this. This is a common thing I even do when grading programming assignments. When I notice a stylistic choice that is outside of the norm for the students I can usually tell exactly who the work came from. Every semester I catch at least one group of cheaters (This semester I caught two!) and they admit to it after I confront them with it. "Hence…

What you did makes sense. This is the standard two tier laboratory testing process . The first screening test is cheap with some false positives. The second confirmation test is more troublesome but more accurate. The professor did the first and evidently only the first.

Handing back a scored paper would probably be one of the ways I'd test for a written plagiarism. If the student gets mad at me and fights then they didn't plagiarizer. It's the presumed nature of humans to want to fight back when wrongly accused of something--even more so when you're found guilty of something. I'd accept a rebuttal saying that's not a correct model for every student and as such I'd find it evenly as "not-suspicious" if the person went to my boss or the dean and asked for them to get the points back.

If the student does nothing then I'd assume they did copy.

I'm sure people will be mad about these assumptions but from my experience--and from what I've seen my colleges fall into after wrongly accusing someone of cheating--I'd definitely say this is an appropriate average model. I'd also say it's lived to fruition in this case. The author got mad and wrote a fantastic expose on this situation. If I was the professor I'd correct what was obviously my mistake at this point.

Re: Academia, Love Me Back

#32

Post by todd8 »

I've always been, and to this day continue to be, a poor speller. Hence my prepared writing is always a bit more erudite than my casual spoken communication or even my in class exam answers. I simply don't trust that I'm spelling a word like "erudite" properly without the help of spell-check. Is it really so odd that someone would use a phrase in academic writing unusual in their other forms of discourse?

Its a terrible thing to be falsely accused. Especially so when it is by a person in authority and in front of others and when the accuser has the power to issue a grade. I hope that this article helps professors deal more sensitively with their concerns over plagiarism in the internet age.

Re: Academia, Love Me Back

#34

Post by danharaj »

IsaacL wrote: post #16
Pharylon wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe not an active KKK-rally attending racist, but a soft racist? There's a reason why two identical resumes for post-graduate work get rated differently when the names are "Chad" vs "Shaniqua". The fact is, when you really get down to it, most people are subconsciously racist. Not a joke - most people. There have been studies on it and everything.

"The fact is, when you really get down to it, most people are subconsciously racist. Not a joke - most people." If this is true, why the moral outrage towards the professor?

Because the professor is in a position of power and they abused that power because of their biases. Prejudice is far more damaging when paired with power than without. It is injustice. If injustice is not worth moral outrage, what is?

Re: Academia, Love Me Back

#37

Post by simeonf »

Interestingly this happened to me and to my younger brother.

There was no racial component to it although we do belong to a religious minority, come from low-income backgrounds and were homeschooled. I personally felt some prejudice at various times on account of these characteristics.

In my case I was a 16 year old high school dropout taking a history class at a Junior College. My prof had a lengthy conversation basically trying to get me to admit my parents wrote an essay for me and eventually gave up, although clearly unconvinced.

In my brothers case a few years later (different college, different prof) I believe he was given a zero on a test and had to file a grievance to be able to redo the work or retake the test. This is circa 2000 so my memory is a bit fuzzy.

In both our cases there was no evidence - just the perceived mismatch between our presentation and ability prompted the accusations. (We were bookworms and in a family of bookworms despite being poor and lower class.)

My only comment and the only relevance to the linked story is I remember how OUTRAGED I felt at the accusation. It wasn't even the accusation of cheating - that I would be dishonest. It was the condescension, the implied "obviously you are not good enough to have produced this" attitude that hurt the most. In my case the professor was obviously trying to give me a break and be friendly but I remember how hurt I was and in my brother's case... I don't think he would ever speak to the prof again.

Being judged incapable of producing your own work BURNS.

Re: Academia, Love Me Back

#38

Post by analog31 »

gravypod wrote: post #25

I've had professors do this to me. I don't understand what's wrong with this. This is a common thing I even do when grading programming assignments. When I notice a stylistic choice that is outside of the norm for the students I can usually tell exactly who the work came from. Every semester I catch at least one group of cheaters (This semester I caught two!) and they admit to it after I confront them with it. "Hence…

The only way you can find out is by going to the student and confidently saying something to the effect of "I know you've engaged in some questionalbe academic behavior, this is your time to explain yourself before I contact my boss and have them run a more though investigation". Cheaters usually crack instantly. (pro-tip for anyone on the outside who is cheating: just lie to us, we're probably not going to follow up unless it's extremely obvious if you've got a 1/4 way decent explanation).

For some reason, I immediately thought of that popular video: "Don't talk to the police." Today, I'd probably assume that if you're fishing for a confession, then you don't have any evidence, and your "boss" doesn't exist. For instance, when I was an adjunct, I didn't have support like that from my department.

What I don't know is how I'd have reacted as a college student with less confidence and street smarts, and with a possibly justifiable fear of antagonizing a teacher.

Re: Academia, Love Me Back

#39

Post by random567 »

gravypod wrote: post #25

I've had professors do this to me. I don't understand what's wrong with this. This is a common thing I even do when grading programming assignments. When I notice a stylistic choice that is outside of the norm for the students I can usually tell exactly who the work came from. Every semester I catch at least one group of cheaters (This semester I caught two!) and they admit to it after I confront them with it. "Hence…

part of the problem is public shaming

    > This morning, my professor handed me back a paper (a literature review) in front of my entire class and exclaimed “this is not your language.”
While it's reasonable to ask someone if they've plagiarized, asking that person about it in public in front of their classmates is mean-spirited.

Re: Academia, Love Me Back

#40

Post by analog31 »

gravypod wrote: post #31
CalChris wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you did makes sense. This is the standard two tier laboratory testing process . The first screening test is cheap with some false positives. The second confirmation test is more troublesome but more accurate. The professor did the first and evidently only the first.

Handing back a scored paper would probably be one of the ways I'd test for a written plagiarism. If the student gets mad at me and fights then they didn't plagiarizer. It's the presumed nature of humans to want to fight back when wrongly accused of something--even more so when you're found guilty of something. I'd accept a rebuttal saying that's not a correct model for every student and as such I'd find it evenly as…

In my view, the problem with using psychological manipulation tactics, is that it abuses the asymmetrical relationship between the teacher and the student. I think it would be more ethical for the teacher to simply lay their cards on the table. If they have evidence, present it directly, otherwise wait for another day.
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