Prize-Winning Thai Teacher Admits To Plagiarism

[webfact]

PLAGIARISM

Prize-winning teacher admits to plagiarism

The Nation

SUPHAN BURI: -- A Suphan Buri-based teacher has been stripped of a Thailand Innovative Teachers Leadership Award after confessing that his prize winning software project was stolen from students in another province.

The competition for the teachers' award was held in early February.

"It is true that I have submitted the students' work under my name without seeking any prior approval," Sompong Promthongdee, a teacher at Chang Wittaya School, said yesterday via a Facebook message.

The message appeared on the wall of the Thailand Partners in Learning page.

On Wednesday, the judging panel of the Thailand Innovative Teachers Leadership Award announced on the same wall that it had already removed Sompong from the list of award winners, disqualifying him from receiving a royally granted trophy.

The award competition is organised by Microsoft (Thailand).

Sompong was among 10 winners who went on a free trip to New Zealand last month to give presentations about their works.

Sompong admitted the wrongdoing and apologised only after a teacher at Satri Angthong School exposed him.

"He expressed an interest in my students' project. So, I shared information with him. I never thought he would do something like this," Atirat Phumsakha said.

Atirat was the adviser on a software project developed by two students at his school, Thanapat Prateepthong and Pichaya Sunthornmaykhin.

The project won an earlier competition. According to Atirat, Sompong saw the students' presentation during the first competition and approached him to ask for information on it.

-- The Nation 2012-04-20

[Scott]

How very sad. The students do the work and the teacher takes the credit. I know this happens in other places, but it doesn't help motivate students to be innovative.

[canuckamuck]

Copying other students work is the standard procedure in Thailand, but usually it isn't the teachers doing the copying.

[apetley]

Wouldn't it be nice if his remorse went as far as to paying for a holiday like he won for the cheated students?

[Gillespie]

Can teachers be transferred to inactive posts?

[BigJohnnyBKK]

No mention of fraud being a crime, even if it is more common than jaywalking the occasional example might help.

[Suradit69]

Copying other students work is the standard procedure in Thailand, but usually it isn't the teachers doing the copying.

And once again a problem that exists worldwide is described as "standard procedure" in Thailand based on nothing more than a false sense of superiority of someone who has no facts to support the accusation.

Thailand's problems are the same problems found everywhere in the world.

Half of Cambridge students have committed plagiarism as defined by the university, according to a Varsity survey.

49 per cent of students admitted that they have plagiarised work, although this differed radically between subjects and colleges. Ironically, students of the Law faculty plagiarised the most out of any subject, with 62 per cent of them breaking the university rules. The second highest was the Archaeology and Anthropology department with 59 per cent.

“It is a depressing set of statistics,” said Robert Foley, a Professor in Biological Anthropology at King’s College.

The college at the bottom of the Tompkins Table, St Edmund’s, had the highest proportion of plagiarising students, with 67 per cent admitting to breaking the university rules. Selwyn, at the top of the Tompkins table, had the fewest number of plagiarising students.

“It stands to reason that those students who are performing less well will resort to more underhand means to get by,” said a member of the University Council, the principal executive and policy making body of the university.

It is perhaps not surprising that 80 per cent of students said that the university is doing enough to punish plagiarism. “You can see why students, a great number of whom are frequently breaking the rules to their own benefit, would be keen to uphold the impression that the system is working,” said a member of the General Board, the body responsible education policy at the university.

“Sometimes when I am really fed up,” said Land Economy student at Pembroke, “I Google the essay title, copy and throw everything on to a blank word document and jiggle the order a bit. They usually end up being the best essays.” 100 per cent of Land Economy students admitted to plagiarism, but the results should be taken lightly because less than five per cent of the student population replied to the survey.

82% of plagiarists use Wikipedia for their essays, compared to only 75% of non-plagiarists.

Over 1000 students responded to the Varsity survey, answering whether they have ever done any of the following, all of which are defined as plagiarism by the university: handing in someone’s else’s essay; copying pasting from internet; copying statistics, code or field-work; making up statistics, code or field-work; handing in previously submitted work; using someone else’s ideas without acknowledgement; buying an essay, or having an essay edited by Oxbridge Essays.

http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/1058

The Budapest University of Medicine and Sport "Ignaz Semmelweis" has withdrawn the doctoral degree of Hungarian President Pal Schmitt for plagiarism in writing his thesis.

Edited April 20, 2012 by Suradit69

[anterian]

Is this any different from selling pirate DVDs. Yes, it was unfair on these students, but I am willing to bet that each student has a collection of pirated DVDs.

A case of the biter bit. Even so I would sack the teacher involved.

[KKK]

Can teachers be transferred to inactive posts?

Most are already in one......

Edited April 20, 2012 by KKK

[belg]

so the world can see the quality of the teachers here... the best one is nothing more than a IP thief

make him pay the NZ trip + donation for the students, but hey... same same no problem, mai pen rai

[Baerboxer]

Copying other students work is the standard procedure in Thailand, but usually it isn't the teachers doing the copying.

You have carried out extensive research in Thailand to confirm this? And, presumably carried out similar extensive research in all other countries to prove it's uniqueness to Thailand?

[Baerboxer]

so the world can see the quality of the teachers here... the best one is nothing more than a IP thief

make him pay the NZ trip + donation for the students, but hey... same same no problem, mai pen rai

Sadly, this type of activity is not unique to Thailand.

