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TL8-3Larry SySya Va Van Geest: an Geest: PlagiarismPlagiarism or Aor Academic Honesty -cademic Honesty - What Can What Can WWe Do?e Do? by Susan Mickalow The Teaching Librarian Volume 8/No. 3 23 MAKING WAVES Plagiarism has always been a concern withstudent research. It is compounded todayby the ease of electronic theft and misrepre- sentation. In this session, the dynamic Sya Van Geest showed how to develop practical strategies to "help students be honest." Research for our students is a guided process. With proper design, intervention and assessment, it should be very difficult for students to plagia- rize. The design of research units should force higher level thinking. If the performance task is such that the students have to process and trans- fer the information, students cannot simply copy. The ideal places for the teacher and the teacher- librarian to intervene with the students are at the ends of each of the four stages of research. During preparation, the teacher-librarian helps with exploration of the topic by encouraging talking, brainstorming, mind mapping, and the use of a portfolio, etc. Resources are accessed successfully with the help OSLA Award Winners 2001: Administrators Marcel Castura and Bonnie Hamilton; People for Education; TL Barbara Wells of such questions as "what information sources match your needs; what tools did you use to access the resources; were you able to use com- puters to find any materials?" To help the student process the information and to encourage them to think critically, the teacher-librarian can question the relevance of the information; the accuracy; the authority; fairness; and the point of view. When transferring learning, the teacher-librarian needs to help the students consider such things as their own strengths, the time and resources available, and the format of the presentation. Assessment is an ongoing process that occurs throughout the student's research. Assigning a grade from one to four at each stage is a simple way of marking. Conferencing is an assessment tool that must be part of the process, especially at Stage 3 when students talk about the information they have replaced. Sya recommends having "all kinds of talk". Assessment, evaluation, and reflec- tion must occur throughout the process. If it does, there is no opportunity for plagiarism. Finally, Sya insists that if we put the blame on the student for plagiarism, that blame is misdirected. It is the process and delivery that needs constant re-evaluation. n n n Susan Mickalow is Library Consultant for Halton District School Board.