2. Short Version
Don’t kid yourself
Cheating doesn’t have to happen
Reinforce the right things
Swift consequences
Prevention works
Change the battle
Test stuff that matters
4. Session Description
Well publicized cheating scandals have led to
suspension without pay, termination of employment,
and shuttering of EMS education programs. More
importantly cheating causes an erosion of the public
trust in EMS organizations. This presentation will
explore the scope of cheating in EMS education,
describe common barriers educators and
administrators implement, and discuss the limited
impact of those barriers to stop cheating. Participants
will discuss a continuum of solutions for EMS
educators and program administrators to reduce
cheating and grow a culture of group problem solving.
5. Session Objectives
• Explain the scope of cheating in EMS education
• Discuss limited impact of common barriers
• Describe a continuum of solutions
20. Research about Cheating
“Nearly every research report
on cheating … has concluded
that cheating is rampant.“
Cheating on Tests: How to Do It, Detect It, and Prevent It
23. High School Students College Bound
• 80% of the country's best students cheated
• More than 50% don't think cheating is big deal
• 95% of cheaters say they were not caught
• 40% cheated on a quiz or a test
• 67% copied someone else's homework
24. High School Students Historical Change
1940s 1990s
• Low performers • High performers
• 20% of students • Low performers
• 75-98% of students
26. Cheating in School Student Reasons
• Others are cheating
• No honor code
• Required courses
• Heavy workload
• No clear rules or consequences
• Low risk of being caught and or punished
• Higher incidence at less selective institutions
32. Academic Dishonesty
Any attempt to give or
Cheating obtain assistance
Copying without proper
Plagiarism acknowledgement
Deception Providing false information
Falsification of date,
Fabrication information, or citations
Impersonation Assuming another’s identity
Paying for information
Bribery or access
33. Student’s Cheating Perceptions
• Cheating is widespread
• Cheating is a given
• Most students cheat
• Victimless crime
• Rarely reported
• Pressure to succeed
34. Student’s Cheating Attitudes
• 57% don’t think copying a few sentence, sharing
answers, or getting answers is cheating
• 53% think cheating is no big deal
• 98% have let others copy their work
• 34% parents never talked to them about cheating
• 75% admit cheating
36. Cheating Low Tech
Taking, giving , or
receiving
information
Unauthorized
materials use
Circumventing
Process
37. Cheating High Tech
Taking, giving , or
receiving
information
Unauthorized
materials use
Circumventing
Process
38. Cheating Common Methods at UNC
• Getting an answer from • Using unauthorized sources
someone else’s test • Exceeding specified time limit
• Turning in same paper in • Turning in a paper that was
two different classes written by somebody else
• Copying from another • Allowing someone else to
• Plagiarizing parts or all cheat off of one’s exam
• Knowing someone else was • Giving one’s own paper to
cheating but not reporting someone else
• Giving or receiving • Taking a cheat sheet into test
unauthorized help • Ordering or downloading
• Looking at answers to test paper from online service
beforehand
64. Discuss Academic Honesty
Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Scenario 4
Sharing CE test
Falsifying
Incorrectly reporting
Wasting narcotics
assessments or
questions and
without a witness
attendance
treatments
answers
69. Values Education with I CARE
“The founders of the I CARE program
envision a world where individuals of all
ages understand the importance of
ethics and values as they pertain to a
person's character and through their
actions embody the values of
Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, R
espect and Empathy in their daily lives.”
70. Employee or Student Selection
• Behavior based questions
• Reference checks
• Past work performance
• Effective and secure entrance exam
• Inform of honor code
83. Summary
Cheating is present
Cultural acceptance
Objectives matter
Simple actions
Complex strategies
Focus on competency
84. Resources
• Plagarism.org
• ICAREValues.org
• International Center for Academic Integrity
AcademicIntegrity.org
• 2007 Arizona State Board of Nursing Statewide
Nurse Educators Annual Conference
86. Connections EMS Today
During After
greg@centrelearn.com
717-227-4655 (office)
CentreLearn 715-204-9874 (mobile)
Booth #3122
Facebook.com/gfriese
Twitter.com/gfriese
Blog.CentreLearn.com
Editor's Notes
Welcome. 90 minutes
Need to add
Me and what I doMy primary role is director of education for CLSHave been involved and engaged in online education development, production, and use since 2004.Variety of online education involvement:Continuing education coursesPodcasts hostBlog authorWeb videos Microblogging
Session Description:Well publicized cheating scandals have led to suspension without pay, termination of employment, and shuttering of EMS education programs. More importantly cheating causes an erosion of the public trust in EMS organizations. This presentation will explore the scope of cheating in EMS education, describe common barriers educators and administrators implement, and discuss the limited impact of those barriers to stop cheating. Participants will discuss a continuum of solutions for EMS educators and program administrators to reduce cheating and grow a culture of group problem solving.
