School Policies: AI Plagiarism Concerns

As AI continues to become a prominent feature in technology, educators are concerned about how students might use the tool to plagiarize assignments. However, many argue that educators and leaders should research AI tools and find ways to incorporate them into the classroom, likening them to calculators.

  • “I worry a lot about teachers being too focused on ‘catching students cheating’ in the year ahead—especially with new AI tools available. My fear? That this mindset is going to do far more harm than good.” —High School English Teacher in Oregon
    • “I find that most kiddos who cheat are capable but not sophisticated and are very insecure. My goal this year is to re-emphasize process writing, writer’s notebooks, and sentence variety. I feel badly for teachers and professors with hundreds of students- that needs to change.” —Teacher, N/A
    • “I also worry about not being able to teach my students what they need to know in order to write and communicate effectively. And what does that even mean if AI can just do it for you?” —English Teacher in California 
    • “On the other hand, if it is easier for a student to cheat than to learn the content, how are we motivating them?” —High School Math Teacher in North Carolina 
    • “My experience so far with 2 kids in high school has been that a lot of secondary teachers have just become defeated and, therefore, cynical. ALL kids are suspected and treated like they are guilty of something, regardless of behavioral or academic history. I can totally see this.” —Teacher, N/A
    • “Kids have been cheating in math with AI for years! My fear is students do not value their opportunity to learn and build their brains. We grow when we take on challenges.” —Middle School Math Teacher, Massachusetts
  • “I’m definitely at a point in reflecting on AI use as a teacher—esp. in bringing it into the classroom—where I have some serious ethical concerns about leaning into tools that scrape + plagiarize the writings of others without attribution. How are others dealing with this?” —High School English Teacher in Oregon
    • “Like any tool, AI can be used for good — or not! We use AI all the time: smartphones (autocorrect, Face ID, etc), digital voice assistants, smart home devices, etc. I think it’s HOW you use them and teach students what constitutes a good use of AI vs. misuse.” —Teacher, N/A
    • “If your school has Turnitin, they have an AI detector.  I am also telling my students if they use it, it must be indicated how it was used and give AI some credit.  I think it can be valuable to use, especially for students who have never written a research paper before.” —High School Teacher in Florida
    • “One of the first things I’m addressing when school starts-using it as a teaching/learning tool, not as your submission.” —Teacher, N/A
    • “This is a great approach. I think it’s incumbent on teachers & districts to start researching & learning how to use & incorporate AI in schooling because this is not going away. AI, like the internet, will forever change learning & that’s only bad if we ignore it.” —Principal, N/A
    • “This might not be a very well taken answer, but maybe we need to start redefining ethics, plagiarism, and expectations when it comes to utilizing sources in the digital age. Digital age. Our curative techniques haven’t caught up with our abilities and it’s really starting to show.” —Teacher in New Hampshire
  • “There was a time when Mathematics teachers were convinced that calculators would ruin math education. Successful teachers found a way to use calculators as a positive tool for student learning. ChapGPT will be the same…” —Superintendent in Nevada
    • “Exactly what I’ve told my staff. It’s here, we have to live with it. Banning it is not the answer.  How do we use it to our benefit?” —Principal in Nevada 
    • “Agree. AI is here & as educators we need to work within its capabilities & teach students how to responsibly pull information & recheck for accuracy in what they pull. Assessments, I would assume will modify-become much shorter. Probably more timely/short verbal assessments.” —High School Principal in Oregon
  • “I get weary of AI hype auto-generated by *gasp* ChatGPT without any real applicability to the classroom. I’m collecting blogs of teachers who are in the classroom who actually use AI and have practical, real examples to share. Got links for those teachers? Enough of the junk.” —Teacher in Georgia