Data Talk: More than 92 % of Udayana Students Have Cheated in One Way or Another

Data Talk: More than 92 % of Udayana Students Have Cheated in One Way or Another InCircle Journal of Research and Development, #1 issue, December 2015 To build a world-class university, having great and highly motivated human resources is a must. Finding human resources who are willing to develop their potential and willing to work smart are rarely found in the mean time. Most of people are afraid to try something new, which is out of their comfort zone. They want to gain everything in instant and tend to use the shortest and easiest way to achieve their goal, for instance most of the students tend to cheat on exam rather than enrich their selves with knowledge. For the past few years, Udayana University is aiming to be a world class university. Udayana has improved some of their facilities (e.g classroom supported with LCD and Projector, Wi-Fi Area which cover all the campus area, easy access on e-journal, etc), the quality of the lecturers, and also upgrade their e-learning system. Unfortunately, it seems like Udayana University still has a long way to go since Udayana students still cheat on exam. Well, looking at this phenomenon, is Udayana dream of becoming world-class university still relevant? To know the cheating phenomenon in field of education, we have conducted a simple survey among Udayana students. We have asked 395 respondents about their cheating habit. And 319 or 92.7% of the respondent said that they ever cheated at least once in their exam. Fortunately, they do it rarely, which has been proven by 222 or 68.1% of the respondents stated that they rarely cheat on their exam. And actually, it is not their intention to cheat on exam, 149 respondents or 46.3% of them stated that they decided to cheat because they were really blank on that time and do not know the answer but they do not want to get a bad score, so they decided to cheat. contekcontek 2 contek 3 contek 4 University Lets Cheating Habit Keep Happening? Around 179 or 55.4% respondents stated that the condition that make it is possible to cheat on exam is the teachers or lecturers are unaware during the exam. Nowadays, there are many ways that can be used to cheat. One of the oldest ways is by using a finger-code. And 60 out of 395 respondents (19%) are using this method. And following by 96 or 30.4% of the respondent, using paper to cheat during the exam is still the top method to cheat. This method can be categorized as a conventional yet effectual way to cheat during exam. And one thing that revealed by this survey is the fact that the aim of cheating during exam is only to fulfill the answer sheet, which stated by 169 out of 395 respondents or 52.8%, and 159 out of 395 respondents (49.5%) said that they got a good score because of cheating. Although the rules clearly stated that the student may not cheat on exam, and the university even put 2 lecturers in the room during the exam, the cheating habit is still going on. It does seem like the university cannot stop the cheating habit, so it lets cheating habit keep happening. By conducting this survey, we can see that cheating activity also bring a bad influence to the students. The data shows that 155 or 49.1% respondents having lack of self-confidence as the effect of cheating. Individuals with less self-confident ones cheat more often than those with high self-efficacy.[1] Moreover, results of the laboratory experiment shows that cheaters scored higher on self-esteem than non-cheaters.[2] This might happened because the students often feel that they have no ability or not smarter enough for doing the test, and once they cheating, they may feel they have found the easier way to achieved high marks other than studying for the test. Otherwise, individuals with high self-esteem felt good and self-confident enough to write the test on their own.[3] The point is, good grades are important, but in the end of the day, what truly matters is knowledge we gained through learning process to achieved such grades. Based on the survey, we found that only 97 out of 395 respondents or 30.3% who feel guilty after they cheating on their exam and the rest of them never feel any guilty feeling after they cheating during the exam, which has been stated by 191 respondents (59.7%). And fortunately, 251 respondents are willing to stop this bad habit and start to enrich their selves with knowledge by study smarter not harder. Stop Study Harder, Do it Smarter! Since we were a child, we have been told to study hard to get the best score or to be the best in everything. We would spend 4 until 5 hours of our 24 hours just to sit and study. But still, sometimes we would not manage to understand the subject that we learn and surely, we could not achieve our goal perfectly. Intelligence definitely plays a role. But, your study method can make or break your success in campus life as well. So, here are some simple tips to study smarter not harder that will lead you to avoid cheating habit on your next exam: Get organized. Staying organized is key. Make sure you have a notebook for each class and organize your notes, handouts, graded tests, papers and quizzes. When you are going to study, prepare all the materials – syllabus, pens, paper, pencils, calculator or whatever you’ll need for that particular study session. Use a planner to keep track of long and short-term projects. Set a schedule and stick to it. Pick your time and place. Experts advise students to study in chunks of shorter time and to avoid marathon study sessions. If possible, it’s best to use work hours – 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. – for