Professional cheaters - Could you spot one?

gayle_yamazaki
Macmillan Employee
Macmillan Employee
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It's been quite a while since my last post. Time seems to slip away much more quickly every year.

In the Chronicles of Higher Education, they recently published an article describing a most interesting "experiment." If you teach online or hybrid, this is an article you should read and consider.

Alvin Malesky was able to work with his institution, Western Carolina University, to do something all of us have wondered about. Could he catch an online cheater? Using a research grant to fund this study, Mr. Malesky and his colleague, Robert Crow, were able to create a fake online 10-week introductory psychology course and past undergraduate students and graduate students took the class for the full 10 weeks using fake identifying information. Malesky and Crow knew that at least one student was paying a company to take the entire class.

The article describes the process the graduate student went through to hire the company to take the class for him. It might surprise you that a full service successful completion with an A in the course cost only $917. That would be a well worth the price for many students.

The real question is whether a forensic psychologist who has taught for many years and his colleague could accurately identify who was cheating and how. You'll have to read the article to find out.

Here is the direct link to the article: In a Fake Online Class With Students Paid to Cheat, Could Professors Catch the Culprits? - The Chron...

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About the Author
Dr. Yamazaki has been involved in adult education since the mid-1980's. She has developed technology-based education for the Air Force, commercial industry, and for higher education. She is certified in instruction systems design. She has taught courses for the Air Force and at community college, college, and university institutions. She was awarded the teaching excellence award at the US Air Force Academy as an instructor for the behavioral sciences. In her work with Macmillan Higher Education, she works with educators and editorial to consult on the development of educational products, services, and experiences for higher education.