Think group chat answers, wandering eyes and slips of paper hidden in sleeves- things of the past?
This week, if you haven’t already taken it, you are likely to take a quick survey about cheating. Teachers schoolwide have been asked to administer it to their fourth-period classes, and an email was sent to South students just this morning.
The survey inquires a number of things on this topic. It lists a number of acts and asks whether the survey-taker believes it is cheating, then later asks whether the survey-taker or people that they know have done these things. The survey closes by asking the participant what justifies cheating and lists options varying from “Pressure to get good grades” to “Course work is irrelevant/unimportant.”
South English teacher Kristin Wintin was part of a group of teachers who conceived the idea. She says that last year’s digital citizenship lessons promoted teachers to wonder about cheating in the digital age. Over time, the discussion became more organized and has thus far culminated in the survey.
The survey reflects a growing effort to diagnose the cheating issue at South. The aims are to isolate the main issues and pinpoint the specific actions that South needs to address. South hopes that this provides the administration with a starting place for future cheating-related adjustments inside and outside the classroom.
Where will this take us? What’s the next course of action? “I don’t know exactly what is going to happen,” Wintin said. However, she mentions possibilities ranging from a clearer South policy on cheating to a more unified curriculum overall. “It all depends on what we find.”
