Using Bloom's Taxonomy to Teach Students about Plagiarism

Using Bloom's Taxonomy to Teach Students about PlagiarismAuthor(s): Melissa A. VosenSource: The English Journal, Vol. 97, No. 6 (Jul., 2008), pp. 43-46Published by: National Council of Teachers of EnglishStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40503410 .

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¡Ü DO THE RIGHT THING I

Melissa A. Vosen

Using Bloom's Taxonomy to Teach Students about Plagiarism

Melissa A. Vosen outlines a unit she has designed to help students comprehend the often unclear boundaries and issues surrounding plagiarism. Using Bloom's taxonomy of the cognitive domain, students complete increasingly complex tasks, learning to construct a works cited page and assess scholarly opinions. They also research the consequences of plagiarism at their school.

laughed. I laughed hard, and at the same time I was appalled and a lit- tle sad. Last semester, I was forced to confront a first-year college stu-

dent who plagiarized her memoir. I have had students who plagiarized before, but this case was different. After reading her paper, I suspected that she did not have a twelve-year-old daughter who enjoyed gymnastics; she did, after all, introduce herself on the first day as an eighteen-year-old from a small town in Minnesota. Her memoir was quite beautiful, and she described the joy and satisfaction she felt watching her preteen daughter dancing across the balance beam and cartwheeling across a spongy blue mat. The student seemed surprised when she was caught, but how could she be? Didn't she do the math? I did not even bother trying to find an original source; it was pretty unlikely that she birthed a child when she was six.

Over the last four years of teaching seventh- grade language arts at West Fargo Middle School and Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton Junior High and first-year composition at North Dakota State Uni- versity (NDSU), I have been shocked by the increasing number of instances of plagiarism. I now realize that simply telling the students each time I introduce a writing assignment that they are not to plagiarize is not enough. As a teacher, I pride myself on being able to thoroughly explain a concept, to give students a chance to discover and work with the material firsthand. I soon realized I was not approaching plagiarism in the same manner. I was merely telling them not to do it. If they hap-

pened to ask why, I would tell them because it was wrong, because it was dishonest and, if all else failed, because I said so. After the memoir incident, I knew it was time to approach plagiarism differ- ently in my classroom.

I designed and teach a four- to five-day class unit on plagiarism in all of my first-year composition courses at NDSU. The unit is constructed using Bloom's taxonomy of the cognitive domain and students are asked to complete increasingly complex tasks - to know, to comprehend, to apply, to analyze, to synthesize, and to evaluate issues surrounding plagiarism (Slavin 448). As the unit pro- gresses, students are required to use higher level thinking skills. By the end, students are able to define the consequences of plagiarism at their school, construct a works cited page, and evaluate scholarly opinions on the subject. While I have had a chance to try this only in the college classroom, I believe students in both a high school and college setting could productively complete this unit. See links in the sidebar to the materials I use.

Day One

Knowledge: What Is Plagiarism?

Day One focuses on Bloom's first stage: knowledge. Many students are not able to define plagiarism; as a novice teacher, I assumed they could. In my first year of teaching first-year composition, the time I sud- denly became more aware of plagiarism, I was excited to introduce the NDSU students to their first writing assignment - a music review. I was sure that if they

English Journal Vol. 97, No. 6 July 2008 43




Additional Kttd'itrces

KWL Chart http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/ kwl.pdf

PBS NewsHour clip http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june 02/history..1 -28.html

University of New England's Paraphrasing Exercises http://www.une.edu.au/elc/piagiarism/paraphrase .htm

NCTE Debate Roles and Rules http://web.archive.org/web/2006050319 4518/http://w3.tvi.edu/~cgulick/roles.htm

did not love the assignment, they would at least not mind completing it. I asked them to listen to a CD and tell me what they thought. Much to my dismay,

Taking an excerpt of my own work, sans the

citation, I ask students

to identify where they think I plagiarized.

Without fail, students are

quickly able to identify the spot after I read the

passage aloud.

many of the reviews were either partially or completely plagiarized, and if they weren't plagiarized, they were obvi- ously written in under fifteen minutes. When I called one of the offending students into my office, she looked dumb- founded. I had assumed that she, like the rest of her class- mates, knew what plagiarism was and why it was wrong. In

reality, not all students know. The student in my office certainly did not understand; she believed it was OK to take one or two sentences from other reviews and put them in her paper.

