Academic Integrity in Physics

In the digital age it can seem difficult to ensure that students are completing their own work. Students have told me they share subscriptions to Chegg and have group chats to give each other homework answers! If students are not completing their own work, how can we as physics teachers know how to best support their learning? Let’s look at why students cheat in our class and then a few ways to avoid it.

Why do Students Cheat in Physics Class?

It has been my experience that students cheat for one main reason: they run out of time to master the content. I would say most students do not WANT to cheat. They want to be able to do everything, but they do not know how to organize their time to meet their goals. As a teacher, I see my role being to figure out what caused this and help them avoid it in the future.

What to do when a Student Cheats in Physics Class

I really do believe all students want to do well in physics; students might name different grades they would consider to be successfu,l but they all want to succeed. The number one reason students cheat is because they run out of time to meet their goal. When this happens, I have a conversation with the student to identify what caused them to run out of time and how to prevent it in the future.

1. Math Issues - If the student is behind in math, I will invite them in for tutoring once a week. Sometimes I work out a tutoring contract with them. This helps eliminate the fear of math that was stopping them from getting started.

2. Conceptual Issues - I encourage students to ask questions in class and make sure to float to them during labs to ask conceptual questions. I will set up a tutoring schedule for them and let the parents know the expectations. These students often benefit from re-reading the textbook or using Physics Classroom tutorials.

3. Busy with Sports / Dance / Family, etc. - I will help the student make out a schedule to keep up with their work. Sometimes that means having them show me their planner every day.

4. Behind in Multiple Classes - Ever had a student tell you, ‘’Tonight I have to write 2 essays, read a novel, learn French, and play goalie in the school soccer game… then I’ll do your physics homework’’? I really believe students think they can do all they say! They do not have fully developed frontal lobes and cannot always plan reasonably. In this case, I help the student think about what classes are their top priority and then make a schedule with them so they can see how to fit everything in. Sometimes students will realize they have taken on too many AP courses or extracurriculars at once. It is our job as adults to help!

5. Fixed Mindset - A lot of students feel they will never master physics, so they are afraid to start. For these students, I invite them into tutoring and break down problems into small victories. We work on building a growth mindset.

How to Prevent Students from Cheating in Physics on Problem Sets

The best way to prevent cheating is to create higher order thinking assignments that do not allow for cheating. However, in the real-world we cannot make every assignment a higher order thinking assignment. Sometimes, students need to simply practice problem sets. How can we ensure they are actually learning instead of copying from Chegg?

1. Have students write a paragraph explaining how they solved one of the problems.

2. Have students explain to you how they solved a problem while other students are completing another task, such as a lab. I love this one because I can get one-on-one time with students to help reduce misconceptions and learn how to plan lessons that are better tailored to them.

3. Have students create and solve their own problem when they are done with a problem set. It will take students time to get good at this

4. Have students go over the homework with each other. I like to have students in groups draw numbers out of a bag, then let them plan how they will explain it for 3 minutes. During this time, I double check that every group has the correct answer before the present. Doing this in groups reduces the stress for students, but make sure you model how to present an answer.

I would like to talk about academic integrity in a few other blog posts. It takes time and effort to to reduce cheating, including:

• Creating a culture of pride in one’s own academic work

• Developing the ability to be incorrect without feeling one’s self worth is lowered

• Having an emotionally safe learning environment for all students

Stay tuned for more eon academic integrity in high school physics.