Concordia University St. Paul DigitalCommons@CSP Concordia University Portland Graduate CUP Ed. Dissertations Research Spring 3-30-2020 The Use of Digital Applications and Websites in Completing Math Assignments Ronna Williams Concordia University - Portland, ronnwilliams@mail2.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.edu/cup_commons_grad_edd Part of the Applied Mathematics Commons, and the Higher Education Commons Recommended Citation Williams, R. The Use of Digital Applications and Websites in Completing Math Assignments (Thesis, Concordia University, St.
Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.edu/cup_commons_grad_edd/452 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia University Portland Graduate Research at DigitalCommons@CSP. It has been accepted for inclusion in CUP Ed. Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@CSP. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@csp.
Concordia University - Portland CU Commons Ed. Dissertations Graduate Theses & Dissertations Spring 3-30-2020 The Use of Digital Applications and Websites in Completing Math Assignments Ronna Williams Concordia University - Portland Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.edu/edudissertations Part of the Applied Mathematics Commons, and the Higher Education Commons CU Commons Citation Williams, Ronna, "The Use of Digital Applications and Websites in Completing Math Assignments" (2020).edu/edudissertations/445 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Theses & Dissertations at CU Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Ed. Dissertations by an authorized administrator of CU Commons.
For more information, please contact libraryadmin@cu-portland. Concordia University–Portland College of Education Doctorate of Education Program WE, THE UNDERSIGNED MEMBERS OF THE DISSERTATION COMMITTEE CERTIFY THAT WE HAVE READ AND APPROVE THE DISSERTATION OF Ronna Williams CANDIDATE FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF EDUCATION Belle Booker-Zorigian, Ph., Faculty Chair Dissertation Committee Angelo Letizia, Ph., Content Specialist Megan Cavalier, Ph., Content Reader The Use of Digital Applications and Websites in Completing Math Assignments Ronna Williams Concordia University–Portland College of Education Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the College of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Higher Education Belle Booker-Zorigian, Ph., Faculty Chair Dissertation Committee Angelo Letizia, Ph., Content Specialist Megan Cavalier, Ph., Content Reader Concordia University–Portland 2020 Abstract There are is a large assortment of digital applications and websites available for students to use in completing their math assignments. The problem is how and why they are using these applications. This study looked at the different applications and websites used by students, including Slader, Wolfram Alpha, Symbolab, Desmos, and Photomath.
The study then explored why students used these applications and websites. The idea of plagiarism in mathematics was presented to the students in this study. The review of the literature included the concepts of plagiarism and cheating and illustrated that students have a history of using tools for accomplishing tasks. Nine students were interviewed by implementing a phenomenological approach.
The themes that developed from these interviews included confidence building, learning, and easy access. Students stated that they planned to continue using digital applications and websites to complete their math assignments. Keywords: math, Slader,Wolfram Alpha, Symbolab, Desmos, Photomath, plagiarism, cheating, confidence building, digital applications ii Dedication I dedicate this paper to my family and my students. These are the people who inspire me to continue teaching and to reach new heights, once thought to be unattainable.
iii Acknowledgments I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my dissertation committee faculty chair Dr. Belle Booker-Zorigan for her invaluable patience and support through this long process. I would also like to acknowledge the assistance I received from Dr. Angelo Letizia and Dr.
Megan Cavalier, my committee members. From these two individuals, I learned how to present my data and how to research more effectively. I also want to thank my friends and my family. My friends have supported me by asking how things were going.
Even when it seemed dull, they were willing to listen to my challenges. My children, Eric and Julie, were supportive as I struggled with the frustrations of completing this process. My sister, Randa, has never failed to remind me how proud she was of my accomplishments. Finally, my last thank you goes to my husband, John.
I would never have embarked on this journey without him. The list he gave me is now complete. iv Table of Contents Abstract. iv List of Tables .x List of Figures.
xi Chapter 1: Introduction .1 Introduction to the Problem .1 Background, Context, History, and Conceptual Framework for the Problem .2 Statement of the Problem .5 Purpose of the Study .6 Rationale, Relevance, and Significance of the Study .6 Definition of Terms.8 Assumptions, Delimitations, and Limitations .10 Summary of Chapter 1 .10 Chapter 2: Literature Review .14 The Problem Statement .16 Conceptual and Theoretical Frameworks .16 v Social Constructivism: Conceptual Framework .16 Social Cognitive Theory: Theoretical Framework .20 Applying Both Lenses to Academic Dishonesty .25 Academic Dishonesty: Who, Why, and How it Happens .27 Social Groups, Academic Groups, and Other Activities .31 Plagiarizing in Mathematics .32 Review of Methods .37 Synthesis of Research Findings .40 Critique of Previous Research .50 Purpose and Design.51 Research Population and Sampling Method .58 vi Identification of Attributes .62 Data Analysis Procedures .63 Limitations and Delimitations of the Research Design .70 Expected Findings for Research Question 1 .71 Expected Findings for Research Question 2 .71 Ethical Issues of the Study .73 Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Results .75 Description of the Sample.82 Summary of the Findings .95 Presentation of Data and Results .90 Why students use digital applications and websites .90 Digital applications and websites used by students .91 Justification for using digital applications and websites.92 Definition of plagiarism in mathematics .96 Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion .98 Summary of the Results .100 Learning the Processing and/or Filling Gaps .101 The Question of Plagiarism .101 Other Emerging Themes .102 Discussion of Results .105 Digital Applications or Websites Used by Students .105 Why and How Participants Use Digital Applications.107 Unavailability of the Instructor .108 Checking Answers and Building Confidence .109 viii Continued Usage .110 Definition of Plagiarism .111 Discussion of the Study’s Results and the Literature .113 Limitations of the Study.116 The Implication of the Results for Practice, Policy, and Theory .118 Implications for Practice .118 Implications for Policy.121 Implications for Theory .122 Recommendation for Further Research .130 Appendix A: Consent Form .145 Appendix C: Interview Questions .146 Appendix D: Portion of Quote Spreadsheet.147 Appendix E: Composite Textural-Structural Description.150 Appendix F: Statement of Original Work…………………………………………….160 ix List of Tables Table 1. Demographics of the Population and Sample. Digital Applications or Websites Used .106 x List of Figures Figure 1. Vygotsky’s (1978) social constructivism theory.
