“This Is Anonymous, Right?” A Qualitative Study of Why Higher Education Students Cheat

Academic dishonesty occurs in higher education. Students who choose to cheat will find a way no matter the assessment type, learning environment modality, and deterrents. Academic integrity in online assessments has been prevalent even before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, due to the recent increase in online learning modalities, cheating is at the top of faculty concerns, and many instructors believe that online assessments open the door for cheating. I conducted a root causal analysis using an improvement science framework to identify why students cheat in higher education. This study identified two major themes of reasons students participate in academic dishonesty. First, the pressure of grades and GPA influence students to cheat. Second, personal pressures such as family expectations, time management skills (or lack thereof), and education expenses can lead students to believe they have no other options but to cheat. Recommendations to alleviate grade and student pressures include a steering committee to identify updates to current policies and procedures related to GPA, a required academic integrity course for all students, time management and study resources for students, and assessment training for faculty. Educational leadership can create and implement interventions to help address the student pressures and, therefore, decrease the amount of academic dishonesty at higher education institutions

Pinocchio in Littleton

In this Article, Professor Kell proposes a substantial change in policy direction in the wake of school shootings and other tragedies involving young people\u27s abilities to make mature decisions. First, the Article questions the current state of the law which exclusively deems young people to be mature based on birthdays and bad acts, rather than on any concept of demonstrated or earned levels of responsibility. Next, an alternative legal framework is envisioned recognizing young people as increasingly competent citizens who must develop psychosocial maturity, including learning how to judge and utilize advice from others such as parents and peers, weigh risks, and forgo short-term gain for longer-term satisfaction. This alternative framework is then applied to identify initial steps toward legal reform in the contexts of education, employment, community, and government. In conclusion, the Article calls for the development of new stories, framed by law, to foster opportunities for young people to mature and exercise their decision-making abilities

Trialing project-based learning in a new EAP ESP course: A collaborative reflective practice of three college English teachers

Currently in many Chinese universities, the traditional College English course is facing the risk of being ‘marginalized’, replaced or even removed, and many hours previously allocated to the course are now being taken by EAP or ESP. At X University in northern China, a curriculum reform as such is taking place, as a result of which a new course has been created called ‘xue ke’ English. Despite the fact that ‘xue ke’ means subject literally, the course designer has made it clear that subject content is not the target, nor is the course the same as EAP or ESP. This curriculum initiative, while possibly having been justified with a rationale of some kind (e.g. to meet with changing social and/or academic needs of students and/or institutions), this is posing a great challenge for, as well as considerable pressure on, a number of College English teachers who have taught this single course for almost their entire teaching career. In such a context, three teachers formed a peer support group in Semester One this year, to work collaboratively co-tackling the challenge, and they chose Project-Based Learning (PBL) for the new course. This presentation will report on the implementation of this project, including the overall designing, operational procedure, and the teachers’ reflections. Based on discussion, pre-agreement was reached on the purpose and manner of collaboration as offering peer support for more effective teaching and learning and fulfilling and pleasant professional development. A WeChat group was set up as the chief platform for messaging, idea-sharing, and resource-exchanging. Physical meetings were supplementary, with sound agenda but flexible time, and venues. Mosoteach cloud class (lan mo yun ban ke) was established as a tool for virtual learning, employed both in and after class. Discussions were held at the beginning of the semester which determined only brief outlines for PBL implementation and allowed space for everyone to autonomously explore in their own way. Constant further discussions followed, which generated a great deal of opportunities for peer learning and lesson plan modifications. A reflective journal, in a greater or lesser detailed manner, was also kept by each teacher to record the journey of the collaboration. At the end of the semester, it was commonly recognized that, although challenges existed, the collaboration was overall a success and they were all willing to continue with it and endeavor to refine it to be a more professional and productive approach

Comparative Multiple Case Study into the Teaching of Problem-Solving Competence in Lebanese Middle Schools

