Madihah teaches BTEC Health and Social Care students. Some of her students don’t initially have plans to attend university but later change their minds. “We teach our students that ultimately we want them to be happy and successful with whatever they choose,” she says, but adds, "...regardless of their path, it’s important for them to learn how to write and not take shortcuts." That’s why she’s embraced Turnitin and worked hard to embed it into every lesson.
“If there is an issue with plagiarism, then we can pinpoint exactly who from and where from,” says Madihah.
With Turnitin’s reports and highlighted text, students can see at a glance what percentage of their work matches other content. Madihah appreciates this because it helps the students see very clearly where they might need to develop their own ideas. Madihah and her colleagues can use the report and the similarity score as a starting point for a wider conversation with the students on the importance of original ideas.
“Many of them don’t enjoy literacy...so they try to find shortcuts and don’t see a problem with using someone else’s words to say what they mean.”
With Turnitin, Madihah no longer has to track down possible instances of plagiarism, which she says saves a “massive amount of time,” and helps to prevents plagiarism.
Even more important, in her opinion, is that Turnitin helps her teach a core value - that wherever you end up in life, it’s important to know that you’ve done it on your own merits and with integrity.