Relationship between conceptual and theoretical frameworks in this study.23 xi Chapter 1: Introduction Introduction to the Problem In Bowers’ (1966) seminal study, 75% of the surveyed students admitted to participating in academic dishonesty, which was defined by Bowers as using the words or ideas of others without giving credit to the source. Bowers (1966) used the phrases academic dishonesty and cheating interchangeably. According to Simkin and McLeod (2010), cheating, their term for academic dishonesty, has become even easier for students due to the popularity and easy access to the Internet where students can find and copy work. While most of the academic dishonesty studies center on writing, Bidgood and Merrill (2017) found plagiarism extends beyond writing into computer programming as well.
Bidgood and Merrill (2017) defined plagiarism as a subset of academic dishonesty, where a person uses the ideas or words of others without giving proper credit. For example, Bidgood and Merrill (2017) examined student plagiarism in a computer programming class focused on coding data. Their research discovered that 100 out of 700 students copied their assignments from the Internet, many changing one symbol to try to make their work look different (Bidgood & Merrill, 2017). This example from computer programming illustrates how the concepts of academic dishonesty, specifically plagiarism, can be applied to the field of mathematics.
Students often use digital applications and websites such as Slader, PhotoMath, and Wolfram Alpha to complete their assignments (Linshi, 2016). These applications allow students to input their problems to receive a step-by-step solution. The students might copy the solutions directly from these sites, or the students may use the solutions to learn the process (Linshi, 2016). Either way, the students should always cite the sources to avoid plagiarism.
However, according to Jones, Reid, and Bartlett (2008), a shared belief among many students is that all 1 items found on the Internet are in public domain, and therefore, students believe that the acknowledgment of these kinds of internet programs as sources is not necessary. It is unclear whether students sharing this belief are aware that copying solutions from these digital applications and websites are considered plagiarism. No studies exist that investigate the link between student behavior (i., using the application to complete assignments) and student cognition (i., perception and intention for using the application). This connection is one of the areas I explored in this research.
More specifically, in this research study, I sought to examine (a) how and why students use digital application and websites to complete math assignments, (b) how students perceive plagiarism in math assignments, and (c) how the use of these applications, in mathematics, is a form of plagiarism. Background, Context, History, and Conceptual Framework for the Problem In this phenomenological study, I used two related conceptual frameworks to examine why and how students are used digital applications and websites for completing math assignments. These two conceptual frameworks are social constructivism, which is considered a large paradigm, in which falls the second framework, social cognitive theory (Bandura, 2001). These conceptual frameworks explain how information is learned through social means (McCabe & Trevino, 1993).
In social constructivism, one component of this social interaction is called the zone of proximal development (ZPD), whereby a learner accomplishes a task with guidance from someone more knowledgeable (Vygotsky, 1978). Social cognitive theories suggest learning occurs through observation and imitation (Bandura, 2001). Social learning theories emphasized the importance of learning through example (McCabe, Trevino, & Butterfield, 2002). This notion of learning through observation of others is a lens through which to understand plagiarism in completing math assignments.
Previous research has shown that watching others cheat or having 2 known of their cheating encourages other students to choose the same path (Rittinger & Kramer, 2009). The Internet provides easy access to references and examples which some students use to complete their assignments (Ma, Wan, & Yong, 2008). This manner of completing assignments is plagiarism, using a source without proper citation (Aasheim, Rutner, Li, & Williams, 2012; Bowers, 1966; Ma et al. As electronic sources become more available, there is an increase in plagiarism using these sources (Ma et al.
Often students believe the information available through these sources is in the public domain and therefore free to be used by everyone without citation (Jones et al. These ideas lead to the phenomenon of many students in mathematics courses plagiarizing by copying solutions from digital applications and websites, such as Wolfram Alpha or Mathway, without learning the material (Hindin, 2010; Tantra, 2016). Given the rise in plagiarism in mathematics, it is critical to understand students’ intentions behind their actions, which was one purpose of this investigation. Various research projects into plagiarism used quantitative, qualitative, and mixed- method approaches.
The first studies of plagiarism in higher education began with Bowers (1966) and continued with McCabe and Trevino (1993, 1996, 1997) and McCabe, Trevino, and Butterfield (1999, 2001a, 2001b, 2002, 2003, 2011). Most of these studies involved exploration of using honor codes in controlling academic dishonesty, the act of being dishonest in an academic setting (McCabe & Trevino, 1993). One emerging idea from these studies is that peers can control the behavior of others by employing honor codes. These honor codes establish clear rules regarding academic dishonesty and encourage students to “police” the behavior of others (McCabe & Trevino, 1993).
Often, academic dishonesty is a result of following the example of others, an idea from social constructivism (Fox, 2010; McLeod, 2016; Vygotsky, 1978).