Working with others
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
- How can students who are working in groups or receiving help from others ensure that the final, individual work they submit is all their own work?
- Why is it important for students to submit work that is all their own?
- What is appropriate and what is inappropriate help from others for students doing an assignment?
- How can students guard against receiving help from others that is inappropriate?
- What strategies can students use to ensure that group work is an effective, ethical learning method for all group members?
Working with others
Q: How can students who are working in groups or receiving help from others ensure that the final, individual work they submit is all their own work?
A: Students should:
- know the difference between collaborative learning, collusion and copying
- know that collusion is a form of plagiarism that can occur as a result of inappropriate collaboration during group work
- realise that copying is cheating
- show respect for the ideas of others and not claim others' work as their own
- acknowledge appropriately the ideas of others
- be clear about referencing methods - how to acknowledge others' work and ideas and how to cite different types of sources (written and non-written)
- be honest and ethical in all aspects of the work they submit.
Q: Why is it important for students to submit work that is all their own?
A: Students can:
- gain credit for what they have done, not for what someone else has done
- learn new skills that will benefit them in future study and work
- take pride in achieving and submitting their best work
- gain satisfaction in knowing that the work submitted is their own
- demonstrate that they value honesty and ethical practices.
Note: Teachers want to reward original work and are responsible for supporting honest, responsible scholarship.
Q: What is appropriate and what is inappropriate help from others for students doing an assignment?
A: Any help from other people that can be considered as cheating, collusion or copying is inappropriate.
Q: How can students guard against receiving help from others that is inappropriate?
A:
- While help from others in the form of discussion or advice can be appropriate, students should ensure that the work they submit is all their own.
- Students should ensure that help from others does not overstep the mark and lead to collusion or copying that is cheating.
Q: What strategies can students use to ensure that group work is an effective, ethical learning method for all group members?
A:
- Understand clearly what the group is to do.
- Have a clear and fair division of responsibility for each group member.
- Discuss the group's expectations for work quality and identify the group's final goal.
- Make sure that all members of the group know about appropriate citation, referencing and acknowledgements.
- Encourage each group member to keep a personal journal in which they record their contribution to the work of the group - this can be used to inform the teacher of individual contributions.
- Check the final draft for citation and attribution errors before submitting it for marking.
- Communicate frequently with the teacher - if there are problems with unequal contributions to the overall group task, discuss this with the teacher.
- Seek support from your teacher or school counsellor if you are being bullied into unethical behaviour.