Remind audience they can find this and other presentations at http://www.slideshare.net/gfriese/
[High school – short story class][College – analytic chemistry]
Asked this question on LinkedInhttp://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=113182&type=member&item=93953933&qid=5e0ad9a4-e30e-42c1-833c-ab3fc0fcebc6&trk=group_most_popular-0-b-ttl&goback=%2Egmp_113182[Show results as a chart, or LinkedIn screenshot]Cheating, such as falsification of attendance records, obtaining exam question banks, and score modification, is common in EMS continuing education:Strongly agreeAgreeNeither agree nor disagree DisagreeStrongly disagree
Asked this question on LinkedIn … trying to get at “Why do people cheat?”http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=113182&type=member&item=94885846&qid=5e0ad9a4-e30e-42c1-833c-ab3fc0fcebc6&trk=group_most_popular-0-b-ttl&goback=%2Egmp_113182[Show results as a chart, or LinkedIn screenshot]Which factor is mostly likely to lead a student to cheat? Content not appropriate to student’s training and knowledgeCost of continuing education courses and required certificationsPressure and encouragement from peers Limited time to complete training requirementsPoor quality of continuing education content
Scenario: Recalls – is this cheating? Describe a scenario based on final examination, recalls. Post NREMT-P old written test experience.
Scenario: Group CompletionGroup of 12 EMTs are required to complete 12 online CE courses, one per month. Each EMT completes one course and then sharing logins, logins as each of the 12 users to complete the test. Each user does one course. Is this cheating?Change: A single user takes all 12 courses and takes quizzes for all users. 144 courses completed by a single user. Is this cheating?
Scenario: Con Ed ArticleCopy of JEMS article given to each department member. Each member asked to read article. At training night, officer says, “Do you have any questions?”“Since there are no questions, lets go through the test together”Each user completes a test, submitted in bulk. All users receive one CE course.Is this cheating?
Scenario: Online CE CompletionParamedic clicks through program as quickly as possible35 minute video “viewed” in 4 minutesUnlimited attempts at quizPasses quiz on 3rd attemptIs this cheating?
(Discouraging Academic Dishonesty in Online Courses)Clinical Laboratory Sciences Program at Center for Allied Health Programs, Univ of MNStudents worked together on quizzes. Took online quizzes as a group. Used quiz for first person to determine right, wrong answers. Then all used the results. “Students felt that the “rules” were different for online quizzes compared to paper quizzes”Rules not explicitly statedScope was shocking to professors
Cheating happensCheating on Tests: How to Do It, Detect It, and Prevent It summarizes the body of research this way."Nearly every research report on cheating -- whether the data were obtained by a carefully designed study, a survey of self-reported behavior, an RRT (randomized response technique) approach, or questionnaire regarding perceptions of cheating on the part of another -- has concluded that cheating is rampant.“From http://www.newfoundations.com/PREVPLAGWEB/CheatingTrends1.html
Cheating on Tests: How to Do It, Detect It, and Prevent It summarizes the body of research this way."Nearly every research report on cheating -- whether the data were obtained by a carefully designed study, a survey of self-reported behavior, an RRT (randomized response technique) approach, or questionnaire regarding perceptions of cheating on the part of another -- has concluded that cheating is rampant.“
Cheating is a pervasive problem in society, ensnaring …. Match these three men with how they cheated. Athletes and performance enhancing drugs – Ryan Braun (http://www.millerparkdrunk.com/baseball/brauns-big-day/) reigning NL MVP, TDF winner Flyond Landis and Alberto Contador, and many othersPoliticians – Jack Abramhoff and Tom De Lay and many others (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/23/jack-abramoff-pizza-shop_n_622635.html)No profession is immune, mentioned MDs already. Cheating also found among Airline Pilots - http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19880805&id=s2saAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1ioEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1806,3582090Relationships – spouses, we all probably know a couple that has cheating in their relationship – Arnie S (http://www.topnews.in/people/arnold-schwarzenegger)
Image from FEMA Photo LibraryCheating happens at all grade levels … elementary, secondary, and college.May be most rampant at secondary level. In college there is variation by major – most likely among business majors. http://www.newfoundations.com/PREVPLAGWEB/CheatingTrends1.html