To introduce students to the concept of plagiarism, I ask them to consider what they already know by filling out a KWL chart ("KWL Chart"). They answer the following three questions: What do they know about plagiarism? What do they want to know about plagiarism? What did they learn about plagiarism (completed at the end of the unit)? Typi- cally, most students identify plagiarism as copying and pasting passages that were not written by them into their papers. Most students know somebody who plagiarized or was accused of plagiarizing. If they don't, many students are well aware of examples in popular culture. After students complete the K and W of their KWL charts, I ask them to indi- vidually define plagiarism and provide examples of

it - either by drawing on personal experiences or what they may have heard in the news. After they share their answers with a partner, I ask students to think about what constitutes plagiarism: a copied sentence, a copied passage? I facilitate a short whole- class discussion, and I then ask students to agree on the definition. I typically post this definition in our room and on our class Web site.

Since much of the discussion is focused on plagiarizing at school, I show students how easily plagiarism can be identified by their teachers. Taking an excerpt of my own work, sans the citation, I ask students to identify where they think I plagiarized. Without fail, students are quickly able to identify the spot after I read the passage aloud. In fact, I have never had a class get it wrong. When I ask why, the students tell me they just know that I would not use a word such as "avant garde" in my everyday speech. As I pull up Google, I ask one of my students to come forward and type the suspicious line in the search bar. Sure enough, my students are right. The article I plagiarized is typically the first hit. This is a great addition to this activity for teachers who have an instrumented classroom; the students seem to enjoy "catching" their teacher and charge me with academic dishonesty. This five-minute activity shows students how easily they can get caught. The important lesson, however, is how we can, as a class, correct this unfortunate incident of plagiarism. I stress this

point repeatedly to students. The rest of the class

period and the next few class periods focus on just that: fixing my citations and being able to articulate what constitutes plagiarism.

Comprehension and Application: Discussing Plagiarism Activities on Day One also employ Bloom's second and third stages, comprehension and application. After the class agrees on a working definition of plagiarism, students watch a short clip from PBS's NewsHour that focuses on the accusations of plagiarism surrounding Stephen Ambrose as well as the

consequences for students who plagiarize at Harvard. The PBS Web site has questions students can answer as they watch the video, which can be useful for sub-

sequent group discussion (Schragger). At the end of the hour, I ask students to explain why some popular historians are being accused of plagiarism and to paraphrase the repercussions for plagiarism at Harvard.

44 July 2008



Melissa A. Vosen

I can guarantee that students, if they don't care about Stephen Ambrose, will care about the repercussions of plagiarizing at Harvard. Most students are shocked that plagiarism can lead to expulsion and the loss of all credit hours earned. Each time I have shown this video, the discussion has been lively. Before students are dismissed for the day, I ask them if they believe they can be expelled for plagiarizing their English homework at our school. Their homework assignment is simple: find out. For the students at NDSU, this information is readily available on the schools Web site. I believe it is important for students to understand how plagiarism will affect them if they choose to do something academically dishonest. It is also important that students understand that fewer incidences of plagiarism result in a better reputation for the school, thus providing the students better job opportunities. Students must realize that the effects of plagiarism can extend beyond doing poorly in a class. While I typically teach an extended night course, these activities could be easily completed over two days rather than one.

Day Two: Analysis -

Practicing In-Text Citation

Day Two focuses on Bloom's fourth stage, analysis. Students revisit their KWL worksheets and make any additions. What do they know? What do they want to know? What have they learned about plagiarism up to this point? In groups, students share the consequences of plagiarizing at NDSU. As a class, we briefly discuss how this differs from Har- vard. In the end, policy is different from practice, and students are asked if there should be a differ- ence in punishment for those who knowingly plagiarize versus those who simply cite incorrectly.

After our brief discussion, I discuss how we can prevent plagiarism in our class. I always stress that there must be an in-text citation and a works cited entry. I have students practice citing in the text as well as creating a works cited page. Students first compare and contrast direct quotations and

paraphrases; I have often found that one of the most difficult aspects of teaching citation is teaching students how to paraphrase. Students begin to identify properly cited quotations and paraphrases. For this activity, I recommend using the University of New England handout ("Avoiding Plagiarism") as well

as creating sentences and passages. Students seem to respond more favorably to applicable, yet quirky, sentences. The University of New England handout focuses on APA style, but I have found it can be easily adapted to focus on MLA. I also typically send the class home with a few practice sentences.

