Promoting Academic Integrity and Student Learning in Online Biology Courses

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an abrupt shift in biology courses, with many transitioning to online instruction. This has led to an increased concern about academic integrity and cheating in online courses.

In the nexus of integrity and surveillance: Proctoring (re)considered

“…Hsu (2021) situates discussions around online proctoring in the context of how it impacts student learning . He highlights concerns including a lack of access to quiet and private spaces, the issue of bandwidth and limited technological access, the impact of increased anxiety on student performance, and concerns about student privacy and security.…”

“…However, they also discuss their uses of Examplify, which records keystrokes during assessment 'though students were unaware of this capability' (p. 3415). Hsu (2021) raises the impact of online proctoring on student anxiety and student performance, and points to concerns about student privacy and security. Although he proposes steps to alleviate student stress, the continued use of online proctoring is not questioned, nor are the concerns about student privacy addressed.…”

“…While the authors state that 'Dr. Proctor addresses network and privacy issues, affordability, student stress, and availability to underprivileged communities', they do not present evidence as to how their AI-based proctoring tool achieves this Hsu (2021). situates discussions around online proctoring in the context of how it impacts student learning.…”

COVID-19 Academic Integrity Violations and Trends: A Rapid Review

“…The shift presented an assessment challenge given traditional lab-based courses were forced to move away from hands on application and assessment to written assessment tools. In-person lab-based science courses using more quantitative assessment approaches are not typically aligned the written assessments to demonstrate competency [9,10]. The movement from instructor oversight of hands on application and assessment to online written assessments provided opportunity for cheating behaviors not possible in the laboratory setting.…”

“…The movement from instructor oversight of hands on application and assessment to online written assessments provided opportunity for cheating behaviors not possible in the laboratory setting. Typically, assessment approaches in more analytic based science-based courses are more heavily weighted on knowledge of complex concepts as opposed to writing skills [9][10][11]. Unfortunately, particularly in the early onset of the online transition, there was limited instruction and skill building for lab-based faculty to quickly design online assessments activities or address academic integrity considerations in these settings.…”