How to Eliminate Cheating from an Introductory Computer Programming Course

Jacob Sukhodolsky

doi:10.21585/ijcses.v1i4.13

Abstract

The problem of Computer Science studentsâ€™ cheating in their homework assignments so far has been handled mainly through administrative punishment of the cheaters. The success of such an approach depends to a large degree on the ability of the instructor to recognize the fact of cheating, which is a complicated task. With a large number of students taking the course, identifying the cheaters sometimes requires considerable time. The author of this paper suggests a method of solving the cheating problem by changing the course grading policy. The suggested approach emphasizes the importance of regular checking of studentsâ€™ understanding the course material.

Highlights

Over the years, I have been teaching an introductory Computer Programming course for non-computer science majors more than fifteen times
The above weights should be changed to, for instance, the following: Homework (20%) Quizzes (35%) Midterm exam (20%) Final exam (25%). Such a course grading policy is in line with the Rutgers University cheating prevention guidelines that recommend instructors to limit homework assignments to no more than 10% of the total course grade, at the exception of special courses where regular practice is deemed essential and which cannot be replaced by in-class quizzes or exams
This paper presented an approach that can be used to reduce cheating in introductory computer science courses

Summary

Introduction

I have been teaching an introductory Computer Programming course for non-computer science majors more than fifteen times. The Rutgers University School of Arts and Sciences includes a section on how to prevent cheating into their guidelines for new instructors. In it, they recommend using grading schemes that are designed to limit opportunities for cheating. This paper presents the introductory computer science course cheating prevention strategy first introduced in (Sukhodolsky, 2015). It demonstrates how the described strategy reduces the problem of cheating in homework assignments to minimum. The paper first analyzes the problem of cheating It examines the process of teaching and the conventional methods of evaluating students’ understanding of the material. The author presents the results of a survey he used to get feedback from the students who took his course in Spring 2017

What is Cheating and why it is Bad

Applying the System Approach

Proposed Problem Solution

Results

Conclusions and Future Research