http://www.glass-castle.com/clients/www-nocheating-org/adcouncil/research/cheatingbackgrounder.htmlInfo from 1999, cheating background image The results of the 29th Who's Who Among American High School Students Poll (of 3,123 high-achieving 16- to 18-year olds – that is, students with A or B averages who plan to attend college after graduation) were released in November, 1998. Among the findings:80% of the country's best students cheated to get to the top of their class.More than half the students surveyed said that they don't think cheating is a big deal.95% of cheaters say they were not caught.40% cheated on a quiz or a test67% copied someone else's homework
http://www.glass-castle.com/clients/www-nocheating-org/adcouncil/research/cheatingbackgrounder.htmlCheating is highest among college bound studentsToo much work, too much to do. Need to cut cornersChange over time1940s – low performers, 20% of studentsNow – ranges from 75-98% of students
http://www.examiner.com/college-prep-in-long-island/li-sat-cheating-may-lead-to-ny-lawPeople paid to take a test, false identification Fraudulent IDs, paid test takes, high stakes exam. Do you think an NREMT candidate has attempted to have a paid test taker? I guarantee that someone has tried or at least researched what it would take.
http://www.glass-castle.com/clients/www-nocheating-org/adcouncil/research/cheatingbackgrounder.htmlReasonsOthers are doingNo honor codeLow risk of being caught and or punishedHigher incidence at less selective institutionsRequired coursesHeavy workload – academic and employmentNo clear rules or consequences
(PA Students Attitudes and Behaviors Towards Cheating and Academic Integrity)Using McCabes Survey of academic integrityStudents had been in a program for a few weeks to a year90 respondentsCheaters may not have respondedMore than half older than 3087% femaleAll had GPA > 3.0
(PA Students Attitudes and Behaviors Towards Cheating and Academic Integrity)Using McCabes Survey of academic integrityIt would be good to have some agreement about what constitutes cheatingWould be a great project to replicate with paramedic students.
Great reference material, applicable to allied health professionals
No specific research on EMS – at least that we could find. Can we generalize findings from other disciplines. I believe we can.EMT and Paramedic students were once high school students. If cheating exists in nursing, radiology, engineering, business, etc it is present in EMS education.Is it better, worse, same? We need some research
Ask group how they would define cheatingOfficial definitionshttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cheat“representing someone else’s work as your own”
Broader term for a range of behaviorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_dishonestyPlagiarism: The adoption or reproduction of original creations of another author (person, collective, organization, community or other type of author, including anonymous authors) without due acknowledgment.Fabrication: The falsification of data, information, or citations in any formal academic exercise.Deception: Providing false information to an instructor concerning a formal academic exercise—e.g., giving a false excuse for missing a deadline or falsely claiming to have submitted work.Cheating: Any attempt to give or obtain assistance in a formal academic exercise (like an examination) without due acknowledgment.Bribery: or paid services. Giving certain test answers for money.Sabotage: Acting to prevent others from completing their work. This includes cutting pages out of library books or willfully disrupting the experiments of others.Professorial misconduct: Professorial acts that are academically fraudulent equate to academic fraud and/or grade fraud.Personation: assuming a student's identity with intent to provide an advantage for the student.[1][2][3][4]
http://www.glass-castle.com/clients/www-nocheating-org/adcouncil/research/cheatingbackgrounder.htmlCheating is widespreadCheating is a given … it is going to happenMost students cheat at some pointVictimless crime Rarely reported, especially by high school studentsPressure to succeed may drive students to cheat
High school students from visual from Schools.com57% don’t think copying a few sentence, sharing answers, or getting answers is cheating53% think cheating is no big deal98% have let others copy their work34% parents never talked to them about cheating75% admit cheating
http://www.schools.com/visuals/academic-dishonesty.htmlFrom September 2011More likely to cheat in lifeLie to a customer (patient)Inflate an insurance claim (back injury)Deceive their boss (out of service to re-stock)Cheat on a spouse (arrive late for a shift, not re-stock ambulance, not waste a narcotic, not check gear)Cheat on taxes (documentation, incident reports)
(Academic Dishonesty PDF from AZ)Taking, giving or receiving information – sharing test questionsUse of unauthorized materials or resources – browsing internet with SmartphoneCircumventing the process – using a test takerAsk audience for examples, based on types of cheating (Group’s Experience)What have you tried, seen tried, or otherwise definitely know has happened?
