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Cheaters be warned

In the class GBBE, standing for genetics, biotechnology, bacteriology, and embryology, we are completing a lab to determine two unknown bacteria from a list of about 30. This “unknown lab”  is done in groups of two. At the end of the lab, which spans about eight days, the bacteria names are written on a piece of paper, turned in and graded on the spot. If both identifications are correct, 100 point are awarded, and no lab reports or journals need to be checked. If one identification is incorrect, 25 points are immediately deducted. Points, up to 40 point for each bacteria, can be regained if an organized journal is kept and a mistake can be recognized. Even with point being able to be won back, this lab is basically a pass or fail grade. This places a lot of stress and responsibility on students as they must finish the lab within the time frame, share work evenly, complete every step with accuracy, and correctly combine all the steps to identify the bacteria. This kind of stress and time, just from one class, can cause many students to cheat or plagiarize, either in this class or another class. Many consider this dishonest work, lazy or sly behavior. But what if, such as the case with the time and stress this lab takes, cheating occurs simply because many students are overloaded from five or six extremely intense academic classes? Would students that cheat be looked at with the same shame from teacher if they knew the stress, lost sleep, and mental strain students deal with week after week. Obviously, cheating should not be the answer to stress, but teachers could be more willing to provide group opportunities for work. With group work, students have only a small portion to complete, taking away some of the stress and time it would take doing the work individually. Group projects also teach vital communications skills needed long past high school. Maybe “the honor code system” and other honor codes are not the answer to stopping cheating, instead spreading out work, giving ample time for work and ample notice for tests, as well as more group projects would not only stop cheating, but would also provide a connected, calm learning environment.

Comments

  1. Isabella SmithApril 21, 2019 at 3:04 PM

    I really liked reading this because it brought up a valid point. People are so quick to condemn students for cheating when some are under stress at home, do varsity sports, and have other challenging classes too. When they can't afford to get a 0 on the assignment but have no other way to do it cheating seems like one of the only ways left to maintain a good grade.

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