Yankovich 1

Critical Information Literacy:

One-time program on plagiarism avoidance

for undergraduate students

Dayna Yankovich

University of Western Ontario

LIS 9003 – 001 - Dr. Heather Hill

27 November 2017

 Yankovich 2

Academic Library Instruction Plan

Class
One undergraduate psychology class totaling 45 students. All students are in their first year
of the program.

Instructions from Professor

Students are preparing to write their first academic essay of the course. They will be
referencing secondary sources from psychology textbooks and academic articles. The
professor has requested a 75-minute one-time session on plagiarism avoidance. I have
asked that the professor remain present in the room during the session. This will help with
classroom management and will underscore the importance of the topic (Strittmatter &
Bratton, 2016, p. 65). The professor and I have decided to have the students fill out
worksheets throughout the session to help maintain engagement and keep small group
discussions on topic. The worksheets will be handed into the professor at the end of the
session.

Learning Outcomes
1. Review definitions of plagiarism and consider relevant examples of unintentional,
intentional, and contextual plagiarism
2. Discuss organizational code of conduct and academic culture of integrity
3. Explore skills necessary to avoid plagiarism (citation, paraphrasing, note-taking)
4. Cultivate thoughtfulness on the ethical implications of plagiarism
5. Review alternatives to plagiarism with case-based discussion activities

Introduction
1. Introduce myself and my role as an academic librarian at the university (1 minute,
introduction slide on screen, stating topic as plagiarism avoidance within a
university setting)

2. Pass out worksheets (4 minutes - 4 sheets per person – 2 handouts & 2 worksheets)
explain that handouts are necessary for the group activities throughout the session.
The worksheets correspond to the activity handouts. Instruct the students to
fill out their own worksheets as we proceed through the session.

3. Class warm-up (6 minutes total) – Instruct class: turn to the person beside you and
briefly discuss your definition of plagiarism and why you think someone might
plagiarize. Write your answers on your handout sheet. -Wrap up after 3 minutes and
elicit 3-4 answers within the large group. Ensure that the desired responses come
out in large group discussion, if not, fill in as necessary.

Direct Instruction (Objectivist portion of session)

4.a) Define Plagiarism (10 minutes) – slides are projected, including plagiarism statistics for
undergraduates; a general definition; and the three specific definitions we will focus
on:
 Yankovich 3

i) Define Unintentional plagiarism: Students lack the capability or understanding to

properly reference or paraphrase borrowed materials. Examples posted on slides:
poor paraphrasing, paraphrasing without citation, verbatim copying with or without
citation. It takes practice to improve paraphrasing and citing skills which is a
major reason for this session today (Strittmatter & Bratton, 2016).

ii) Define Intentional Plagiarism: The knowing and purposeful passing of another
person’s writing or work as one’s own. The motivation is not to learn but to simply
get the assignment done. Examples posted on slides: ghostwriting (papers
purchased online or acquired from someone else), recycling papers from another
course, purloining (copying someone else’s work without them knowing it),
consensual sharing (Strittmatter & Bratton, 2016).

iii) Define Contextual Plagiarism: Intentional plagiarism arising from poor time
management or outside pressures which prevent a student from properly
preparing his or her own work. A student may feel overwhelmed and need to
release pressure by taking shortcuts. Examples of possible pressures:
Students working to pay for tuition; family worries that impact school work
(Strittmatter & Bratton, 2016).

b) University Academic Code of Conduct (5 minutes) – relevant academic offenses and

penalties in bullet point form on slide. Demonstrate were to find academic policies
on the university website. Remind students that this is not meant to frighten anyone
but it’s good to know what the university expects of all students so that we’re all on
the same page. Slides include a point on the culture of integrity that exists in
academia.
“The code of conduct is meant not to serve as a scare tactic but rather to
facilitate a conversation about the purpose of the university and why students are
there” (Strittmatter & Bratton, 2016, p. 11). Rational: Students may not be aware of
the penalties for academic offenses or that plagiarism constitutes a volition of
academic integrity (this may be especially true for international students or
students from other disciplines).

