1. Legislation
In this section I would like to discuss the issue of ‘academic integrity’, that is the appropriate referencing and representation of sources (Gray et al., 2010; Kimber & Wyatt-Smith, 2010; Richardson et al., 2012).
Firstly, it is actually quite difficult to find specific government legislation in Japan that refers to the term academic integrity. It is at the individual university level that one can find guidance about it. At my own university, I teach on one relatively new course called the Global Discovery Program (GDP). It is designed to attract 50% Japanese students and 50% non-Japanese students who can attend lessons in Japanese and English. It is quite unique from this aspect. The faculty are a diverse group from many countries and most of the Japanese staff have graduated from institutions outside Japan. Perhaps because of this external influence there is a clear statement about academic integrity on the GDP website which refers to plagiarism and cheating. I will discuss my practice with reference to plagiarism.
There are some claims that copying in an Asian context is somehow culturally different to non-Asian countries (Campbell, 2017). There are always some truths in cultural stereotypes, but for me the main point is that many of my students have not been taught how to properly reference rather than they have some distinctive ‘Asian’ approach to copying. In order to support student learning, I use my own YouTube videos to teach about referencing within texts, how to make reference lists, and avoiding plagiarism. I used to teach about these topics without videos but I have found that the videos allow me to explain more clearly what I mean. The students can process videos better than a one-off classroom lesson. They can rewind, slow down, read subtitles, and watch again if need be (Cowie & Sakui, 2020).
In addition to teaching students about appropriate referencing I also try to include information about referencing within assessment procedures. For example, when assessing student presentations, I use rubrics which include a section on appropriate citations. The screenshot below shows one excerpt from such a rubric with the sections on citations highlighted in red.
Reflection
As evidence for my reflection on academic integrity I have published one article on assessment and e-learning (Cowie & Sakui, 2015) which includes discussion on the ‘assessment of ethical issues involved in the creation of digital products’ (p. 276) and how:
… issues such as students protecting their own work and using Creative Commons to share work are only just beginning to be addressed in second and foreign language learning contexts. However, if the use of collaborative digital projects continues to spread, as it probably will, it is important to be cognizant of these issues when assessing student work. (p. 278)
As it gets easier and easier to find information and images that can be incorporated into online student projects it is increasingly important to make students aware of how to attribute their sources correctly. Even though there are numerous guidelines and advice it is still a difficult area to keep up to date and knowledgeable about, especially Creative Commons licenses which I still find somewhat complex and confusing. I will continue to try to update my knowledge of these areas and try to incorporate the most recent advice in my practice. For instance, Dublin City University’s INTEGRITY Project (see Egan, 2018) is an innovative way to approach issues of plagiarism and privacy.
2. Policy
I have tried to use digital technology in my lessons to implement one of Japan’s Ministry of Education’s (MEXT) 16 higher education policies. This is policy (6) the Internationalization of Japanese Universities and in particular Global Human Resource Development. This is an ambitious program with a variety of suggested ways to increase the international presence of Japanese universities. In response, my university has a clear strategy to promote study abroad by its students and to attract foreign students to Japan. One course that I teach which really suits these two target groups is called the Model United Nations (MUN) and the aim is to prepare students to take part in large-scale simulated role plays. Students need to research a specific country and a global issue (such as disaster relief, for instance). Once they have found sufficient facts and supporting evidence students must write collaborative action plans which they then use to negotiate at the MUN events. I have prepared and taken students to several events in Japan and in March 2019 we went to New York; and in November 2019, Erfurt in Germany. In the video below, I describe this course and how it relies heavily on digital technology for research and collaboration (students use various Google tools and the Japanese SNS app called Line).
Reflection
Preparing for this CMALT submission is a great opportunity to become better acquainted with Japanese legislative and policy frameworks that impact on teaching and the use of technology. It has been stimulating to investigate these frameworks and to examine the role of technology in implementing them. I am particularly interested in the way in which technology can facilitate the MUN courses and in 2018 I made a presentation and submitted a report on ways to improve training for MUN teachers. I want to continue surveying my students and teachers and students from five other partner universities. We are the collective beneficiaries of a four-year government grant and so it is important to report on ways we can collaborate and improve our teaching and our students’ learning experience. In 2019, I presented on the use of digital technology for MUN at two events (Cowie, 2019a; 2019b) and have a chapter in a 2021 book (Cowie, forthcoming). In 2020, MUN events, like many others, are completely online (see OKAMUN) so it will be interesting to see how staff and students can adapt to this new environment.
References
Campbell, A. (2017). Cultural Differences in Plagiarism. Retrieved from: https://www.turnitin.com/blog/cultural-differences-in-plagiarism
Cowie, N. (forthcoming). The role of digital technology in MUN preparation and MUN events. In Tatsuki, D. (Ed.) Model United Nations Simulations and English Lingua Franca: New Perspectives on Best Practices. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishers.
Cowie, N. (2019a). The role of digital technology in Model United Nations. Third Global Negotiation Symposium. Kobe City University of Foreign Studies, Kobe, Japan. June 22nd, 2019.
Cowie, N. (2019b). Creating collaborative documents for Model United Nations events. International Communication and Community Development Conference. Notre Dame Seishin University, Okayama, Japan. November 17th, 2019.
Cowie, N., & Sakui, K. (2015). Assessment and e-learning: Current issues and future trends. The JALT CALL Journal, 11, 3, 271-281.
Cowie, N., & Sakui, K. (2020). Teacher and student-created videos in English Language Teaching. ELT Journal. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccaa054
Egan, A., (2018). Improving Academic Integrity through Assessment Design. Dublin: Dublin City University, National Institute for Digital Learning (NIDL).
Gray, K., Waycott, J., Clerehan, R., Hamilton, M., Richardson, M., Sheard, J., & Thompson, C. (2010). Web 2.0 Authoring Tools in Higher Education Learning and Teaching: New Directions for Assessment and Academic Integrity: A Framework for Field-testing and Refining Good Practice Guidelines in Pilot Projects at Australian Universities During Semester One 2010. Retrieved from http://web2assessmentroundtable. pbworks.com/f/altc-asw2a-Guidelines-draft-Feb2010.pdf
Kimber, K., & Wyatt-Smith, C. (2010). Secondary students’ online use and creation of knowledge: Refocusing priorities for quality assessment and learning. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 26 (5), 607–25.
Richardson, J., Hamilton, M., Gray, K., Waycott, J., & Clerehan, R. (2012, December 3–5). In what ways does policy on academic integrity, copyright and privacy need to respond in order to accommodate assessment with Web 2.0 tools? Paper presented at the Australasian Conference on Information Systems. Geelong, Australia. Retrieved from http://acis2012.deakin.edu.au