Are you concerned about cheating and academic integrity on exams? One way to discourage cheating is to remove the incentives and means.
End of the semester assessments can range from traditional high-stakes exams and papers to more authentic assessments which require students to use what they have learned to address real world problems or case studies. Both kinds of assessment have their place and value. Unfortunately, traditional high-stakes exams and papers can tacitly predispose students to cheat: they emphasize a single performance, the motivation is extrinsic, the expectation of success may be low, and peer pressure high.
Authentic assessments, on the other hand, are not only potentially more meaningful for students, they also make cheating almost impossible. For instance, Douglas Harrison shares this example: "a faculty member seeking to replace a multiple-choice exam on nutrition, digestion and metabolism could introduce more authentic assessment by giving students the option of tracking their own dietary intake and metabolic indicators. They could then evaluate the results or analyze food service menus and create an integrative map of the outcomes and impacts on diet and health."
Shifting to more authentic assessment may seem daunting, but can be done step by step. Even by just replacing some multiple choice questions with short answer questions that ask students to think and apply what they have learned in more authentic way.
