Professional and Career Topics

No shortage of opinions, as well as directives and memos from university folks who wish to increase the diligence of those who evaluate and grade students.

•  Wouldn't it be nice if we:

1. Stopped drilling down on the results or effects of such undesired behaviors?
2. Applied principles and practices of Human Systems EngineeringÔ to address the systemic root causes of such behaviors?
3. Recalled Dr. W. Edwards Deming's findings that within an organization, "94% of what causes failure is the system, not the people."
4. Engaged colleagues with applicable and varied perspectives to help better understand and describe what needs to change in our system that results in undesirable behaviors?
5. Applied our emerging knowledge of SocioCulturalPsychology (SCP) to better understand what Lewin referred to as driving and restraining forces?
6. Observed and evaluated behaviors within the Kurt Lewin framework of B = f (I, E), which characterizes observed behaviors from the perspective of "Psychological Life Space," i.e. the settings . . .visible and invisible . . .within which people make decisions?
7. Publicly and loudly recognized and celebrated examples of desired behaviors?
8. Approached this challenge based on data -> information -> knowledge -> hypothesis -> Theory?
9. Collaborated, communicated, and cooperated with those outside of our department/school/ university's "Invisible Silos?" 

Thank you for reading and considering my opinions.

Stay Healthy!

Cheers,

Bill

 Q. What do you think about the issue(s)?

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William M. Hayden Jr., Ph.D., P.E., CMQ/OE, F.ASCE
Buffalo, N.Y.

"It is never too late to be what you might have been." -- George Eliot 1819 - 1880
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Dear Bill, it is an interesting topic.

There are several studies on this topic, but it becomes more relevant during this period of distance learning. I firmly believed that students cheat mostly because of fear (i.e., academic results, lack of time, lack of knowledge) -there is a small population that cheats because of its culture- and if we want to avoid it, we have to offer friendly environments, preparing activities that account for knowledge and not only the ability to solve problems against the clock, performing mock exams, etc.

Academia requires grading, but the most crucial task is to prepare civil engineers committed to social and community services under ethical principles.

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Andres Guzman Ing., M.ASCE
Associate Professor
UNIVERSIDAD DEL NORTE
Barranquilla
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