Promoting Integrity at the Classroom Level:
Model Ethical Behavior
Although Vincent Moore (2002) believes that we should play dirty in the war on plagiarism by posting bad papers on paper mills cites, how can we expect our students to behave ethically while we are engaging in unethical behavior? If we illegally photocopy documents to distribute in our classes, how can we really demand that students not cheat on an exam? How can we demand our students if we do not cite our sources for photographs we download from the Internet to include in our PowerPoint lectures?
If we truly expect our students to behave ethically, members of the faculty must serve as models of ethical behavior in the classroom.
Best Practices
- Follow the guidelines in Bill Taylor's "Letter to My Students"
- Cite references during class lectures, on PowerPoint slides, and other teaching materials.
- Understand basic copyright law so that classroom materials are not illegally reproduced.
- Share drafts of your work.
- Discuss items that cross your desk.
- Distribute your teaching philosophy.