Student-Centered learning (Constructivist portion of session)

5.a) Working through Unintentional Plagiarism (31 minutes total)

i) Critical reading activity (10 minutes). The students have two paragraphs from a
psychology textbook on their handout. Have them silently read the paragraphs and
fill in answers to the 4 questions on their worksheet. Share together as an entire
class a few responses for each question. This activity is meant to foster critical
reading as the foundation of quality paraphrasing. Ensure that the desired
responses come out in large group discussion, if not, fill in as necessary.

ii) Paraphrasing activity (10 minutes). Group work: arrange into groups of 4 people
who you are sitting close to you. Critically examine the two examples of
 Yankovich 4

paraphrased material in the handout. The goal of this activity is to think critically
about the quality of the paraphrasing. Discuss answers amongst your group but
remember that each member will fill in answers on their own worksheet.

iii) Review of notetaking tips (3 minutes) – a presentation on note-taking tips to

avoid plagiarism (no associated activity). Methods discussed include using a column
technique with page numbers on one side and paraphrased passages on the other.
Point made on use of quotation marks for direct quotations even in notes so as not
to confuse with paraphrases.

iv) Review of citation skills (8 minutes) –presentation on citation basics, including

examples in APA format. Direct students to the library style guides and demonstrate
how to find them on the library website (for various styles). It is often assumed that
students will already have citation skills, but this may not always be the case.
Activity: have students independently complete the APA citation activity on the
worksheet.

b) Working through Intentional Plagiarism (6 minutes)

i) Plagiarism is ethical issue for everyone, even people outside of the university.
Case study: direct students to independently read over the New Yorker vs. Time
Magazine comparison from 2012 (on the handout). If they have laptops, encourage
students to quickly google “Zakaria and plagiarism”. Question for the entire class:
What could the author have done differently? Elicit 2 or 3 answers. Rational:
Plagiarism may have long lasting consequences.

c) Working through Contextual Plagiarism (6 minutes)

i) Review case study: Work together in the same groups of 4 to answer the
corresponding questions to the Jane case study. Rational: Develop critical thinking
on how plagiarism may affect other people around you, including employers, co-
workers, other students, and the university’s reputation as a whole. Brainstorm
other options for Jane, such as speaking to the professor. Elicit answers from the
entire class as time permits. From the literature, the goal of this section is
“heightening ethical sensitivity, as well as [plagiarisms] secondary outcomes,
acknowledging stakeholders and establishing the university’s moral expectations of
students” (Strittmatter & Bratton, 2016, p. 40).

6. Wrap up (6 minutes)
a) Final slide displays writing support centre information and dates for upcoming citation
management software (ex. Zotaro) information sessions at the library
b) Provide 1 minute for any final questions
c) Pass out session feedback form
d) Class instructor will collect evaluations and worksheets – remind students to include
their names on the worksheets but not on the evaluation form
e) Thank you for participating and contributing to todays’ session!
 Yankovich 5

Avoiding Plagiarism Session Handouts

November 27, 2017

Critical Reading Exercise

Effective reading is the beginning of quality paraphrasing. You must have a critical eye and
a solid understanding of the text before you are able to restate it in your own words
(Pecorari, 2013, p. 80).

Independent work: Read the following passage and fill in the answers on your worksheet

“For our discussion in this chapter, we will define aggression as physical or
verbal behavior intended to cause harm. This definition excludes
unintentional harm such as auto accidents or sidewalk collisions; it also
excludes actions that may involve pain as an unavoidable side effect of
helping someone, such as dental treatments or – in the extreme – assisted
suicide. It includes kicks and slaps, threats and insults, even gossip or
snide ‘digs’; and decisions, during experiments, about how much to hurt
someone, such as how much electric shock to impose. It also includes
destroying property, lying, and other behavior whose goal is to hurt.

The definition covers two distinct types of aggression. Animals exhibit
social aggression, characterized by displays of rage; and silent aggression,
as when a predator stalks its prey. Social and silent aggression involve
separate brain regions. In humans, psychologists label the two types
‘hostile’ and ‘instrumental’ aggression. Hostile aggression springs from
anger; its goal is to injure. Instrumental aggression aims to injure, too –
but only as a means to some other end” (Pecorari, 2013, p. 84).

