Integrity Games - a research based learning platform on academic integrity aimed at undergraduate university students
ResourcesIntegrity Games - a research based learning platform on academic integrity aimed at undergraduate university students
What is this about?
Integrity Games is a research based teaching tool on academic integrity aimed at university undergraduate students from all disciplines.
How to use the tool in teaching
Integrity Games is a research based learning platform on academic integrity aimed at undergraduate university students across all faculties. It is designed to spark interest, reflection and learning through four gamified cases and a library of central concepts.
Integrity Games is built on the idea that academic integrity is more than avoidance of clear-cut cheating. It also involves knowledge of the basic requirements for academic integrity, and competence in navigating the many grey zones between outright cheating and good practice.
Many of the academic integrity issues students face – such as freeriding in group work or handling deviating data - are not covered by the local disciplinary rules, and even if they are, the interpretation of the rules may be context dependent.
Navigating grey zones therefore requires attention to context and reflection on the broader aims of higher education.
Integrity Games encourages this through engaging and realistic cases drawn from a major study on the integrity issues commonly faced by undergraduate students in Europe.
The tool in designed to be flexible and it is available in different languages. To get an overview, watch a video at the Integrity Games page.
Suggestions and information on how to use the games in teaching:
Why is this important?
Integrity Games is developed for academic integrity training for university students – primarily students on year 1-3 of their education. It is most likely relevant for more advanced students as well.
The general aim of Integrity Games is to develop knowledge and begin developing academic integrity, by engaging students in reflections of realistic dilemmas involving academic integrity. The cases cover three general topics central to academic integrity:
- Citation practice, including avoiding plagiarism and self-plagiarism
- Collaboration and getting help on individual assignments
- Collecting, analyzing and reporting data
The tool contains one or more cases under each topic presenting the student with dilemmas and common grey area issues in an engaging and thought-provoking way.
While examples of severe misconduct – such as plagiarism and fabrication of data – are included in the cases, the main focus is on the grey area issues where research shows that students are most often in doubt about the appropriate course of action.
For each of the above mentioned topics, Integrity Games aims to contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills listed below.
Items marked with * are considered the primary aims and the games’ efficacy towards these aims has been tested in a randomized controlled experiment.
- Knowledge of the core values and principles of academic integrity and how they are applied*
- Knowledge of common grey zones and the reasons why they are “grey”*
- Knowledge of what is strictly forbidden
- Skills in identifying academic integrity aspects of a given situation
- Skills in identifying actions that are in accordance with each of the core principles of academic interity
- Competences in weighing actions according to multiple values, principles, and groups*
- Competences in assessing the interplay between the ethically good practice and epistemically good in concrete cases.
In addition, the tool aims to contribute to the following motivational aims:
- Motivation to develop further AI knowledge skills and competences (positive nudging)*
- Acceptance of core values and principles under academic and research integrity
