Title: Strategies for acting with integrity

STEM icon. Created by Stefaniada Voichita. Use under CC 4.0 BY-NC.

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Introduction

Lesson 6: Strategies for acting with integrity

Please select the sidebar’s tabs on the left or use the navigations controls to progress through the lesson.

Navigation instructions

- It is recommended that you use Google Chrome or Safari browsers for this lesson.
- Please select the lesson's tabs on the left-hand sidebar to progress through the content.
- Use the < Prev. and Next > buttons to go from one slide to another.
- Select the Check button to submit your answers and get feedback.

Keyboard navigation

- Use Tab + Enter keys on your keyboard to go to the next slides and Shift + Tab + Enter to go to the previous slides.
- Use Tab and Up/Down or Left/Right arrows to navigate & Enter or Spacebar to activate menus (e.g., turn rotatable cards, multicards, drop-down cards).
- For activities, use Tab & Up/Down or Left/Right arrows to select options, Enter or Spacebar keys to submit answers for feedback (e.g., multiple-choice, true/false), or drop draggable options onto the desired drop areas (e.g., drag and drop).

It should take you approximately 10 minutes to complete the lesson.

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Learning outcomes:

- Recognize factors that can lead to academic misconduct.
- Appreciate the need for time management.
- Identify the best strategies and campus resources to uphold academic integrity.

Factors that lead to academic misconduct

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It’s important to recognize the factors that can lead to academic misconduct to ensure they are addressed and prevented.

The vast majority of students do not enter their program thinking they will cheat. Rather, several unexpected and changing factors can contribute to a poor academic decision.

ⓘ According to Brimble (2016), “...a small population of students cheat simply to avoid doing the work”.

Often, academic misconduct is influenced by:

- Financial pressure.
- Family or peer pressure.
- Taking classes in a language that is not native to the student.
- Time pressure & poor time management.
- Procrastination and lack of motivation.
- Poor organizational, notetaking or study skills.
- Mental health issues or anxiety.
- Dissatisfaction or disengagement with the instructor and/or learning environment.
- Not understanding the course material.

Check your knowledge

Let’s check your understanding of when you are more or less likely to make a bad academic decision or engage in academic misconduct.

Type in ‘more’ or ‘less’ for the following scenarios:

Fill in the blanks typing in the words ‘more’ or ‘less’ for the following scenarios:

Q: When you are interested in the course and understand the assignments you are [...] likely to engage in academic misconduct.

When you are struggling to juggle multiple things, like a part time job and trying to make good grades, but aren't taking time to study or go to class, you are [...] likely to engage in academic misconduct.

When you are feeling healthy, physically active, well-rested, and socially engaged, you are [...] likely to engage in academic misconduct.

When you know where to find help and access it for support with your school, work or personal and mental health issues, you are [...] likely to engage in academic misconduct.
A: less; more; less; less

Time management, organization and study skills

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Time management and organization are key to meeting your academic goals and staying on track.

Unlike high schools, most post- secondary schedules have some flexibility, it is up to you to learn how to navigate your new schedule.

When you go to school, you’ll need to take into consideration the time and activities involved with:

- Attending classes, labs, and tutorials.
- Practicing problems and completing assignments.
- Studying for quizzes or tests.
- Learning a new community, province/state or country (if you moved away from home).
- Commuting or seeking transportation to/from your school.
- Living in a communal space like residence or shared housing (if you moved away from home).
- Preparing your own meals or using a cafeteria.
- Doing your own laundry and cleaning.
- Social activities with roommates or classmates.
- Traveling home to visit family and friends (if you moved away from home).
- Working part-time or volunteering.
- Practicing regular self-care activities.

ⓘ There is a lot to balance along with your academic responsibilities! This means you will need to develop skills to manage everything.

Differences between high school and post-secondary

When you start post-secondary school, you might not have been exposed to or developed all the skills you need to succeed.

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Here are some important differences between high school and post-secondary school:

- Deadlines might not have been enforced in high school, but they are strict in post-secondary.
- Students in post-secondary are expected to prepare for classes ahead of time, and there is generally more work to do outside of class than there was in high school.
- Second chances or redoing assignments or tests might have been permitted in high school, but this is rarely allowed in post-secondary.
- Cheating may not have been punished in high school, but you can be given zero on an assignment and even fail your course in post-secondary.
- Using citations may not have been covered in-depth in high school but they will be required to be formatted correctly in much of your work in post-secondary.
- Lastly, you might have not had much of an opportunity to practice your communication and study skills but now you’ll need them for each class.

Strategies and campus resources to uphold academic integrity (AI)

It is important to be proactive in upholding academic integrity. Let’s review several valuable strategies.

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Make a habit of connecting with your instructor and/or TA for help.

They can:

- Answer questions about course content.
- Help you practice applying course concepts to questions.
- Clarify requirements for assessments (e.g., if collaboration or aids are permitted).
- Mentor you in other aspects of the discipline.

ⓘ You can reach out to them via e-mail or visit their office hours. They want to see you succeed in their course!

Following up for support

We’ve indicated that your instructor can be a great source of help, but we recognize that not all instructors may feel approachable to you.

