Education Week 3-30-2011 Reflection

Studies Shed Light on How Cheating Impedes Learning:  This article caught my eye right from the get-go.  I thought it was interesting that judging from the recent results of a 2010 study that the older a student gets makes it more likely that he/she will cheat.  To me, this can be attributed to a couple of things.  First, the more obvious (to me) of the two, is that students who are getting older are more likely to cheat because of the increased difficulty of their classes and the increased expectations they find in those classrooms.  Is an elementary school student learning addition and subtraction as likely to cheat as a high school student who is learning calculus?  I would venture to guess that it isn't as likely in large part because the material is not nearly as difficult at a younger age.  The more nuanced reason for students most likely cheating in their later years is that fact that students who have already spent time cheating are going to see that there are "no negative consequences" for their cheating.  They will only see that they have gotten a better score on that last test and that means they get an A in the class instead of a B+ or an A-.  It becomes reinforced in their minds because there are no perceived consequences and only the positives of getting a better grade on the test or assignment and in the class.
I actually found it pretty funny that the students at Harvard had duped themselves into thinking that they would be just as successful on tests if they weren't allowed to cheat.  Admittedly the test only had 36 people involved in it and the students were from Harvard.  I don't think that anyone going to Harvard are going to be indicative of normal students who are going to try and cheat on a test or a quiz.  This might also be a little presumptuous but the fact they are from Harvard would also indicate that they are pretty darn confident in their own abilities.  It may not be the case that they are thinking that way because they are cheaters, but rather because they go to Harvard.  This is more or less confirmed when the study showed that social recognition reinforces self-deception.  Anyone who goes to Harvard is probably going to make a big deal of it, or their parents will, or their school will.  It seems pretty unavoidable as it is the top school in the country (or one of them.)
Finally, I thought the biggest point of the article, as it pertains to me as a future teacher is that students are more likely to cheat in an environment in which the teacher is not fair or is not trying to engage them to learn.  This means that I am going to have to do my best as a teacher to make sure that students do not cheat simply by being a good teacher and not by focusing on not having them cheat.  Who wants to work hard for a teacher that isn't working hard for them?