Amel Ben Abdesslem

Dr. Amel Ben Abdesslem’s top priority is an honest and trusting relationship with her students. After teaching for several years at the University of Bordeaux in France, Amel arrived in the United States in 2014 and shortly thereafter discovered Turnitin. Having met significant challenges in addressing academic integrity issues with students in France, she was incredibly impressed with Turnitin’ s Feedback Studio and knew immediately that she wanted to utilize it as a learning tool. Now, as an instructor for both online and on-campus college courses, serving diverse undergraduate and adult learners, she incorporates Turnitin seamlessly into her curriculum from the very start:

“At the beginning of each term, I teach my students what plagiarism is. I use videos, examples, scenarios, FAQ. My goal is to avoid any academic integrity cases and to do so, using the right tools like Turnitin and explaining extensively what plagiarism is, has proven to be a success.”

By using Turnitin’s Originality Report as a formative teaching tool, Amel has worked to create an environment of honest feedback and meaningful learning. Amel prioritizes email and in-person conversations with her students, emphasizing to them that even if they have made a mistake, they have the chance to learn from it and to make it right:

“[With Turnitin], I feel like the students trust me a bit more because I'm actually here to help. [I tell them,] ‘I'm here because I want you to pass. That's really my goal.’ My goal is actually to have all my students passing my class. In that case, I'm so happy.”

Check out all of the 2018 Global Innovator stories here!

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