I would wonder what his learning objectives were. I don't think the students could be in trouble since it was their instructor's assignment and the instructor won’t report them. I don't think such an assignment has any pedagogical value unless he is planning to demonstrate that plagiarized writing also often happens to be very bad writing. Or maybe he was saying that, outside of academia, plagiarism makes the world go round. Or maybe he was just saying that the paper can be written, like an essay, without reference citations to sources for each assertion. Or maybe he is just infatuated with being the academic bad boy like the recent prof who gave everyone an A+ on the first day of class. I can't judge the situation third hand but, if it is as advertised, I think the assignment would prove nothing about the student's knowledge or their writing ability. It would be a fruitless waste of time (the ultimate in busy work) as an intellectual exercise.
Rick Dr. Rick Froman, Chair Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Box 3055 x7295 [email protected] http://tinyurl.com/DrFroman Proverbs 14:15 "A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps." -----Original Message----- From: R C Intrieri [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 12:35 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Can you plagiarize your own work? I have found this discussion very enlightening. I have a question of another nature. We have a faculty member who has given students an assignment to write a paper. In his instructions to the students he tells them that they may plagiarize or use any means necessary to complete the paper. We have a very strict academic integrity policy which explicitly states plagiarism is prohibited. The faculty in question revealed his instructions about the paper and his views toward plagiarism in front of a group of nontenured faculty. I learned of this revelation second-hand. I am wondering how members of the list might handle this situation. Thanks. --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