Paraphrasing Exercise
Group work: arrange into groups of 4 with people who you are sitting close to you. The goal of
this activity is to think critically about paraphrasing. Discuss answers amongst your group
but ensure that each member writes the answers on their own worksheet.

Student
Watkins says that the main contribution of pastoral care may be that it brings ‘attention to the
personal and interpersonal dimensions and to give a pupil- centred focus’ (1985: 179).

Source (Watkins, 1985: 179)

The broad ambition of pastoral care is to help pupils benefit more extensively from their school
experience. But this is surely the broad aim of any school, so is it worth saying? Yes, if we go on
to say that the more specific contribution of pastoral care is to bring attention to the personal and
interpersonal dimensions, and to give a pupil-centred focus.
 Yankovich 6

Student
‘Teachers are part of a very complicated social system . . . which determines at times, his or her
view of self and of the system and of the teaching techniques’ (Sarason, p. 32).

Source (Sarason, p. 32)

First, the university critic is part of a very complicated social system that, in diverse ways,
determines his or her view of self and that system.
Source: (Pecorari, 2013, p. 86)

Ethics activity #1 – Intentional Plagiarism




















Source: (Bravender, McClure, & Schaub, 2015, p. 165)

Ethics activity #2 – Contextual Plagiarism

Working in your group of 4, discuss the following scenario and answer the corresponding
questions on your worksheet.

Jane is taking a finance class and is assigned a 10- to 15-page paper that requires her to
analyze the financial health of a company. The paper accounts for 35 percent of the final
grade. Jane is currently interning at a local financial firm and has been quite busy with her
internship and other class assignments. Her financial analysis assignment is due in two
days. Knowing that she doesn’t have time to write a paper, she takes a report from a
“report bank” at the firm, makes slight modifications to it, and submits it to her professor.

Source: (Strittmatter & Bratton, 2016, pp. 45-46)
 Yankovich 7

Worksheet (2 pages)
Please hand these sheets in at the end of the session


Page 1

Name:_________________________________________


How do you define plagiarism? ____________________________________________________________________


Why would someone plagiarize? ___________________________________________________________________

Critical Reading Exercise (work on these individually)

(a) What is the overall purpose of these paragraphs? Answer in one sentence.

______________________________________________________________________________

(b) What does the second paragraph add to the first one?

______________________________________________________________________________

(c) What does the author see as the key elements in this definition of aggression? How do you
know?

______________________________________________________________________________

(d) Are there other ways to define aggression? How do you know?

______________________________________________________________________________
Source: (Pecorari, 2013, p. 84)
 Yankovich 8

Page 2

Paraphrasing Exercise (work on these with a group of four people sitting close to you)

a). Do these students convey the content of their sources clearly? Does it do the justice to the
original meaning of the text? Is it misleading in any way?


___________________________________________________________________________________________________

b) Would a reader who saw only the student’s work, and not the source, form the correct view of
the content of the original source? Why or why not?

______________________________________________________________________________
Source: (Pecorari, 2013, p. 85)

Citing activity

1. Work independently to complete the following citation activity.

In-text citation in APA _______________________________________________________

Reference citation in APA____________________________________________________

Ethics Activity

1. Who is impacted by Jane’s actions? List as many people as you can think of.

______________________________________________________________________________

2. What are some other options Jane could have considered?

______________________________________________________________________________

Source: (Strittmatter & Bratton, 2016, pp. 45-46)
 Yankovich 9

Feedback Questionnaire
For each question, please circle one answer

1. Overall, was this training session useful for you in your understanding of plagiarism?

Not useful Somewhat useful Very useful
1 2 3 4 5

2. Did this training session increase your understanding on how to avoid plagiarism?

Not really Somewhat A lot
1 2 3 4 5

3. Did this training seminar provide you with new ideas or strategies for paraphrasing, citing,
or note-taking?

No new ideas Some new ideas Many new ideas
1 2 3 4 5

4. Did this seminar change your ethical understanding or perspectives on plagiarism?

No change Some change Much change
1 2 3 4 5

5. How effective was the trainer in presenting and discussing the topic of plagiarism in a way
that you could understand?

