tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5633627800602849595.post5744537425857069811..comments2011-08-07T19:04:32.625-07:00Comments on CoMPoSiTioN: Week 7 – Talking Up Haswell + a splash of last night’s classJosephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03892292064077829051noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5633627800602849595.post-14682982662152727222011-07-25T11:54:20.078-07:002011-07-25T11:54:20.078-07:00Dear Joseph,
I think your solution to have studen...Dear Joseph,<br /><br />I think your solution to have students write first drafts of essays in class in hard copy is a good one, but I'm going to be the "devil's advocate" in this response.<br /><br />So... I am wondering if we should also consider the definition of plagiarism. I remember reading that at one time plagiarism was the highest form of flattery. For example, Beethoven wrote variations on Mozart's themes, Bach copied Vivaldi, Rachmaninoff used Corelli and Chopin, Brahms used Haydn's themes, etc.)...this practice meant the originators were doing the right thing and were good enough to be copied. Allegedly, even Shakespeare copied plot ideas and dialogue. A modern example is the Harry Potter series, which "borrowed" much from Tolkien and others.<br /><br />In your case, you are trying to catch your students in getting other people to do their work for them, and that's a good thing. We should all have responsibility for our own work. But what if I take someone's idea and make it better? What if, instead, I look at plagiarism "as an important transitional strategy in the student's progress towards membership in a discourse community." [Rebecca Moore Howard. Plagiarisms, Authorships, and the Academic Death Penalty. College English. Vol. 57, No. 7, 1995. p 788].<br /><br />If you are spending a lot of effort getting students to stop plagiarizing, perhaps you could teach them how to do it well, instead? Don't get me wrong, I'm not in favour of plagiarism, but I do think we need to rethink what it means, from time to time. And I can see a learning opportunity for students by creating an awareness of prior knowledge.Debbie Davyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09029420494947257140noreply@blogger.com