Cheating in college

[Stitch]

For those who teach college courses, I have a dilemma. On my mid-term for an intro public speaking class, there were a couple of instances were two people who sit next to each other missed the same questions. For one of the suspected groups, the pair missed the same 14 questions out of 45.

The dean said unless you catch them in the act, there's little you can do for a multiple-choice exam. I guess I have to assign seats next time and maybe have a few versions of the exam with the questions in different order.

Thoughts for those who teach?

 

[LongTimeListener]

Threaten to expel them unless they get down with you.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

The thing is, do you know both cheated?

For the next test, I would let them sit where they did before, but give one of them a different exam.

 

[93Devil]

For those who teach college courses, I have a dilemma. On my mid-term for an intro public speaking class, there were a couple of instances were two people who sit next to each other missed the same questions. For one of the suspected groups, the pair missed the same 14 questions out of 45.

The dean said unless you catch them in the act, there's little you can do for a multiple-choice exam. I guess I have to assign seats next time and maybe have a few versions of the exam with the questions in different order.

Thoughts for those who teach?

Hand out more than one type of test?

Just jumble the questions and have forms A, B and C.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

First, if anyone is cheating, they're picking the wrong person to cheat off of. Getting 31 right out of 45 is pretty sucky.

Second, I'd just make them sit apart. You don't know if both were cheating. One might have been copying off the other, who wasn't aware of it.

 

[Stitch]

First, if anyone is cheating, they're picking the wrong person to cheat off of. Getting 31 right out of 45 is pretty sucky.

Second, I'd just make them sit apart. You don't know if both were cheating. One might have been copying off the other, who wasn't aware of it.

I was surprised by the low scores. That's what freshman get when they pay more attention to their phones or laptops instead of the review.

 

[Pilot]

Seems like many, many tests I took in college had multiple versions, just the same questions in different orders.

Some, of course, didn't. We did have one great class where every test was 100 multiple choice questions pulled at random from a catalog of questions that had existed for so long you could dig around, find four or five tests from other semesters and see at least 80 of the 100 you'd be likely to show up on your test. So, we skipped class all semester, spent a few nights before the test memorizing questions and their answers (they were all fairly uniquely worded, thus distinguishable), and all got either As or Bs.

It was no secret, of course. About 1/3 the class would be done with the whole thing before the teacher was finished showing the slides we supposedly needed to answer the first 50 questions correctly.

Ah, college.

 

[Matt Stephens]

My old roommate used to cheat in college. New night, new girl. He also had to go to the campus clinic a lot behind his girlfriend's back because of all his cheating.

Wait, what were we talking about?

 

[SoCalDude]

I thought this was another Auburn thread.

 

[2underpar]

put them on double secret probation.

 

[Liut]

I thought this was another Auburn thread.

LMAO!

 

[Colton]

"The guys at the Jewish house said all our answers were wrong!"

 

[Point of Order]

For those who teach college courses, I have a dilemma. On my mid-term for an intro public speaking class, there were a couple of instances were two people who sit next to each other missed the same questions. For one of the suspected groups, the pair missed the same 14 questions out of 45.

The dean said unless you catch them in the act, there's little you can do for a multiple-choice exam. I guess I have to assign seats next time and maybe have a few versions of the exam with the questions in different order.

Thoughts for those who teach?

Next test: essay and short answer. (depending on # of students you have).

 

[qtlaw]

Quick story, freshman year.

Someone close to me (ummm, call him Jim) finds out that their best friend wrote the english "how-to" essay last quarter for English 1 and got an "A" on "how to make beer." So Jim decides to sorta copy. Gets "A-".

Next quarter, guys are all sitting around someone's dorm room and talk about "how-to" essay for English 1 and Mike says "I used Keith's essay too!" and Jim says "I got an A-, that guy Jamie is pretty easy". Mike's smile fades instantaneously (Priceless memory). Turns out Mike's TA is Jamie too. What to do? Guys tell him to fess up to TA. He does and gets to redo docked one grade.

 

[Stitch]

My students are an interesting bunch. They are all freshman, so it's an adjustment for a lot of them in getting used to a higher standard than high school. I still get some handwritten essays turned in, even though I wrote in the syllabus and told them handwritten work is not accepted.

Getting them to do a Powerpoint slide for their speeches was an ordeal, as well. A few said they didn't have Powerpoint at home and seemed put off when I told them the computer labs have everything they need.

 

[Bodie_Broadus]

My students are an interesting bunch. They are all freshman, so it's an adjustment for a lot of them in getting used to a higher standard than high school. I still get some handwritten essays turned in, even though I wrote in the syllabus and told them handwritten work is not accepted.

Getting them to do a Powerpoint slide for their speeches was an ordeal, as well. A few said they didn't have Powerpoint at home and seemed put off when I told them the computer labs have everything they need.

Who the hell writes an essay by hand? I can't believe you even have to put that in a syllabus.