Academic Dishonesty

Sadly, my TA's and I caught far too many students cheating on various homework assignments this past semester.  For example, students were caught cheating on chapter worksheets in my HR class.  All the student needs to do to complete the assignment is download the worksheet from Blackboard, read over the chapter to find the answers, and then bring it to class to be discussed and graded.  No need to cheat on such an assignment, right?  Well.......

One student got caught handing in worksheets from a prior semester.  When questioned, she said with a straight face that she borrowed it from a sorority sister, erased the answers, and then completed it.  Zero! Three students handed in identical worksheets, right down to the font, punctuation, and verbatim responses.  When confronted they did not see this as cheating, "they were working together on their assignments and thought the department encouraged teamwork!"  Zeroes!

I am not sure which makes me more crazy, catching kids cheating or their response to me when confronted with it.  Most refuse to believe that what they did was cheating and will continue to lobby for some kind of credit for the assignment or a chance to do it over (which tells me other professors have buckled and rewarded cheating).

I recently read an article on academic dishonesty that shed some light on why students cheat, written by Michael DePietro, entitled "Theoretical Frameworks for Academic Dishonesty" and published in POD's 2010 issue of To Improve the Academy, which is an annual peer reviewed compilation of essays on teaching for learning.  Here are some that may shed some light on academic dishonesty that I found quite interesting:

1.  Deterence theory posits that cheating is a function of the severity of the consequences.  To stop cheating the punishment has to include not only failing the assignment but perhaps the course as well, along with academic probation or even expulsion from the program.  The bottom line is that if students think they can engage in cheating without dire consequences they are likely to do so.

2.  Rational Choice theory posits that dishonest actions are the result of "rational decision making" involving a cost-benefit analysis on the part of the cheater.  So cheating may be the result of reducing the amount of effort required to do the assignment on their own, prepare for the exam, and so forth.  This is the response I usually get when confronting students with cheating as they try to convince me that their excuse for cheating is warranted regardless of the act of cheating itself.  Indeed, at the end of last semester I had a student take another run at me and suggest that if I had not given her zeroes for the assignments she got caught cheating she would get a B in the class which is an audacious rationalization that her cheating did not cost her a higher grade -- it was that I caught her doing it!

 3.  Neutralization Theory posits that students are able to engage in morally wrong acts without damage to their self-concept if they can rationalize those acts and think of them as morally neutral rather than wrong.  Four neutralization techniques used by students includes: a) the Curly excuse of "I was a victim of circumstances," b) cheating is no big deal and a victimless crime, c) it is the professors fault due to unfair exams, etc., and d) "I was helping a friend pass the course."

In the attempt to keep this blog post short, there were two other theories including Planned Behavior Theory (cheating happens because students see a chance to do it and take it) and Situtational Ethics (had no other choice than to cheat).  It also turns out that one of the most effective ways to deter cheating is by establishing honor codes aimed at eliminating the culture of cheating by having students sign a pledge that they will not cheat, involve students heavily in academic review boards to handle cheating cases, give unproctored exams, and require students to report cheating.  In short, cheating begins and ends with the responsibility being placed on the student to not do it in the first place!

If you have a paragraph or two on things your students have done to cheat and/or methods by which you have eliminated cheating in your classes send them to me and I will be happy to post on the blog for our learning community.

Pearson's MyCulinaryLab

Pearson was the sponsor of the FELC Ultimate Teaching Competition at the 2010 Summit.  While talking with Leigh Ann Sims, Executive Marketing Manager, at the Summit I learned of MyCulinaryLab as a great tool to help teach culinary math to students that do not like mathematics all that much.  Here is some information about the teaching tool and some links you can visit to learn more about this great teaching for learning tool.

MyCulinaryLab, powered by Pearson’s own Pegasus platform, is an online assessment and learning system for Culinary Arts instructors and students. With advanced pedagogical features such as personalized study and teaching plans, book-specific learning outcomes and objectives, and standards management, MyCulinaryLab allows for a truly unique, beneficial, and integrated learning experience with the textbook.

For Students
MyCulinaryLab enables students to review their culinary skills and knowledge online, on their own time, and at their own pace. Students can easily track and evaluate their progress during and after the learning process. Performance is based on summative and formative assessment in the form of study plans, homework, extra practice, pre- and post-tests, etc.  Some highlights of the program include:

- Pre-loaded study materials for EACH chapter. Students just log in and they are ready to go. Professors don't have to do anything to set up the course
- Includes a full e-book
- Study plans and learning and assessment activities to help assess skill levels—students won’t waste time re-learning skills they already possess
- Grade book that allows students to view their grades and reports showing their progress
- Interactive multimedia: videos with questions, fill-in-the-blank exercises, matching activities, key concept simulations
- A 2-yr subscription

For Instructors
MyCulinaryLab is an easy-to-use online resource designed to supplement a traditional lecture course and provides instructors with basic course management capabilities in the areas of course organization, grades, communication, and personalization of content. Instructors benefit with access to key course management tools such as a robust grade book, integrated course email, and reporting tools.  Reporting features include:
- Data tracking and reporting for students, grades, and question usage
- Detailed student results and performance tracking

This product accompanies:
Labensky, Martel, Hause & Labensky, On Cooking "To Go Edition"
Labensky, Hause, Labensky & Martel, On Cooking: A Textbook of Culinary Fundamentals, 4/E

To watch a short demo, visit:
http://www.allthingsmedia.com/avatar-trailers/culinary/index.html