[Baerboxer]

Can teachers be transferred to inactive posts?

Most are already in one......

Wow - another example of extensive research being carried out. Can you let us know the reserach methodolgy and associated statistical analysis tools you used to investigate this prior to making your assertive comment please?

[pacovl46]

Another typical case of not being able to think logically! And just how far did he think he would get before the students would expose him???

[kkbound]

Copying other students work is the standard procedure in Thailand, but usually it isn't the teachers doing the copying.

Let's see - I grew up in America - remember my entire 6th grade class cheating at one point. I guess because Americans are so 'perfect' we never cheat - only Thais. Give me a break. I know many Thai students who work hard and earn their grades on their own merit - so please do not ruin their reputation by staying everyone in Thailand cheats...

[canuckamuck]

Too all the lasses here with a bee in their bonnet. Did I say it was unique to Thailand?

Having said that, I have seen quite a few examples of kids copying their homework off of other kids or having older siblings or parents doing the work for the kids. And I have also seen that quite a lot of the homework is as simple as copying something from somewhere else.

So I guess I have no intentional research, but I do have knowledge and experience.

It is very different sort of homework here to what I had in my day. No critical thinking, just repetition and rote.

[Scott]

Yes there is cheating everywhere, but in many places it is taken quite seriously. In my years of teaching here, I have seen rampant cheating in Thailand. I've seen teachers 'help' students; I've heard teachers giving the answers to entire classes.

I've seen students deliberately seated so that they can easily view other students test, rather than being moved a respectable distance from other students. I've seen students caught cheating and the attitude has been mai pen rai--and they still get a passing grade.

The major thing that seems to slow it down is parents who complain when everyone knows that a large number of students cheated, but their child didn't get a good grade.

I might add that cheating is a little like shoplifting--most kids try it, but most grow out of it.

[a99az]

So whats the news here?

[a99az]

How very sad. The students do the work and the teacher takes the credit. I know this happens in other places, but it doesn't help motivate students to be innovative.

Like my boss at our school, I do the work she wants the credit. Except I don't play that way, when she asked me to link my web site to the school web site, I said it's only for my students.

Edited April 20, 2012 by a99az

[SGD]

Can teachers be transferred to inactive posts?

Nope, fast tracked into the local constabulary.

[Dap]

Another typical case of not being able to think logically! And just how far did he think he would get before the students would expose him???

Unable to think outside the "standard" box?

[Dap]

Copying other students work is the standard procedure in Thailand, but usually it isn't the teachers doing the copying.

You have carried out extensive research in Thailand to confirm this? And, presumably carried out similar extensive research in all other countries to prove it's uniqueness to Thailand?

Copying other students work is the standard procedure in Thailand, but usually it isn't the teachers doing the copying.

You have carried out extensive research in Thailand to confirm this? And, presumably carried out similar extensive research in all other countries to prove it's uniqueness to Thailand?

I didn't read where he proclaimed "unique" to Thailand, only ... "standard procedure".

[Jimjim]

Can teachers be transferred to inactive posts?

Most are already in one......

Lovely. We have thai bashers, farang bashers, and now teacher bashers. Got to love internet forums. Brings all the d-bag comments out....

[Scott]

In all seriousness, can teachers be transferred to an inactive post?

[otherstuff1957]

^ Yes, the initials of the inactive post start with T and end with CT.

[chonabot]

I am regularly asked by fellow teachers to write their assignements for their Masters degree ( English ).

They pay well and the grades are usually A.

Am I a bad person ?

ps I didn't say I accepted..hehe

Edited April 21, 2012 by chonabot

[Screws]

Sad thing is that teacher can sue the exposer for 'loss of face'.

- for telling the truth -

This is what is unique to Thailand, AFAIK.

Edited April 21, 2012 by Screws

[KKK]

Can teachers be transferred to inactive posts?

Most are already in one......

Wow - another example of extensive research being carried out. Can you let us know the reserach methodolgy and associated statistical analysis tools you used to investigate this prior to making your assertive comment please?

You have no sense of humour

[Ijustwannateach]

Hello, KKK, and welcome to the teacher's forum, where snarky generalisations against teachers earn you warnings for not following the posting guidelines (c.f.). Har, dee har har- it's all about the sense of humour!

And in ref to the topic: It's very sad. But if Thai people in general- not only students and teachers, but in all areas of life - don't start being aware of how seriously this is taken at an international level, it will continue to ruin careers and lives in this manner as Thailand continues to be more internationally entangled (by ASEAN, for instance). I mean, I can't say I feel any sympathy to the moron for stealing student work to pass it off as his own, but it's certainly the sort of thing that probably would never have come up as a punishment event for him before in any educational context before. They simply don't have even the slightest awareness of the legal baggage that is attached to this anywhere else. I would like to be a fly on the wall when the first 'VIP' doctor or scientist here gets slammed in Europe for plagiarism internationally, makes a big fuss about it, and then is simply told that this is the way things are routinely handled... game over... death of your scientific career.

[sirchai]

Is this any different from selling pirate DVDs. Yes, it was unfair on these students, but I am willing to bet that each student has a collection of pirated DVDs.

A case of the biter bit. Even so I would sack the teacher involved.

You don't really know the difference between right and wrong, do you?