February 29, 2016

February STEAM Exchange: Cheating

The topic of our February STEAM Exchange, held on February 25th, 2016, was Cheating. With each STEAM Exchange, we choose a general topic that can be widely interpreted across disciplines. This month, we had three presenters talk about their interpretation of the subject “Cheating”. Our speakers included Shoshanah Goldberg-Miller, Kathryn Corl, and Zakee Sabree.

Zakee, Assistant Professor in Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, started out the night by discussing Retraction Watch, which is a blog that reports how many times a scientific paper or article is retracted. He also ended the night by having attendees participate in an interactive exquisite corpse about cheating. STEAM members filled in the blanks and finished sentences such as: Cheating is…; ____ is cheating because...; ____ was cheating when...; etc. After attendees turned in their finished sentences, Zakee performed an exquisite corpse using their submissions.

Next, Shoshanah, Assistant Professor in the departments of Arts Administration, Education, and Policy and City and Regional Planning, discussed her research which focuses on the winners and losers in the creative cities movements that are happening across the United States. She also talked about the steps needed to take to sustain creative cities. One view Shoshanah had about cheating was that residents of cities where creative movements are occurring often get cheated. Her argument was that often economic disparity and racial inequality do not get discussed in creative city movements, leaving poorer residents without a say in what happens to their communities.

Finally, Kathryn, Former Coordinator of the Ohio State University Committee on Academic Misconduct (COAM), discussed a variety of different situations that came across her desk while she was a part of the OSU COAM. She also explained the ways in which technology has made it much easier for college students to cheat. She informed STEAM members of ways to educate students on the importance of honesty and the implications of cheating.

After each presenter, there was a Q&A session which helped further expand on each speaker’s viewpoint and research. Overall, the STEAM Exchange was a very informative and interactive meeting that focused on cheating and the many different ways that it can be interpreted. To check out the photo gallery from the event click here. If prompted use the password: SteamFactoryThompson

Also, mark your calendars for the next STEAM Exchange which will take place on March 31^st, in the 18^th Ave. Library. Check out more about the event here.

STEAM members thinking hard about the research being presented

Written by Erika Vocke, STEAM intern