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“We Both Knew What They Did”: Students Deny Using AI, Teacher Finds A Clever Way To Expose Them
Cheating among students isn’t exactly breaking news. In fact, surveys reveal that anywhere from 75% to 98% of college students admit to cheating in high school. Now, with AI tools at their disposal, it’s even easier to get away with—raising concerns among educators.
One English teacher, however, decided they weren’t going to be outsmarted. They came up with a clever plan to catch students using AI to complete their assignments and shared the details on Reddit.
Read all about it below!
RELATED:
AI tools have made it easier than ever for students to cheat on assignments
Image credits: valeriygoncharukphoto/Envato (not the actual photo)
But one English teacher decided they weren’t going to be outsmarted
Image credits: seventyfourimages/Envato (not the actual photo)
Image credits: 50_Many_Questions
Cheating among students is high, but it hasn’t increased with ChatGPT, researchers say
As ChatGPT nears its two-year anniversary, it’s clear that many people, including students, have come to rely on it as a daily tool. And while some use it to support their learning, others, naturally, use it to cheat—something that has left teachers, like the one in this Reddit story, frustrated.
A study from the Center for Democracy and Technology confirms that most teachers feel generative AI has made them more doubtful about whether students’ work is truly their own. However, Stanford education scholars Victor Lee and Denise Pope have found that, while cheating levels have been high for a long time, they haven’t actually increased with ChatGPT.
“We know from our research that when students do cheat, it’s typically for reasons that have very little to do with their access to technology,” explained Pope, a senior lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Education (GSE) and co-founder of the school reform nonprofit Challenge Success.
Image credits: Hatice Baran/Pexels (not the actual photo)
According to Pope, cheating often occurs because students are struggling with the material and don’t have the support they need. “Maybe they have too much homework and not enough time to do it,” she said. “Or maybe assignments feel like pointless busywork. Many students tell us they’re overwhelmed by the pressure to achieve—they know cheating is wrong, but they don’t want to let their family down by bringing home a low grade.”
At the same time, in the anonymous survey conducted by Pope and Lee, students revealed that they believe AI is okay to use if it only supports them with related tasks rather than doing all the work. “Many said they thought it should be acceptable for ‘starter’ purposes, like explaining a new concept or generating ideas for a paper,” shared Lee, associate professor at the GSE. “But the vast majority said that using a chatbot to write an entire paper should never be allowed.
“So this idea that students who’ve never cheated before are going to suddenly run amok and have AI write all of their papers appears unfounded,” he added.
Rather than imposing a strict ban on AI, the researchers encourage creating a learning environment where students feel respected and find value in their classes.
“Strategies to help students feel more engaged and valued are likely to be more effective than taking a hard line on AI, especially since we know AI is here to stay and can actually be a great tool to promote deeper engagement with learning,” said Pope.
Commenters praised the teacher and chimed in with their own ideas for tackling AI
Others shared similar stories of how people are finding creative ways to handle ChatGPT
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What do you think ?
arthbach 1 month ago
The teacher who instructed her class to include a duck, xylophone and hatstand in the story has my approval. Yes, these instructions were in white ink, but they were part of the instructions, and I'd include them. :o) They would be integral to the story, and if the teacher raised any complaints, I'd simply point out the place they were required elements (proving I had actually read the assignment).
arthbach 1 month ago
When I was around 14, my English teacher told the class we were not allowed to use the word 'nice' in our writing. 'Nice' has many definitions; there's 14 listed in the online Oxford English Dictionary. For the rest of the term, I used 'nice' in every piece of homework, but choosing a different meaning each time. My teacher pulled me aside, and congratulated me on knowing so many definitions. She was going to award me a very rare privilege. I was allowed to use 'nice' in my writing from there on in. Naturally, I never again used 'nice' in any piece of work I submitted to her. As a child, I thought I had won. Now, ... I'm not so sure.
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Gwyn 1 month ago (edited)
I was a TA for a community college psychology class once and one year at least 75% of the class turned in a very similar paper on anorexia. That wasn't the subject of the assignment. And I never found out why that particular paper was submitted by so many (this was 20 years ago so all I could guess was it was a previous students paper or a paper from another class they tried to get to do double duty as a paper in this class). It was SO stupid. I don't know what was worse, knowing so many people cheated or the fact that they were too dumb to realize that it would be caught when grading papers.
Ash 1 month ago
Yeah, grading college essays, I was always annoyed that if they were going to cheat/plagiarize, why couldn't they at least do it WELL??
Load More Replies...
arthbach 1 month ago
The teacher who instructed her class to include a duck, xylophone and hatstand in the story has my approval. Yes, these instructions were in white ink, but they were part of the instructions, and I'd include them. :o) They would be integral to the story, and if the teacher raised any complaints, I'd simply point out the place they were required elements (proving I had actually read the assignment).
arthbach 1 month ago
When I was around 14, my English teacher told the class we were not allowed to use the word 'nice' in our writing. 'Nice' has many definitions; there's 14 listed in the online Oxford English Dictionary. For the rest of the term, I used 'nice' in every piece of homework, but choosing a different meaning each time. My teacher pulled me aside, and congratulated me on knowing so many definitions. She was going to award me a very rare privilege. I was allowed to use 'nice' in my writing from there on in. Naturally, I never again used 'nice' in any piece of work I submitted to her. As a child, I thought I had won. Now, ... I'm not so sure.
Load More Replies... Gwyn 1 month ago (edited)
I was a TA for a community college psychology class once and one year at least 75% of the class turned in a very similar paper on anorexia. That wasn't the subject of the assignment. And I never found out why that particular paper was submitted by so many (this was 20 years ago so all I could guess was it was a previous students paper or a paper from another class they tried to get to do double duty as a paper in this class). It was SO stupid. I don't know what was worse, knowing so many people cheated or the fact that they were too dumb to realize that it would be caught when grading papers.
Ash 1 month ago
Yeah, grading college essays, I was always annoyed that if they were going to cheat/plagiarize, why couldn't they at least do it WELL??
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