Ask audience for examples, based on types of cheating (Group’s Experience)What have you tried, seen tried, or otherwise definitely know has happened?
http://www.unc.edu/~bmize/teaching/english_12/academic_dishonesty/eissens&stanislaus.htmlSurvey of UNC students, asked respondentsabout definite knowledge of 14 different honor code violations. Either they violated or had definite knowledge others violated:getting an answer from someone else’s paper during a testturning in the same paper in two different classes without making sure that it was all right with the teacherscopying someone else’s paper (for instance, lab reports or group projects)plagiarizing parts or all of a paperknowing that someone else was cheating but not reporting itgiving or receiving unauthorized help but still signing the Honor Pledgelooking at the answers to a test beforehandusing unauthorized information sources during a take-home examexceeding the specified time limit on a take-home examturning in a paper that was written by somebody elseallowing someone else to cheat off of one’s own exam papergiving one’s own paper to someone else to turn in as his or her owntaking a cheat sheet into a testordering or downloading a paper from an online term paper servicenone of these80% had violated90% had direct knowledgeMost common:copying someone else's paper to turn inPlagiarismuse of unauthorized resources on a take-home examand getting answers from someone else's test paper3 of 4 are out of classroom activitiesStudent’s most likely to engage in low effort, low risk cheating vs.. 4 quadrant graph of risk and effort. Group activity to describe activities that might happen in each quadrant, then overlay effort to enforce.
Examples of technology and cheatingSchool SucksFree Term PapersTurn It In
http://www.glass-castle.com/clients/www-nocheating-org/adcouncil/research/cheatingbackgrounder.htmlMaking it tougher to define cheatingPlagiarism of information is easierQuestion and answer sharing
http://www.schools.com/news/most-common-cheating-charge-in-college-is-plagiarism-study-finds.htmlStudy found plagiarismwas the most common cheating charge
Instructor changes answers, falsifies records, provides questions and or answers, looks the other ways, mark students as in attendance even if they are not present
Student and preceptor discuss a skill they might have or could have performed on a patient such as applying CPAP or needle decompression of chest. After thorough discussion of procedure preceptor signs off student as “completing the skill” Change the scenario … this is the final skill the student needs. Will have to keep doing clinical skills until complete.
Other potential scenarios … are you having these discussions with students and preceptors?Say they did something they didn’t do – blood pressure, other skillsReceive signature from non-FTO and try to get credit later, or plead ignorance if confrontedNot reporting an error, mistake – intentional or unintentional errorsPrevious scenario … Ask to be “checked off” or “signed off” for skill discussed rather than skill performed
After the break we are going to take a quiz ….
http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/16/just-how-common-is-sat-cheating/ETS, administers SAT for the college board spends 22.5 million per year on test security 2 million SAT tests per yearNREMT Test Item ConstructionInstruction item construction
Promotional examsCertification and licensureexamsHigh Risk BehaviorRemember, radiologists, nurses, airplane pilots, college bound honors students are taking high risks on high stakes testing. EMS students are not significantly differentFor the risks to be high students must know there are consequences and they have a chance of being caught
The patient cheated deathI am going to show you a shortcut for remembering how to calculate this drug dosageUse these mnemonics or acronyms to rememberFocus on test prepMemorization of a sequence of steps
List techniques … Is it a barrier to low tech or high tech cheating techniques?
