University department cracking down on plagiarism, absenteeism

The university's Department of Primary Education is cracking down on plagiarism and absenteeism among its students in major reforms aimed at improving the general standard of Malta's future primary school teachers.

Students could face expulsion if caught plagiarising more than once and would have to retake a credit if they fail to turn up at lectures without a valid reason.

The reforms revolve largely around accountability and assessment. For instance, lecturers are obliged to give written feedback to students on tests and assignments and meet regularly with them to discuss their dissertations.

A review of the course and the way lectures are delivered has also led to the elimination of a number of credits taught by part-time lecturers.

The department, which is part of the Faculty of Education, employs 13 full-time staff and turns out some 50 graduates a year with a B.Ed (Hons.) degree in primary education. The reforms were instituted by department head Carmel Borg, who has been at the helm for 18 months, in consultation with other lecturers.

Dr Borg feels he has a moral responsibility towards the pupils, "especially disadvantaged children", whom the department's students will one day teach.

So he would like to provide the pupils with only those new teachers who are of proven dedication and quality - thus the crackdown on plagiarism and absenteeism on the one hand and the increased feedback to students on the other.

Dr Borg also feels morally responsible towards the objectives of the new national minimum curriculum, which he had a major say in drawing up.

"We cannot have teachers who are not able to or who are not committed to implementing such an important document. We want to produce teachers who have the right attitude," he said in an interview.

In his view, plagiarism reflects a wrong attitude - even though many students may not be fully aware that what they are doing is unacceptable.

"Students come schooled in it," he explained. "They don't see any problem with it because when, for example, they were given projects to do at school they would copy material word for word from the encyclopedia or the internet, and obtain good marks for their work. Nobody ever told them that what they were doing was dishonest."

Plagiarism also tended to be committed by students weak in English and unable to paraphrase chunks of text, he added.

Intentional or not, he does not want students to leave university with a lax attitude to plagiarism - and inculcate this attitude in their future pupils in turn.

Hence, the department is using the latest technology available to detect the use of text downloaded from the internet, which is how the plagiarism mainly takes place.

Last year, 45 'Fs' were given for plagiarised material in assignments, and students are warned they could be expelled if caught a second time.

The department is also organising seminars for first-year students on research, writing and referencing skills. "We are equipping students with the tools to avoid plagiarism."

Another problem tackled by Dr Borg and his staff is absenteeism.

"We have had students in the past who basically absented themselves from all lectures in certain credits because they were working in a job at that particular time."

The department has now introduced a policy which stipulates that students who are absent more than three times without a valid reason will not have their assignment corrected - which means they would have to retake the credit.

"I have been accused by some of my colleagues of treating the students like kids. But attending lectures regularly is part of their professional formation. If they develop the habit of missing classes here, they will think nothing of it when they become teachers. These measures have been introduced to avoid that happening."

It's not just students who have been made more accountable, however.

Every day, Dr Borg makes it a point to call a few students into his office to ask them for their views about the course, including the standard of teaching.

"It's informal but effective. I've tried to create an emotional atmosphere in which students are comfortable to open up.

"If out of 130 students, 100 complain that a particular credit is a waste of time, that's a good indication that they are not getting anything useful from it.

"We have therefore eliminated some credits given by part-time lecturers and replaced them by others. Most of the credits now fit into the department's vision: the course is 95 per cent NMC compatible."

Lecturers are also bound to fill in assessment forms at the end of each unit giving comments on the student's skills (such as analytical, writing, research skills etc).

The measure forms part of the new emphasis being placed by Dr Borg on formative assessment, a process by which students are better able to reflect on their work and develop, through enhanced self-awareness, into fine professionals.

"We cannot continue to dish out the marks only, leaving students in the dark about where their strengths and weaknesses lie. Feedback is a basic educational right. Students need to know how they got their marks."

As for dissertations, supervisors and their students are obliged to fill in a 'progress diary' showing the date of each meeting, the subjects discussed, advice given and agenda for the next meeting.

Dr Borg said the document would also help the assessment board grade the dissertation. "We have had some excellent students in the past obtaining low marks because they have had inadequate tutoring. On the other hand, the progress diary will protect lecturers from false accusations."

In order to provide formative, cumulative assessment, new record and evaluation sheets have been introduced for the teaching practice: at the end of each teaching stint students are given detailed feedback from their tutors on their 'strengths' and 'areas for improvement', so they know precisely what they need to concentrate on in the next cycle.

Another improvement to the teaching practice has been the introduction of a CD Rom that provides templates showing what each component of the practice, such as the lesson plan and the scheme of work, should contain. This avoids different tutors having different expectations of what their students should achieve.

The formative assessment concept is perhaps best represented in the Professional Development Portfolio, one of the first reform measures introduced by the department.

The portfolio, an initiative of the faculty's assessment committee, contains the best examples of a student's work and her reflections on her growth as a teacher. It can be presented at future job interviews along with the teaching practice evaluation sheets.

To boost language skills, the department has introduced a Maltese proficiency test to complement the English proficiency test (administered by the Institute of Linguistics) brought in by the faculty a few years ago.

If students fail to pass either (several repeat attempts are permitted) they will not be able to carry on with the course.

But Dr Borg is still not satisfied.

"I don't think that simply passing a proficiency test is a reflection that the student has covered lost ground." He would like to introduce a 'fail once and you're out' rule.

But he acknowledges that this drastic suggestion might have a tough time getting Senate approval.

The department's vision goes beyond the issues of accountability and assessment. For example, the area of early childhood education will be doubling its course content to include the kindergarten years.

Dr Borg said he was building on his predecessor's successful effort to "internationalise" the department. "This strategy has led to an number of highly successful staff and student exchange programmes."

Staff members had stepped up their participation within the public sphere and in international fora, while their presence in schools had increased considerably through in-house professional development and collaborative research.

Asked if he had met any resistance from his staff to any of the reforms, he said it was negligible.

"Fortunately enough, one of the department's strengths is the harmony among its full-time staff. They contributed a lot to the reforms. This is certainly not a one-man show."