classes and studying. Every campus has great places to study – but your dorm/bed room may not be one of them since there is likely both a bed and a TV to lure you away from your work. Look for spots with good lighting and few distractions. Your campus library may be perfect for writing a paper or working on your task, but there’s nothing wrong with getting cozy in a tucked-away corner of a coffee shop for some tasks, such as reviewing notes. Try studying at the same time daily, giving your most challenging classes top priority. Take good notes and review them correctly. Class notes are a crucial part of studying in college. Taking good notes forces you to listen carefully and helps you remember the important points even before you study them. So when you’re taking notes during a lecture, listen carefully. Record only the main points and concentrate on key words, leaving plenty of white space to write in more information as needed. Take time to continue working on your notes as soon as possible. Add details you remember and review what you’ve written. Make note of any questions you have. Keep your notes neat and in order. Attend class and participate. In college as in life, 90 percent of success is showing up. Studying will be much more effective if you know what your professor and classmates are talking about. Participate in discussions and ask questions. Do not feel hesitate or shy to answer any question from your lecturer or ask any question that need to be clarify. Remember, it is better to ask rather then get Create study tools. Create outlines, timelines, charts and flashcards with your notes and reading materials. Simply working on these mini-projects can help you memorize the material, but using them to test yourself can reap rewards. Rethink reading. Painstakingly reading every word may not be your best strategy. Learn to scan chapter headings, introductions, summaries and keywords. Read actively, searching for the main points. Take notes and write summaries. Create possible test questions. Translate the text into your own words and think of your own examples so you’ll be able to write effective essays or summaries. Turn off your phone. When it comes to studying, multi-tasking is a myth. Since you’re studying in shorter chunks of time (see No. 2) you can turn your phone off and put it away to avoid being distracted by a text or call. Reward yourself after a productive hour or so with a quick peek – but get back to work until you’ve accomplished your mission. In order to transform Udayana University into a world-class university, we have to change our mindset and also our habit first. We have to stop any kind of bad habit that will make us lack of confidence during exam. We can start building our self-confidence by enriching our selves with knowledge, do it step by step, day by day. First, set on your mind that study is a process. Take your time to understand about the subject. You have to understand about the material, so DO NOT MEMORIZE IT but understand it. Second, make your study-plan where you specify your exam schedule, the day you will begin your exam preparation, the books that you need to read, the task or exercise need to be done, etc. Do not being a dead-liner or doing all-nighter. Third, summarize the materials to make it easier to understand. Fourth, when you study, avoid any kinds of distraction (e.g. mobile phone, TV, video game). Use the time you have to the maximum. Fifth, find the perfect type of studying for yourself. Basically, there are 4 (four) types of studying: Visual, Auditory, Emotional and Kinesthetic. Visual Learners: if you are a visual learner, the most effective way when learning material is depicted the learning material in a visual way, e.g. in the form of charts, maps or brainstorming, illustration, and slides. Write things down and marked it with colored markers or highlighters may be a good way to visualize the words and learn them. Auditory Learners: if you are an auditory learner, hearing the information will be the most effective way of study for yourself, for instance: keep yourself focus on hearing your lecturer in a lecture or by recording their own words and hear the voice-note repeatedly. Emotional Learners: An emotional learner studies most effectively by associating feelings, emotions and vivid images with the information. Kinesthetic Learners: A kinesthetic learner studies most effective when the information can be experienced and felt, i.e. via “learning by doing”. Use your exam and quiz result as a feedback to evaluate whether your learning methods has been fully effective on each test. By knowing your lost points, you can easily modify or change your learning methods to increase your effectiveness of learning. You can also find an “A” learner and do what s/he does. Hopefully, by doing those steps, everyone will be able to improve their knowledge and their self-confidence as well. Remember, When you study, do it in a focused and proper way, avoid any kinds of distractions and use the time you have to the maximum. Studying smart can help you to save a lot of time. And in order to study in the smartest possible way and avoid cheating again and again, you need to discover which type of studying you prefer. Once you know what works best for you, align your process of learning to make the most out of it. So, change your mindset and start to challenge yourself before it is too late because great things never came from comfort zone. [1] Agata Blachnio et al, Academic Cheating is Contagious: the Influence of the Presence of Others on Honesty, p. 15. URL: http://article.sapub.org/pdf/10.5923.j.ijap.20110101.02.pdf [2] Ibid, p. 18. [3] Ibid.