Cheating is tough to catch, prove, and actually lead to discipline. Need evidence to suspect/accuse, need a policy that has actually been violated, then need to have a process to enforce policy, with consequences that make it worth the effort.
Culture encourages and rewards:Group problem solving, group actionCreative and novel problem solvingLimited supervision in a highly decentralized work environment
Might not even exist …. Can’t enforce if it doesn’t exist
Needs to be in your policy
Question Format Lend Themselves to Cheating
Technology makes it easy to find and share techniques, as well as changing how cheating happens and how it is monitored.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGhOYbPgETQYouTube, How to Cheat on a Test
Google how to cheat on a test“how to cheat on a test”
It might be this easy … Top 2 as rated by large group of nursing students as to what works … Instructor announcing penalties for cheatingAsking students not to cheat
(Academic Dishonesty PDF from AZ)Starts with institutions and instructors Role model academic honestyDiscussHonor codeValues educationDeveloping relationshipsEmphasis on becoming a paramedic rather than passing certification examTesting – what is necessary to test and how do you test it?
– not copying 12 leads without attribution, not downloading YouTube videos vs. playing from YouTube, …
Are you reinforcing what you think you are reinforcingCutting cornersReinforcement of behaviorsConsequences match severity
Early in EMT class, paramedic class, or as CE module on “Ethics” have a scenario based discussion about honesty and cheatingIs this behavior cheating? What are the impacts of this behavior?What should the consequences be for that behavior? Create really specific scenarios …
Foothill College Paramedic ProgramIncidence of cheating is lower in medical schools with an honor code (PA Students Attitudes and Behaviors Towards Cheating and Academic Integrity)
Imperial Community College District Allied HealthHonor code also helps students know what to do should they observe cheating (PA Students Attitudes and Behaviors Towards Cheating and Academic Integrity)
Imperial Community College District Allied Health
Needs to be failure to perform not for harm caused by failure to perform
http://www.icarevalues.org/Image of poster … on my shelfVision Statement:“The founders of the I CARE program envision a world where individuals of all ages understand the importance of ethics and values as they pertain to a person's character and through their actions embody the values of Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Empathy in their daily lives.”Re cheating “Integrity” and “Accountability” seem especially relevant
Admissions process can be used to screen for cheating experience and attitudes towards cheating … especially at paramedic level. Behavior based questions What did you do when a partner cut corners on rig checkDescribe a time you witnessed or suspected cheating, how did you handle it. Also time to inform of honor code (let cheaters self select out of program)
Might be pretty rare in actual paramedic coursesMore common in other academic and general study coursesHabits developed in those courses will carry over to paramedic instructionPrevention (some from http://www.schools.com/news/most-common-cheating-charge-in-college-is-plagiarism-study-finds.html)http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_educational_tips_on_plagiarism_prevention.htmlDefine what it is. Many don’t understand what it is. Give examples of intentional and unintentional plagiarism practices (search vs..research, peer pressure, confusion about expectations. Define proper citation practicesProvide clear/precise guidelinesVerify content with something like TurnItIn.com
Testing – what is necessary to test and how do you test it?Do you need a test?Completion might be enough
Reward Learning over Completion
Consider testing before training
DrillsFunctional exercisesFull scale exercises
Educations (and students) should begin with the end in mind. If I know the questions are likely to be trivial knowledge retention I am unlikely to push myself to learn beyond the trivial.These are also very easy questions to recall and share with others. What is a better question?
In 140 characters or less explain airway managementWide open, general, generic questions with no real expectation that they will be answered with any depth. Guess what Greg is thinking, answer in as few words as possible, and then share that answer
RememberingUnderstanding
ApplyingAnalyzingEvaluating
(Academic Dishonesty PDF from AZ)Clear test taking instructions – dos and don’ts for test takingRoom set-up, placement of students around the roomProvide any required suppliesMonitorVideo tapeRemove bags, books, coats etcDisable all smart phones (and consequences for using)Turn off wireless hotspot in classroom Confiscate electronicsChange passwords and login verification frequently
Team or Squad Learning
These are 2 great products that made something we already had better. I know one for sure is the handiwork of an EMS professional. Bring the cultural aspects of ingenuity, mash-ups, making it work, group learning, innovation into the EMS training.