Day Three: Synthesis - Practice Makes Perfect

Day Three focuses on Bloom's fifth stage, synthesis. I go over students' homework and reiterate the differ- ence between paraphrasing and direct quotation. I prefer to have several students complete paraphrasing tasks on the whiteboard. After some practice, students work in groups to construct a works cited entry. At the end of the class, I ask students to com- pose a reference page by completing an MLA scavenger hunt (see fig. 1). I typically assign this project at the end of Day Three. Instead of asking students to practice citation, I make it into a game. Students are asked to pair up and go on an MLA scavenger

FIGURE 1 . MLA Scavenger Hunt

Name(s)

MLA Scavenger Hunt You must find a partner and cite works from the following categories in 48 hours:

1 . Book with one author 2. Book with multiple authors 3. An edition of a book 4. An introduction, preface, foreword, or afterword 5. An edited collection 6. Work in an anthology 7. Dictionary or encyclopedia article 8. Government document 9. Magazine article

10. Review 11. Movie 12. TV program 13. CD 14. Interview 15. Website 1 6. Article on a Web site 17. Article from EBSCO, ProQuest, JSTOR, or Project

Muse 18. Email

Remember, every period and comma counts! Even one character missing or misplaced denotes an incorrect answer. Pairs will exchange citations and correct them next class period. After all corrections are complete, one pair will be crowned MLA Champions and will be awarded fantastic prizes. Good luck!

English Journal 45




hunt. I dismiss students early to go to the library and find different types of resources to cite. I require students to find a book, magazine, journal, electronic

journal, and Web site, and to create a works cited entry for each. After finding all of their resources, students create one works cited page. This is an excellent collaborative activity that requires students to use the library and their handbooks. During our next class period, students trade works cited pages with another group, and we meticulously go through them. The group with the least number of errors wins a fabulous prize, usually candy.

Days Four and Five: Evaluation -

Debating Consequences of Plagiarism

Days Four and Five focus on Blooms final stage, evaluation. On Day Four, I ask students to revisit their KWL sheet. I usually ask students to write a short paragraph to me explaining what they have learned and liked most about the unit so far. Over

Days Four and Five, students form groups to conduct research that answers the question, "Should students fail if they plagiarize?" I prefer to assign students to a side. At this point in the semester, students have

already had experience doing informal debates; this

assignment allows them to build on that skill. I sug- gest using NCTE's classroom resources for our in- class debates ("Debate Roles and Rules"). As a

wrap-up, I ask students to consider the definition that hangs in the front of our room; do they want to make any changes? After the unit, I type up a short statement with that definition on it. Each student is then asked to take a pledge promising to ask questions about citation and to not plagiarize. Their final exam is a simple task: fix my citation I shared at the

beginning of Day One. I rarely have anyone fail.

Conclusion

The student who plagiarized her memoir went on to rewrite it. The student who plagiarized portions of her music review went on to revise and properly add citations where necessary. Even though they both revised their papers, I felt as though I had failed them. I assumed they understood what plagiarism was, and I assumed that they had the tools to prevent such a dishonest act. I still assign a mod- ified version of the music-review assignment in my first-year writing courses; I do, however, take a few

days to allow the students to learn and ask questions about plagiarism, and I have found these activities quite helpful. It is worth the time to examine and discuss plagiarism. As teachers, we cannot expect students to understand why they should not plagiarize or even what constitutes plagiarism without our teaching them. These activities follow Bloom s taxonomy and allow students to interact with the material in multiple dimensions as well as ask them to think about the topic in an

increasingly complex manner. It is time to move

beyond "Because I said so."

Works Cited

"Avoiding Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct." Univer- sity of New England. 24 Oct. 2007 <http://www.une .edu.au/policies/pdf/plagiarismstudentinfocw.pdfV.

"Debate Roles and Rules." NCTE. 19 Mar. 200« <http:// web.archive.org/web/20060503194518/http://w3.tvi .edu/~cgulick/roles.htm> .

"KWL Chart." Houghton Mißin Education F lace. 24 Uct. 200/

<http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/kwl .pdf>.

Schragger, Stephanie. "Writing History: From Students to Scholars." NewsHour Extra. 2008. 19 Mar. 2008 < h t tp : //ww w.pbs . org/ne wshour/extra/teachers/lesson plans/general/plagiarism.html> .

Slavin, Robert E. Educational Psychology: lheory and Practice. 8th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2006.

Melissa A. Vosen teaches first-year composition courses at North Dakota State University and is academic adviser to more

than 175 students. As a doctoral student in English, Vosen is interested in online pedagogy, reading pedagogy, and the use of

collaborative writing projects in the classroom, email: [email protected].

REÁDWRITETHINK CONNECTION Lisa Storm Fink, RWT

"Copyright Law: From Digital Reprints to Downloads" asks students to read about the history of copyright law and generalize about how and why it has changed. Students are then given a recent copyright topic and assigned a role. They look at the copyright issues from the perspective of the role they have been given and create

persuasive arguments to convince others to see the issue from that perspective as well.

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=1067

46 July 2008



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Using Bloom's Taxonomy to Teach Students about Plagiarism