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Evans, Jessica; Sibbett, Lorna and Xuereb, Sharon
(2024).
URL: https://virtual.oxfordabstracts.com/#/event/5177/s...
Abstract
Assessment design is a key area of focus in higher education, particularly with the development of GenAI. HE institutions need to reach a balance between embracing these developments, while being mindful of students’ academic integrity skills. Assessment should ‘disenable plagiarism’, while promoting creativity, academic integrity, and problem-solving skills (Hamilton & Richardson, 2007). This round-table discussion presents key principles that were developed in a large distance learning institution. As part of an institution-wide academic conduct review, a new Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) website was developed to collate information for staff and students, a new process for accessing study skills sessions was implemented, aiming to ensure high quality of sessions while referring for disciplinary cases for repeat offenders, and students were supported to use plagiarism detection software to identify and rectify instances of poor academic integrity.
The principles for assessment design aim to reduce opportunity and motivation for academic misconduct, aiding students to use assessment as a positive opportunity to develop and demonstrate values and ethics (Verheof & Coetser, 2021); and to ensure that there is a scaffolding process whereby students become independent learners, able to appreciate the value of academic integrity and evaluate their work in line with this. Finally, assessments should be developed in a way that enhances the development of academic integrity. Thus students are learning principles that directly relate to academic integrity (Egan, 2018).
The principles cover rewarding students for demonstrating skills related to academic integrity, together with developing assessments that nurture progress in the mastering of such skills. Assessments should require higher-order thinking and creativity and the development of an individual answer. They should also be applied and/or requiring work that students find relevant. Assessments could comprise a range of formats, ensuring that it is not possible to reuse answers that previous cohorts have produced. Transparency in marking criteria is valuable in developing a dialogue between students and tutors.
These principles were developed against a background of significant developments in GenAI. The challenges of developing pedagogic guidance in this context are discussed, including how to use cheating as an opportunity for learning (Bertram Gallant, 2017). The ultimate value of these principles comprise their implementation by module teams. Barriers to the embedding of these principles, and ideas for overcoming such barriers are explored.
References
Bertram Gallant, T., 2017. Academic integrity as a teaching & learning issue: From theory to practice. Theory Into Practice, 56(2), pp.88-94. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2017.1308173
Egan, A., 2018. Improving academic integrity through assessment design. Available at: https://www.dcu.ie/sites/default/files/2020-10/academic-integrity-literature-review_0.pdf (Accessed: 22 January 2024)
Hamilton, M. and Richardson, J., 2007. An Academic Integrity Approach to Learning and Assessment Design. Journal of Learning Design, 2(1), pp.37-51. http://dx.doi.org/10.5204/jld.v2i1.27
Verhoef, A.H. and Coetser, Y.M., 2021. Academic integrity of university students during emergency remote online assessment: An exploration of student voices. https://doi.org/10.4102/the.v6i0.132