If you have attempted more than once to connect with an instructor for help and you do not get a response, or do not get the help that you need, here are some options:

- Try one more time, perhaps they did not see your original message or didn’t understand what you were asking.
- Try your TA.
- Meet with your academic advisor.
- Ask a tutor on your campus.
- Explore Faculty or department specific help centres or resources (e.g., extra study groups, special tutorials, student societies etc.).

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Improving your academic skills

Everyone struggles at one point or another with managing their time and keeping up in their courses. Your institution has several resources to help you develop your academic skills. These resources may relate to helping you with:

- Time management.
- Note-taking and reading skills.
- Taking tests and exams.
- Creating goals for yourself.

Your institution may also have peer coaches or trained tutors to help you. It can be helpful to learn from another student who has had a similar experience.

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Mental health

Did you know there is a connection between poor mental health and academic misconduct (Eaton and Turner, 2020)?

Stress is a normal part of being a student and periods of stress will continue in your future career. Stress helps us grow and pushes us to improve. However, if the stress becomes overwhelming, or you are struggling to cope, it is important for you reach out for mental health help.

Consider booking an appointment with a counsellor to:

- Address anxiety or depression.
- Improve your mood.
- Manage your emotions.
- Increase motivation.
- Identify stress management strategies.
- Build your resiliency.

ⓘ Your mental health is a priority. If you are struggling, reach out for help.

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Academic advisors

Academic advisors are here to help you achieve your academic goals, including planning your courses, and explaining academic requirements and policies.

To make sure you are staying on track in your program, proactively check in with your academic advisor.

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Supports for co-ops, internships, work integrated learning, and professional settings

Just as it’s important to reach out for help in your academics, it’s important to utilize resources in other areas of your life.

When you are participating in experiential learning or work integrated learning, internships, practicums, volunteer placements or other professional setting, you might not be aware of resources that are available to support you, should you be having any challenges.

Here are some examples of who can help you:

- Your immediate supervisor or the person overseeing your work is a good place to start.
- The coordinator of your experiential learning or work integrated learning, internship, practicum, or volunteer placement.
- Coworkers, colleagues, or peers may also be helpful.
- Don’t forget the other resources for personal and mental health that we previously mentioned! Those are always available to you.

ⓘ Even though your work experiences are outside of your academics, integrity is still a key expectation for how you will conduct yourself.

Check your knowledge

Zhenhao, Richard, and Saveena come to you for advice. Read the scenarios below and drag and drop the suitable campus resource from the right-hand side over the student you would recommend it to.

Scenario matching activity

- [Image: Saveena]
- [Image: Richard]
- [Image: Zhenhao]
- instructor and/or TA
- campus counsellor
- academic advisor
- 1. Zhenhao is struggling to understand concepts in their course and is feeling nervous about the test next week.
- 2. Richard is feeling anxious lately and is struggling with motivation and a low mood.
- 3. Saveena isn’t enjoying her courses and is considering switching to another program. She is not sure what the requirements are to switch.
Q: Zhenhao is struggling to understand concepts in their course and is feeling nervous about the test next week. 
A: instructor and/or TA
Q: Richard is feeling anxious lately and is struggling with motivation and a low mood.
A: campus counsellor
Q: Saveena isn’t enjoying her courses and is considering switching to another program. She is not sure what the requirements are to switch.
A: academic advisor

Module 6: wrap up

In this module you learned about:

- Factors that can lead students to resort to academic misconduct.
- Strategies for managing your time and getting organized.
- Campus resources and supports that can help you succeed and maintain academic integrity.

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Congratulations!

You’ve completed the 6th Academic Integrity in STEM module.

References

Brimble, M. (2016). Why Students Cheat: An Exploration of the Motivators of Student Academic Dishonesty in Higher Education. In T. Bretag (Ed.), Handbook of Academic Integrity (pp. 365–382). Singapore: Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-098-8_58

Eaton, S. & Turner, K. 2020. Exploring academic integrity and mental health during COVID-19: Rapid review.  Journal of Contemporary Education, Theory and Research 4(2), 35-41.

Credit and licensing

Content Creators: Amanda McKenzie, Erin Nearing, Maria Barichello, Stephanie Mutch, Mike Chee, and Kari D. Weaver.

Instructional and Graphic Designers: Stefaniada Voichita, Hiba Zubairi, Cathy Sebastian, Anthony Maocheia-Ricci, Mike Chee, and Kari D. Weaver.

Additional feedback was generously contributed by many faculty, staff, and students at the University of Waterloo, McMaster University, Queen’s University, and the University of Guelph.

This module was created with financial support from a 2021 eCampus Ontario Virtual Learning Strategy Grant and is licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution-Non Commercial License (CC 4.0 BY-NC).

Attribution may be indicated as follows:
McKenzie, A., Nearing, E., Barichello, M., Mutch, S., Weaver, K. D., Voichita, S., Chee, M., Zubairi, H., Sebastian, C., & Maocheia-Ricci, A. (2022). Strategies for acting with integrity. eCampus Ontario. Link to repository. Used under CC 4.0 BY-NC.

For more information or to request permission for a non-licensed use, please email academic.integrity@uwaterloo.ca

Territorial acknowledgement

This project was led by individuals who live and work in Waterloo, which is the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo’s main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is centralized within our Indigenous Initiatives Office .

This concludes the lessons on Academic Integrity for Undergraduate STEM students. Thank you for taking the time to complete them!

Feel free to share these lessons with others and refer back to them as needed.