Not effective Somewhat effective Very effective
1 2 3 4 5

6. Overall, how important is the topic of plagiarism to you in your academic life?

Not important Somewhat important Very important
1 2 3 4 5


Was there anything missed in today’s session that you would have liked to have covered?




Was there anything covered in today’s session that was not helpful or that you found
repetitive?


 Yankovich 10

Brief Review

How I considered student learning, various learning types, and balance of active to
passive learning

My aim for this seminar was a balance between direct instruction (objectivist) and student-

centered (constructivist) leaning. These two styles are very different. Direct instruction

delivers information to students in a top-down approach from the instructor. The students

are engaged inasmuch as they regulate themselves to pay attention and absorb the content.

Direct instruction is useful for a quick delivery of information. This type of teaching is

based on behavioral theories (creating a learning environment to bring about behaviour

change) and cognitive theories (the learning environment as a conduit for information

gathering). The student assumes a less active role in this context, however, a portion of

students will respond well to this environment of listening (Cook & Sittler, 2008). A verbal

explanation of where to find the style guides and how to cite in APA are instances in which

demonstration is appropriate. Direct instruction works well to explain plagiarism

definitions. I included some independent tasks on the worksheet for students who enjoy

working alone.

It was important to me to include many opportunities for student-centered learning

in the session. This method differs from direct instruction as “students must find their own

way by constructing knowledge” (Cook & Sittler, 2008, p. 4). I believe that individual

reflection and small group discussion are crucial elements of plagiarism avoidance

instruction. Some students may be grappling with these concepts for the first time and are

only beginning to form an ethical framework for their university lives. Student-centered

learning affords students an opportunity to discover information for themselves and

consider various perspectives on the issue (Cook & Sittler, 2008). I wanted the students to
 Yankovich 11

think deeply about plagiarism in their own lives and reflect on this within small groups. I

provided case-studies and plagiarism examples as a way for students to think through what

they may have done in these situations. This allows students to role-play ethical decisions

before they are faced with a choice to plagiarize. “The first step to avoiding plagiarism is

having an open discussion about the issue” (Cook & Sittler, 2008, p. 110).

I discovered the WIIFM Principle (“What’s in it for me”) in Char Booth’s work

Reflective Teaching Effective Learning (Booth, 2011, pp. 58 -59). The idea is to design the

presentation in such a way as to let students know that the information is significant to

their academic lives. It’s my job to demonstrate why a conversation on plagiarism should

matter to them. I want my audience to take away concrete concepts that will be helpful to

them as they write (Booth, 2011).

What I want students know/be able to do

The students will be able to identify the three categories of plagiarism and the

circumstances under which a person may engage in each type. I attempted to foster ethical

sensitivity to plagiarism by introducing the students to the ‘culture of academic integrity’

and the university code of conduct. The students should understand that plagiarism is an

academic offense with analogous consequences. I had the students work though activities

on paraphrasing and citation in APA for hands-on practice with these concepts. The

students worked on an activity of critical reading with the aim of developing strong reading

skills as the foundation for paraphrasing. The students were introduced to services that can

help them with writing and citing skills (writing centre and library workshops). By having

the students discuss ethical decision-making scenarios, my aim was for them to develop

new perspectives on plagiarism by imagining themselves in that position. I wanted the

 Yankovich 12

students to consider other possible options rather than plagiarism. The activities and

worksheets were designed to have the students wrestled with these concepts individually

and within small groups.

