The Library and the Writing Centre Build a Workshop: Exploring the Impact of an Asynchronous Online Academic Integrity Course

Abstract

This research investigated the impact of implementing an asynchronous online academic integrity workshop at the University of South Alabama. The workshop featured interactive modules designed to teach students about ethical conduct, impart study skills correlated with academic integrity, and provide instruction on integrating and citing sources. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a pretest and posttest and an open-ended survey. Quantitative analysis indicated statistically significant improvements in scores among the 1,312 participants. Qualitative feedback revealed that students became more aware of the expectations of higher education, including the fact that scholarship is a conversation. These positive results correlate with prior research concerning academic integrity workshops. While previous studies explore particular acts of academic misconduct, especially plagiarism, this study demonstrates how collaboration between a university's library and writing centre can familiarise students with both the practical aspects of academic integrity and the expectations of college coursework and academic culture.

Designing Effective Online Orientation Programs for First-Year University Students

“…Students can choose when they want to engage in the learning opportunity, work at their own pace, and skip sections of the program they feel will not be helpful (Baker & Etherington, 2016;Etherington et al, 2017;Strother, 2002). Online orientation programs can also provide an opportunity to include a variety of different learning activities, allowing students to interact with the content and receive immediate feedback on their learning-something that is not always possible in a large-scale orientation program (Ard & Ard, 2019;Jacklin & Robinson, 2013;Means et al, 2013).…”

“…Research in several different areas of online learning provides support for the potential effectiveness of online orientation programs. Online modules and programs that focused explicitly on topics similar to those covered in traditional orientation programs, such as academic skills (Brown et al, 2008;Moore et al, 2014), academic integrity (Benson et al, 2019), mental health (Gayed et al, 2018), substance use (Beeson et al, 2019), sexual violence (Etherington et al, 2017), and information literacy (Ard & Ard, 2019;Jacklin & Robinson, 2013;Marineo & Shi, 2019), have been found to be effective at achieving the desired learning outcomes and result in student satisfaction. Online orientation programs for online learners, which often focus on program requirements, the technology required for online learning, and available supports and services, have been found to increase a student's sense of readiness (Jones, 2013;Liu, 2019) and decrease the number of technical problems (Jones, 2013).…”

“…Where possible, activities should promote active learning and interaction. Instructors should ensure they are not carried away by features of the online delivery platform; instead, they should remain focused on the pedagogical aspects of content delivery (Ard & Ard, 2019;Drago et al, 2002;Rodrigues et al, 2019). Depending on the medium chosen, instructors should attend to additional design considerations when creating the learning activity.…”

“…This allows the learner to feel connected to what is being said and to more easily incorporate the knowledge into their existing schema. (Ard & Ard, 2019;Benson et al, 2019;Clark & Feldon, 2014).…”

Citation and Referencing Support at an Academic Library: Exploring Student and Faculty Perspectives on Authority and Effectiveness

“…27 Although positioned at the center of the academic experience, librarians are outside the power structure of assessment and grading; they are often part of an interdisciplinary academic skills team. 28 This combination of factors may contribute to libraries becoming a de facto rather than a designated position as the authority for citation expertise.…”