This multiple case study investigates how problem-solving competence is integrated into teaching practices in private schools in Lebanon. Its purpose is to compare instructional approaches to problem-solving across three different programs: the American (Common Core State Standards and New Generation Science Standards), French (Socle Commun de Connaissances, de Compétences et de Culture), and Lebanese with a focus on middle school (grades 7, 8, and 9). The project was conducted in nine schools equally distributed among three categories based on the programs they offered: category 1 schools offered the Lebanese program, category 2 the French and Lebanese programs, and category 3 the American and Lebanese programs. Each school was treated as a separate case. Structured observation data were collected using observation logs that focused on lesson objectives and specific cognitive problem-solving processes. The two logs were created based on a document review of the requirements for the three programs. Structured observations were followed by semi-structured interviews that were conducted to explore teachers' beliefs and understandings of problem-solving competence. The comparative analysis of within-category structured observations revealed an instruction ranging from teacher-led practices, particularly in category 1 schools, to more student-centered approaches in categories 2 and 3. The cross-category analysis showed a reliance on cognitive processes primarily promoting exploration, understanding, and demonstrating understanding, with less emphasis on planning and executing, monitoring and reflecting, thus uncovering a weakness in addressing these processes. The findings of the post-observation semi-structured interviews disclosed a range of definitions of problem-solving competence prevalent amongst teachers with clear divergences across the three school categories. This research is unique in that it compares problem-solving teaching approaches across three different programs and explores underlying teachers' beliefs and understandings of problem-solving competence in the Lebanese context. It is hoped that this project will inform curriculum developers about future directions and much-anticipated reforms of the Lebanese program and practitioners about areas that need to be addressed to further improve the teaching of problem-solving competence

Soft skills in health careers programs: a case study of a regional vocational technical high school

The purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of the ways in which educational experiences might differ between a regional vocational technical high school (RVTH) and short-term career-training programs. A particular regional vocational technical high school was selected for its outstanding academic records and placement rates, and a particular industry--healthcare--was chosen for its high demand and short supply of labor in the state. The study is a qualitative case study that primarily utilized in-depth, one-on-one interviews with semi-structured questions. The participants of this study fall into one of three groups: seniors in RVTH health services, students in the RVTH postsecondary practical nursing (PN) program, and certified nursing assistants (CNAs) who received CNA training from short-term career-training programs in Massachusetts. The researcher collected additional qualitative data through various sources such as classroom observation, field notes, program descriptions, lesson plans, syllabi, and class materials. The interview data were transcribed, segmented, and coded; any relevant qualitative data were later added to supplement the interview data. There were four consistent areas raised across participants that suggest salient components of their experiences. First, school choice was made by students themselves in the cases of RVTH seniors, which might have influenced the culture of togetherness and acceptance at RVTH. Second, shop instructors played an important role in creating a school culture where students helped each other and accepted everyone. In particular, the instructors’ emotional support seemed to differentiate the educational experiences of RVTH seniors from the students in other programs. Third, all RVTH seniors frequently identified soft skills such as communication and time-management skills when reflecting on their education experiences whereas participants in the short-term programs focused on technical skills. Lastly, RVTH seniors strongly believed they were career-ready. The findings of the current research on the workplace skills students acquired in the programs showed some congruencies with the existing inter-industry literature that described the importance of certain skills, such as communication and professionalism. Participants from alternative career-training programs did not identify the same types of elements in their educational experiences. The study ends with implications by contemplating what aspects of RVTH can be replicated in which settings

Online Education Experiences Among Teachers Within Technical College System of Georgia Institutions: A Multiple Case Study

