Teacher implements a clever and innovative exam strategy designed to identify and catch students who are attempting to cheat.
Cheating has long plagued academic settings, and the rise of the internet has only amplified this issue.
In the digital age, students often turn to quick online searches rather than relying on their own knowledge.
This undermines the purpose of exams, which is to assess individual understanding and problem-solving abilities.
In response to this challenge, one teacher devised a clever strategy to identify and expose students who cheat.
Creating the trap
One teacher, concerned about students using online resources during exams, observed frequent toilet breaks.
Additionally, this pattern raised suspicions about potential cheating.
Suspecting these breaks were used for cheating, the teacher decided to implement a strategic trap.
The ingenious solution
To catch the cheaters, the teacher introduced a seemingly impossible question into the exam.
About a month before the test, a teaching assistant posted a question online. The teacher then provided a seemingly plausible answer.
Additionally, this setup was designed to trick students into thinking they could find the answer quickly through an online search.
Execution and results of the ingenious exam trick
During the exam, students who attempted to find the answer online were caught when they submitted the fake solution.
Out of 99 students, 14 were caught using this method.
While, they were given zero marks for their exams as a consequence.
This ingenious exam trick was shared on Reddit and sparked debate a mong viewers.
The teacher’s approach sparked a debate when the incident was shared on Reddit.
Reactions were mixed. Some praised the strategy as “smart and fair”. Others criticized it as a “dick move” and worried it could unfairly impact students who invested time in the trap question.
One person said:Teacher post baiting impossible to answer question and bullshit answer in internet. When student try to cheat by using mobile phone to search they will write wrong answer. End of summary. But what will happen if some student use online question to practice. If some student try to solve that impossible question and lose time.
A second wrote: Man one time I got 100% on my test and the teacher accused me of cheating. I then had to explain that I use a different method to solve the equations than what was originally taught because it was simplified that way. I literally had to teach the teacher
While a third commented: Had a teacher make two different exams for a test in high school. Caught a few cheaters.
Additionally, this innovative tactic underscores the lengths to which educators will go to maintain academic integrity.
While it effectively identified cheaters, the approach’s fairness remains a topic of debate.
The teacher’s method highlights both the creativity required to combat modern cheating.