Academic integrity in A&P

About a year ago, I posted a brief item in my blog The A&P Student about academic honesty.  It succinctly describes what "academic integrity" is and explains clearly why it's in a student's own best interest to cultivate and practice academic integrity.

One of the most important points this post makes is this:

Research shows that people who practice dishonesty become more dishonest over time. Yikes.  Apparently, it's so easy to get in the habit of cheating that it soon becomes part of who you are and what you always do!  Don't let that happen to you . . . it will only cause misery.

This is an especially important lesson for those going into either the health professions or medical research.

After reading in What the Best College Teachers Do that professors recognized as "master teachers" have all abandoned fretting over futile attempts at building elaborate layers of defense against cheating for a more effective strategy: developing a culture of integrity in the course.  The old "honor system" really does work in a context of reasonable precautions!

Part of my effort to put this approach into practice is to have my students read my blog posting Why be honest? near the beginning of each semester.  I announce this assignment while relating the recurring nightmare that I think most of us share:

In my dream, I wake from unconsciousness as I'm being wheeled into an emergency room, strapped to a gurney. A health professional (for me it's a nurse) is covering my face with a mask as she (sometimes it's a he) says, "hey Dr. Patton, remember me?  I was the one you flunked in A&P for cheating.  I'm here to take care of you now."  I try to break free, but the straps hold tight.  I try to shout out, but the mask prevents it.  I wake up in a cold sweat.

I explain that this could be any of us.  Or our family or friends.  And ask them all to join me in creating a culture of integrity in our course.

Consider putting a link to Why be honest? in your course material.  Perhaps even make it required reading.  For example, my friend Gary Heisermann includes a link and related question about the content in his first homework assignment, which reviews and emphasizes various important policies in his A&P course. I include it in each course syllabus.


Want to know more?

• Why be honest?
• Kevin Patton
• The A&P Student 5 Jan 12
• [Provide this link to your students in your syllabus or online course resources.]
• my-ap.us/zHHd7H

• What the Best College Teachers Do
• Ken Bain
• Harvard University Press April 30, 2004
• [In stories both humorous and touching, Bain describes examples of ingenuity and compassion, of students' discoveries of new ideas and the depth of their own potential. What the Best College Teachers Do is a treasure trove of insight and inspiration for first-year teachers and seasoned educators. ]
• amzn.to/YhiYnu

• The "Truth" About Why We Lie, Cheat, And Steal
• NPR staff
• NPR.org 4 June 2012
• [Interview with Dan Areily, author of The Honest Truth about Dishonesty, and current research on dishonesty.]
• my-ap.us/YhjJwD

• The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty
• Dan Ariely
• Harper June 5, 2012
• [The New York Times bestselling author of Predictably Irrational and The Upside of Irrationality returns with thought-provoking work to challenge our preconceptions about dishonesty and urge us to take an honest look at ourselves.]
• amzn.to/UctZ5G

Image by Hariadhi