Academic Integrity

ENCOURAGING ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

School is an adventure; Academic Integrity is your compass

Honesty and integrity are essential, desirable character traits as recognized in our Code of Conduct and the IBO Learner Profile. ISNS believes that teaching students about academic and personal honesty is a fundamental part of a student's education.

Academic pursuits can be extremely challenging, but as with all challenges, accomplishing your goal often yields rewards far greater than the effort put into the work. The creation of original work is often an arduous task. Still, the skills learned in doing so – problem-solving, articulating arguments, synthesizing information, rigorous academic research, etc. – will be invaluable as you pursue a university degree and a career.

ISNS strives to create a safe, collaborative, and encouraging learning environment for students to explore ideas and support academically honest behaviours and help instill the values and principles behind such behaviours. As a continuum school, the learner profile attributes and the development of ATL skills are essential in helping students of all ages be academically honest in all their studies.

ISNS expects that all IB students will strive to be principled and demonstrate academic integrity in all their pursuits. This policy will provide the expectations of students, teachers and parents in the pursuit of academic integrity, including the responsibility for producing authentic and genuine individual and group work.

Throughout the Primary Years Programme, teachers will aim to instill an understanding and respect for academic integrity. All subject teachers will work with students of all age groups to develop understanding, highlight the importance of completing one's own work, promote best practices and identify skills that need developing. Violations will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, primarily between the teacher and student, but when deemed necessary, with the cooperation of administration and parents/guardians.

In the Middle Years and Diploma Programmes, teachers will continue to build on the principles developed in the PYP and incorporate the responsibilities and guidelines contained within this policy. Students are expected to acknowledge the work and ideas of others and engage with information technology responsibility. The students are prepared for the observation and adherence to ethical and honest practice during examinations. Candidates to the Diploma Programme will be made aware that IB randomly checks candidates' work for plagiarism using web-based plagiarism prevention services, and ISNS teachers and students will use such services to ensure academic honesty (ex. Turnitin).

It is expected that students will consistently demonstrate academic integrity as outlined in school policy. Each student in the MYP and DP Programmes is asked to sign in acknowledgement of this policy upon enrollment.

Parents and legal guardians play a crucial role in reinforcing the values and importance of academic integrity. This is particularly important for education in one of the IBO programmes, given the wide recognition that higher education institutions have granted to IB graduates for many years.

School leadership, programme coordinators and teachers must commit to an honest and open conversation with parents and legal guardians. These conversations will emphasize the commitment expected from all members of the school community. To support their children and the school, parents must accept that academic integrity is a fundamental part of the IB's educational philosophy.

Parents should also understand the IBO's expectations for schools, coordinators, teachers, and all students. ISNS encourages parents and legal guardians to familiarize themselves with the IB's policy on plagiarism, which is the most common form of misconduct. If parents have questions regarding these expectations, parents should approach the school for clarification.

Understanding the expectations of the Academic Integrity Policy will equip parents to support their children appropriately. This will include supervising their child's work to ensure the child completes all learning engagements within the bounds of the Academic Integrity Policy. If a parent identifies that their child needs extra assistance, the parent can ensure that all additional support maintains a high standard of academic integrity. Parents are encouraged to seek help from the school in this endeavor.

In addition to policies and procedures implemented by ISNS, there are serious consequences imposed by the International Baccalaureate Organization for academic misconduct. Students found to have submitted plagiarized or dishonestly produced academic work assessed by the IBO will fail to receive a grade in the subject concerned and will fail to receive an IB diploma as a result. IBDP students will be expected to acknowledge the IBO Academic Integrity Policy formally.

DEFINING ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Academic integrity is when a student showcases their abilities using authorized materials and indicates what work they did and what work was done by others. The student acknowledges their sources and clearly shows where their ideas and images came from. They display the responsible use of information technology and social media and know how to observe and adhere to ethical and honest practices during examinations. The student views school as an opportunity to master content and learn through challenges.

DEFINING ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT

Plagiarism

At ISNS, we believe in trusting our intellect, undertaking research and crediting others. When we use or are inspired by someone else's work, we cite them. Give credit where credit is due. “Know what your own and what you owe”.

An example of plagiarism is when:

A student copies someone's ideas or words without citing.
A student paraphrases or summarized someone's thoughts or words without citing.
A student is replacing words from a source without changing the sentence structure and citing.
A student cites sources incorrectly or fabricates sources.

Cheating

At ISNS, we demonstrate our achievements, produce original work, authentic results and accept corrections and mistakes as part of the learning process.

An example of cheating is when:
A student uses a piece of work from a previous class to complete an assignment in another class.
A student submits falsified or invented information.
A student uses notes, programmable calculators, or other electronic devices on an assessment when not allowed.
A student pays online services or someone else to complete an assignment for them.
Students share the questions on a test with students who have not yet taken it.
Students look at or attempt to look at another student’s work during a test.
A student communicates with another student in any manner during a test.
DP students sharing information about an exam 24 hours before or after the examination with others outside their school community.

Group Work

At ISNS, we value collaboration as an essential skill and ensure we present our contributions fairly.

An example of collusion is when:

A student uses work or part of the work from another student and submits it as their own.
A student relies on their group members to do all the work.
A student misrepresents their contribution to a group work assessment.
Students plan a response together, copying a plan for an individual assessment.

Misuse of Translation Applications

Translation apps and reversal searches appear to offer an easy and widely available way to supplement language acquisition. However, while it does enable one's communication skills temporarily, it hinders their language acquisition. Students encounter mistranslations and miss out on gaining knowledge of the denotation and connotation of words, understanding of how the language works, evolving one's understanding of slang and inference and cementing the role language plays in the communication of culture.

At ISNS, we believe students cannot outsource deep, cross-linguistic and cross-cultural knowledge to a translation app or a reversal search engine, and such technology should only be used to translate single words and phrases. “You can't copy and paste success”.

SUBJECT SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

NOTE: This list does not necessarily cover ALL academically dishonest behaviours. If you are ever in doubt about whether an action is academically dishonest, make sure to ask your teacher.

Language Acquisition (English, French and Mandarin)