The purpose of this case study was to explore technical education teachers’ perceptions on the use of e-learning within the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) institutions. This central research question provides the lens needed to explore forces that promote or discourage the use of online instruction administered by teachers. The theory guiding this study was the diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory, developed by E.M. Rogers approximately 60 years ago. The DOI theory provides the theoretical framework needed to assess the adopter, the innovation, and the type of communication (evaluation) needed to facilitate sustained adoption in the future. Increased adoption of e-learning instruction is a key assumption of DOI research. Two technical colleges provided the setting for data collection. The methodological approach utilized qualitative data collection methods (face-to-face interviews, document analysis, and a focus group session) to establish the context and mechanisms associated with barriers and benefits of online instruction within technical education. Data analysis continued throughout the study, until a point of saturation was reached. Semi-structured interviews combined with a focus group related to technical education online education experiences will produced codes. Data analysis consisted of a process called cyclical coding, further identifying recurring codes and ultimately themes within the data. Findings in this research highlight the degree of innovation adoption among instructors as well as identify factors that contribute to or discourage adoption of online instruction within the selected cases

A Framework for University Admission in Saudi Arabia (UASA): Current and Potential Position

The motivation for this research is to improve the quality of university admission systems in Saudi Arabia under the rapid changes in information technology (IT), including decision support systems [DSS]. This is achieved by introducing elements of DSS and knowledge management techniques, rationalizing the decision-making process, and, consequently, attaining the optimum exploitation of the available resources to achieve agreed targets. This research aims to explain the role of DSS in improving the efficiency of university admission systems in Saudi Arabia. In addition, it is concerned with: a) describing the existing system for admission in Saudi universities; b) testing the existing system for admission to Saudi universities using a set of commonly agreed indicators for monitoring the admission of students enrolled in universities, with a view to improving the overall process of admission and consequently enhancing the existing educational national system in Saudi universities; and c) the development of a framework for designing a proposed admission system in the universities of Saudi Arabia. An empirical study was conducted based on a survey carried out with a sample of employees in the admissions departments in some selected Saudi Universities in order to evaluate the current admission systems. In addition, a survey carried out with a sample of students in some selected Saudi Universities in order to evaluate the proposed admission system. This research revealed that the current systems for admission in Saudi universities are flexible and easy to use and update, but not suitable because it is not comprehensive for admission in all universities and wastes time, effort and money. Therefore, it needs to be developed into one central system. For the purposes of the optimum exploitation of the available resources (such as: qualified people, modern equipment, money and so on) in Saudi universities it is necessary to improve the admission systems by applying DSS. Thus, applying the e-admission system will help to improve the current admission systems in Saudi universities to be one central admission system. In order to develop the effectiveness of the current systems for admission to Saudi universities it is necessary to apply DSS appropriately and this is dependent on modern IT. In addition, to improve the current University admission systems in Saudi Arabia it is necessary to make its database more comprehensive of all Saudi universities, more integrated with other related databases, and more relevant to all Saudi universities. Furthermore, to meet the necessary requirements to implement this requires an advanced database, a relevant feedback system, qualified people and a good models base. The researcher has proposed a framework for the admission system for all Saudi universities in order to develop the admission process within those universities. As the current systems of admission in all Saudi universities is not comprehensive and no longer relevant, it is necessary to apply the proposed system for admission as soon as possible. This will help in improving the efficiency of the admission system in Saudi universities. With the proposed system, students are only required to submit one application form which covers all universities instead of submitting several application forms to several universities. Through this process, they will be offered only one place at one university at any given time. This will save effort and time, and reduce cost

Utah Farm & Home Science Vol. 24 No. 1, March 1963

Controlling tomato curly top with resistant varieties, by M. W. Martin and O. S. Cannon 3 Our limited natural resources, by L. A. Stoddart 6 Zoning to conserve our land resources, by L. Wilson and A. Erickson 12 The status of our federal grant lands, by E. B. Wennergren and N. K. Roberts 14 Reducing fruit tree breakage, by D. R. Walker 16 Computers speed research, by R. L. Hurst and Lois Cox 18 Education beyond high school in two areas of Utah, by T. R. Black and D. E. Poplin 2