Re: Plagiarism

[Shonda Brisco <cowboys@OK.AZALEA.NET>]

As a former English teacher-now librarian, I've been there.  My opinion
only:

    Depending upon what was instructed by the teacher and what the student
actually did, I would not know how to respond.  If the teacher had spent
time discussing and instructing how to take notes, how to cite sources, and
how to prepare the bibliography page, then this is certainly a situation in
which the student did not fulfill his requirements.  If, however, the
science teacher assumed that the student knew how to do all of this (perhaps
by merely consulting the English teacher), then I feel that the student
should receive partial credit for his work but that the teacher should
inform the student of how the work needed to be correctly written.

    Sometimes students (at this age) assume that if they just list the
sources at the end of the page then they are fine.  (I've had this occur.)
Many students still do not understand the importance of citing
"correctly"--using MLA or Turabian styles.  Perhaps the teacher is making a
"stern" lesson which will ultimately reflect in English, science, and across
the curriculum--which I commend the teacher for attempting--but will the
student learn from this experience?  (I can remember serious infractions
made in school that have stayed with me throughout my life--spelling or
grammatical errors that resulted in a "0" regardless of the wonderful paper
topic.  Did I remember the errors?  Yes, but I still feel that perhaps some
teachers get hung-up on the wrong lessons.)

    Is it plagiarism?  I don't think the intent was there to deceive but to
compile the material in some type of a format that would be "acceptable" and
fulfill the requirements of the assignment.  Unfortunately the student did
not follow instructions (whether they were spoken or implied) and will not
receive full credit for the work.   If there had been a rubric which
included what part of the assignment would receive points--content 20%,
correct citing of information 15%, etc.--then there might have been a "happy
medium" for all concerned.  This was an example of "throwing the baby out
with the bath water."    Unfortunately everyone lost in this attempt to
teach in two curriculum areas.

Shonda Brisco
LMS
Oklahoma School for the Blind
bso@ok.azalea.net
cowboys@ok.azalea.net

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