If you would like to learn more about MyCulinaryLab™ (http://www.myculinarylab.com/) contact:

Leigh Ann Sims
Executive Marketing Manager
Pearson Education
leigh.ann.sims@pearson.com
Office: 614.841.3717
Cell: 614.893.5457

Superb Visual Thinking Resource at Vanderbilt

I was blown away by a teaching for learning resource provided by the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching on the subject of visual thinking.  On their website they have a variety of sources that cover the topic and the ones I reviewed were quite interesting, especially Prezi, which is a way to make presentations similar to a concept map where you can click on the diagram and up pops videos, powerpoints, etc.  The concept map at the top of the page is really fascinating and took me some time to figure out but you can click all around it and expand various areas and watch film clips, read materials, and more.  To take this magical mystery tour into visual thinking visit: http://is.gd/bTUcV

Here is a description of the source by those who put it together:
Our brains are wired to rapidly make sense of and remember visual input. Visualizations in the form of diagrams, charts, drawings, pictures, and a variety of other ways can help students understand complex information. A well-designed visual image can yield a much more powerful and memorable learning experience than a mere verbal or textual description.  Below you'll find resources for integrating visual thinking in your teaching. You'll find ideas for enhancing your presentations and for incorporating visual thinking in your students' in- and out-of-class activities.

Seriously, grab a cup of whatever and set aside 10-15 minutes -- or more if you can afford it -- to go through the site and watch some of the videos that await on the topic of visual thinking.  Really eye opening stuff.  If so inclined drop me a line and let me know how you are using visual thinking in your teaching and I will happily share on a future blog post (mlalopa@fooded.org)

Burgerville Pioneers Calorie Count Technology

I wanted to share a very cool article I read in Fast Company about Burgerville that has found a way to print nturition information on their receipts.  This is a very innovative technique and sure simplifies getting this information to customers who need to know the number of calories they are shoving into their pie hole given the fact that 40% of the American population has now been classified as obese.  Of course, it was great to hear today that food companies are now volunteering to do their part in the fight against obesity (yesterday's Wall Street) to cut calories from many of its product offerings.  Sadly, not a single foodservice company signed on to that agreement.

Here is the article that shows a picture of the receipt at:
http://www.fastcompany.com/1649254/burgerville-offers-personalized-calorie-counts-on-receipts-but-is-it-too-much


"It started first with guests interested in customizing our food. For those who have allergies or are health-conscious, how do they know if they're on track or not?" Burgerville CEO Jeff Harvey tells FastCompany.com. So Harvey did some research on Nutricate, a system from SmartReceipt that offers personalized nutritional information on receipts. The system is already used in many hospitals and employee cafeterias, but Burgerville is the first fast food chain to adopt it.


Burgerville's receipt system doesn't just shock customers into making different food choices--it also suggests what some of those choices might be. "One of our signatures is a real ice cream milkshake with seasonal fruit--it has the best quality ingredients, coming straight from the farms, but the calorie count could be as high as 800 calories. So guests will get a recommendation saying, for example, if you like the blueberry shake, you might consider getting a blueberry smoothie next time," Harvey says.


The program makes sense for customers on a diet, but we have to wonder if it feeds just a little bit too much into our ever-growing obsession with calories. Burgerville customers can at least rest easy knowing that their high-calorie food isn't coming from factory farms. But if it catches on, the program could set a questionable precedent. New York City already requires chains to provide calorie data on their menus, so it's not a stretch to think that a calorie-counting receipt system might be implemented at some point in the future.

I am totally impressed with such forward thinking on the part of Burgerville.  I am always in awe of those companies that choose not to moan about giving customers information on what they are eating and instead take the bull by the horns and take a leadership position.

Then again, what makes me sick to my stomach is why did it not come from one of us in the business of culinary arts and hospitality education?  When are we going to meet the challenge and get off the "business as usual" education model and one that prepares students to be leaders in our beloved industry?!  I am up for it and pushing the envelope every day.  Anyone else out there doing the same?

Program Development Coordinator - Culinary Arts

East Central College (ECC) in St. Louis, MO, has an immediate opening for a Program Development Coordinator in the Culinary Arts program responsible to reconfigure the curriculum to fit a late afternoon/evening culinary arts program. ECC's Culinary Arts program is an American Culinary Federation accredited program. Responsibilities include coordinating program and curriculum design efforts with other faculty, staff, and college administrators; Exercising leadership in the area of program oversight and curriculum maintenance; some teaching responsibilities, supervision and representing the program both internally and externally.

Primary responsibilities include create course descriptions and syllabi for program courses; develop distance education coursework; develop assessment and evaluation processes for the program; attain and/or maintain program accreditation and accreditation standards.

Associate’s degree or equivalent required; Bachelor’s degree preferred; American Culinary Federation certification level of Certified Chef de Cuisine or higher; an active ServSafe Sanitation certificate required. College level teaching experience, strong communication skills, understanding of grant funding principles and regulations, knowledge of budget management.

This is a grant funded position through the Training for Tomorrow Grant. Expected duration of this Grant is two (2) years. Anticipated start date: June 2010. Excellent benefits, tuition reimbursement, PSRS membership, and much more. Anticipated Start Date: June 2010.

Associates Degree required.
Posting date: Mar 17, 2010 / Open Until Filled (Interviews in Progress)
To apply visit:
http://www.eastcentral.edu/admin/hr/how_to_apply.html