The Research Project

Project Summary

This resource was developed through a research collaboration between UniSQ researchers, the UniSQ Academic Integrity Unit and teaching staff at Glennie School, who expressed a desire to innovate in the area of Academic Integrity. The school leadership wished to be responsive to the rapidly developing impacts of Large Language Model AI software and other technologies being integrated into Microsoft Office, Google Docs or search engines which were visibly impacting student assessments. In order to develop policy, procedure and support resources for a productive, workable approach to academic integrity, the research team approached the project using a Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology.

Method

DBR is a respected action-oriented methodology that has both a practical and theoretical focus (Reeves et al., 2011). In response to a problem, DBR researchers develop a “design solution”, which is then iteratively trialled and refined in a specific context to ensure it’s fit for purpose, while also identifying theoretical principles that can guide future action (Mintrop, 2020). The initial research consultation and data collection at The Glennie School identified policy and practice needs. This led to the establishment of a framework for addressing challenges to academic integrity, the creation of applicable policies and procedures, and further support through resources and training pathways. A draft solution was collaboratively developed with school leadership and participating teaching staff, and the resultant resources iteratively trialled and refined with the wider school.

This resource represents one of the project’s outcomes: a collection of support resources for schools in supporting academic integrity through proactive teaching, tools for detection, and access to example policies. It is the hope of the UniSQ and Glennie team that other schools who wish to meet the demands of academic integrity in an era of AI find them useful!

References

Mintrop, R. (2020). Design-based school improvement: A practical guide for education leaders. Harvard Education Press.

Reeves, T. C., McKenney, S., & Herrington, J. (2011). Publishing and perishing: The critical importance of educational design research. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 27(1), 55-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1058351

The UniSQ Research Team

Dr Katie Burke

Katie is a Senior Lecturer in Curriculum and Pedagogy, interested in supporting students through care-centred and arts-based practice.

Dr Rian Roux

Rian is a Pathways Lecturer and UniPrep Coordinator with research interest in educational philosophy, artificial intelligence and transformative learning.

Dr Tracey Chamlin

Tracey is a Lecturer in Special and Inclusive Education with a focus on inclusive pedagogies including Universal Design for Learning and Multi-tiered systems of support.

Dr Alison Bedford

Alison is a Senior Lecturer Curriculum and Pedagogy, interested in history education and representation in children’s literature.

Dr Jasmine Thomas

Jasmine is the Associate Director (Academic Integrity and Evaluation) at UniSQ. Her interests lie in academic integrity, law, evaluation and student success.

Crystal Hede

Crystal is the Director of Learning and Innovation at the Toowoomba Grammar School. She held a similar role at the Glennie School from 2021 to March 2024, where she was responsible for the development of policy, pedagogies, and tools to support academic integrity and student success.

Emily Scott

Emily commenced as Director of Learning and Innovation at the Glennie School in April 2024, and has also served as Head of Department: English. She is interested in both the benefits and risks GAI presents when teaching students effective communication.

Emma Kann

Emma is Head of Department: Humanities and Social Sciences at the Glennie School. Emma is interested in student-centred inquiry and Cultures of Thinking as a means of fostering independent learners.