Notes on Evaluation Form

I relied on the work of Strittmatter & Bratton (2016) in Teaching plagiarism

prevention to college students: An ethics-based approach when developing the evaluation

questionnaire. These authors stress the importance of including four mains elements on a

feedback form: training relevance, training content and activities, trainer behaviour, and

training setting (Strittmatter & Bratton, 2016). I included the first three only as I felt that

the setting was for the most part fixed (aside from group activities and classroom setup)

and I wanted to focus primarily on the content. I wanted to know if the students’

perspectives on plagiarism had changed: where they more ethically aware now? (one of my

learning goals was to elicit ethical sensitivity to the issue), did they learn any helpful tips

for avoiding unintentional plagiarism? Ultimately, I wanted to know if the seminar is

actually going to move the needle on a student’s decision to plagiarize. If students report

that they learned very little, I will adjust my delivery method and my priorities. I included

one question about my own efficacy as an instructor. It’s important to me to hear this

feedback and I think it fosters reciprocal respect when students are given a forum to

critique instructors.

Short Reflection

I leaned that creating a lesson plan is hard work. I have no teaching experience and I

quickly realized that developing materials is time-consuming. It was important to me to

review many resources to develop a broad perspective on the topic. At first, I didn’t know
 Yankovich 13

where to start but I found that many people have created some wonderful teaching

resources, it’s just a matter of locating them and using them appropriately. My original

lesson-plan would have taken twice the allotted time so I had to scale it back a fair bit. I

would have liked to have had more discussion on intentional and contextual plagiarism and

the ethics around these issues. Intentional plagiarism is tricky because it requires an

attitudinal change, and truthfully, too much focus on this topic would been outside my

scope as an instructional librarian. I focused most of the seminar on techniques and

exercises for avoiding unintentional plagiarism, which was appropriate, and then hopefully

piqued the minds of the students with two case studies on deliberate acts of cheating. I can

only cover a finite amount in 75 minutes, so it was important to be choosy with the case

studies. I enjoyed creating this lesson and I think it lays a solid groundwork for plagiarism

avoidance for first-year undergrads.

 Yankovich 14

Appendix of Resources:
All of the following resources were used or consulted in the creation of this program

Booth, C. (2011). Reflective teaching, effective learning: Instructional literacy for library
educators. Chicago: American Library Association.

- The title for chapter 4 concisely sums up the usefulness of this book for me “A Crash Course in
Leaning Theory”. It’s a great resource for quickly learning about classical learning theories,
instructional design, and instructional theories.

Bradley, C. (2011). Plagiarism education and prevention: A subject-driven case-based
approach. Oxford: Chandos.

- This book provides many real-world case-based examples. I looked it over but ultimately
didn’t use it in the project.

Bravender, P., McClure, H. D., & Schaub, G. (2015). Teaching information literacy threshold
concepts: Lesson plans for librarians. Chicago, Illinois: Association of College and
Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association.

-I used a case example from chapter 6 “Information has value” which had many great
recourses on plagiarism from a variety of angles (i.e copyright vs. plagiaries, “gray-area”
scenarios, etc.). This book was particularly useful for in-class examples.

Cook, D., & Sittler, R. L. (2008). Practical pedagogy for library instructors: 17 innovative
strategies to improve student learning. Chicago: Association of College and Research
Libraries.

- This was a great resource for my understanding on why pedagogy is an important concept
for librarians – as the authors point out, how we teach effects how students learn! I found it
valuable as I have no teaching background. There is a chapter dedicated to a case-study on an
anti-plagiarism program.

Gunnarsson, J., Kulesza, W. J., & Pettersson, A. (2014). Teaching international students how
to avoid plagiarism: Librarians and faculty in collaboration. The Journal of Academic
Librarianship, 40(3-4), 413-417.

-This article was a good reminder of the extra challenges for international students.

Pecorari, D. (2013). Teaching to avoid plagiarism: How to promote good source use.
Maidenhead, Berkshire, England: McGraw-Hill Education, Open University Press.

- An extremely helpful resource for case-based examples and teaching techniques. I
appreciated the concise definitions of plagiarism which were appropriate for undergraduate
students.

 Yankovich 15

Strittmatter, C., & Bratton, V. K. (2016). Teaching plagiarism prevention to college students:
An ethics-based approach. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.

- This book was invaluable to me because of its thoroughness and grounding in an ethical
approach to plagiarism prevention. This was the first book I read on the topic so it served as a
springboard. I found two other sources because of this book.