Using evidence and avoiding plagiarism e-learning module: Scaffolding academic integrity

This paper describes the collaborative design, implementation and evaluation of a discipline-based eLearning module (eLM). The eLM was piloted as a mandatory but ungraded assessment task in five subjects across all years of study in the Management and Marketing specialisations, four in the Bachelor of Commerce, and one in the Master of Commerce, at the University of Wollongong. The eLM was developed in the subject’s eLearning space within the learning management system, Blackboard Vista and included a streamed lecture which provides a range of instruction and examples of how to use evidence, a link to the University’s Harvard Referencing Guidelines and an online quiz. The evaluations indicated that the design of the module and its embedded nature, in terms of both content and location, provided students with explicit instruction on using evidence and referencing that in general most students are required to acquire through a process of osmosis. Explicit instruction and assessment allowed students to be more strategic about their selection and use of evidence and apply these newly acquired skills to other subjects of study.