How Many Students Did Not Recognize These Basic Requirements Prior to Feedback on Their Factual Work

What’s on This Webpage:

·         Percentages for Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, and Spring 2017

·         How Percentages Were Calculated of Students Who Did Not Know Basic Requirements

Percentages for Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, and Spring 2017

The percentages of students not recognizing the need for factual accuracy is a key issue: over 63% for most terms from Spring 2011 to Fall 2015. An additional problem is that students who do “half-copy” plagiarism or “patchwriting,” read passively (because they think copying words is what we want them to do) and also frequently make factual errors. 

 

What Students Identified That They Did Not Realize Prior to Feedback on Their Written Work

Percent

Spring 2011

Fall 2011

Spring 2012@

Fall 2013

Spring 2014

Spring 2015

Fall 2015

Spring 2016

Fall 2016

Spring 2017

Need for reliable sources, including not relying on their memories

42%

50%

46.7%

63.7%

62%

50%

56.4%

64.7%

52.2%

49.3%

No plagiarism

52%

61%

51%

48.3%

42%

50%

46.7%

58.9%

43.4%

42.0%

No changes to another’s words without showing the changes

46%

42%

40.2

33.7%

37%

44%

53.2%

49.0%

47.8%

49.3%

Need for factual accuracy

63%

65%

67.3%

67.2%

52%#

63.5%

64.4%

54.9%$

50.7%&

44.9%#

No assumptions about the author believing what you believe

53%

40%

48%

56.8%

42%

59.6%

53.2%

58.8%

52.2%

59.4%

Need to know where you found facts

57%

44%

53%

56.8%

55.7%

44%3

54.8%

58.9%

52.5%

44.9%

@ Data for most terms from Spring 2012 to Fall 2013 is available, but has not been calculated.
# Numbers may be lower perhaps because 2 or more classes included students who had previously taken my U.S. History I course. In Spring 2017, most students in 4 of 5 classes were in U.S. History II; in 3 of those 4, many students had taken my U.S. History I course and they had previously received feedback on their writing on these evidence issues.

$ Numbers may be lower because I provided a required class session on these issues, including showing an example of a paper and where endnotes were required.

&Numbers may be lower because I shifted to a set of 8 Evidence Quizzes spread over 2/3rds of the term, with the 1st beginning with 5 questions and with each subsequent quiz adding a few more questions but including all of the prior questions. They had to remember the old as well as deal with the new. If students missed questions on an Evidence Quiz, they could earn full points for the quiz if they figured out why they missed the questions and explained to me or, if they could not figure it out, they could ask me. In Spring 2017, this did not prove out because—unlike previous terms—many students would not go to the trouble to take the quizzes.

How Percentages Were Calculated of Students Who Did Not Know Basic Requirements

In the student surveys from Spring 2011 to Spring 2017 to help me help students in the future, the students also saw this question at the beginning of the survey.

 

I gave you feedback on how well you read the source. Some of you seemed to realize things about your work that will help your future. If you did, mark with an X ALL that apply to you.

___ Need for reliable sources ___ No plagiarism ___ No changes to another’s words without showing the changes

___ Need for factual accuracy ___ No assumptions about the author believing what you believe

___ Need to know where you found facts

 

 

To determine the percentage, I added all of the Xs for each item from the classes and then divided each total by the number of students taking the survey to determine the % who marked an X for the item. Courses surveyed are:

·         Spring 2011 – 5 on-campus classes

·         Fall 2011 – 3 on-campus classes.

·         Spring 2012 – 5 on-campus classes

·         Fall 2013 – 4 on-campus classes and 1 distance learning class

·         Spring 2014 – 4 on-campus classes

·         Fall 2014 – data not collected in all classes

·         Spring 2015 – 4 on-campus classes

·         Fall 2015 – 3 on-campus classes

·         Spring 2016 – 4 on-campus classes

·         Fall 2016 – 4 on-campus classes

·         Spring 2017 – 5 on-campus classes

 

 

WCJC Department:

History – Dr. Bibus

Contact Information:

281.239.1577 or bibusc@wcjc.edu

Last Updated:

2017

WCJC Home:

http://www.wcjc.edu/