Attention Teachers: 5 Ways to Prevent Cheating in Classrooms During Exams

Cheating cannot be totally annihilated because it's as natural as breathing but we have to impress in the students' minds that cheating is not accepted in our society and it results in ostracism. Teachers, even though they know all along that cheating is inevitable, should try to do everything to plant conscience in the students' hearts.

The philosophy that cheating is not an accepted behavior in the classroom started from idealism. Idealism pushes through morale and spirituality inside the classroom.

According to a long-existing child philosophy, the innate-goodness theory, children are naturally good people who are only confused with the surrounding factors in the society. The teachers should utilize strategies to make the students realize that they are good people.

1. Have students sit in alternating seats.

Sitting arrangement (you might as well look the difference of "seating" and "sitting" up in the dictionary) could easily turn into "cheating arrangement." This is why many teachers try to disarrange students and separate friends from friends during examination. Also, seats must be arranged in a way that cheating will be very obvious and students would actually hesitate to do so.

2. Go around the testing room and observe students.

In criminal psychology, this is called police visibility. It has been believed that criminals actually hesitate to execute a crime if they see policemen around. This is also true about conducting an exam. Students feel they are watched over if they see the teacher walking around.

3. Prohibit borrowing things from classmates.

Borrowing the calculator during the exam is a usual scenario in a Math exam but it should be avoided. There is no reason for students to borrow things from their classmates if the examination was properly announced. Borrowing things gives chances the students chances to talk and things like the calculator are subject to anomaly, if you know what I mean.

4. Prepare alternate forms of the test.

Alternate forms of tests can be given as a special exam for students who missed the exam and also, as a punishment for a student who cheats. Preparing alternate tests and giving them to the students alternately (also called as set-A-set-B exam) may deter cheating.

5. Have students put down unnecessary things.

Unnecessary things include bags, mobile phones, other gadgets and things which are obviously not essential to take the test. These things can be used by the students to cheat.