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Matt Pickering
As someone who tutored students in programming classes, I can say as an instructor that copied code would be immediately recognizable as such. Beginning and learning programmers generally lack the knowledge to understand the nuances of code they didn't write and like writing, coding has a distinct style. An instructor is going to expect a solution to a problem within the bounds of what has been taught in the course or demonstrating particular concepts already taught. A lot of copied code goes beyond those bounds and will be recognized as not originating from the classroom syllabus.
Often classroom code will avoid certain "real world" approaches like using built-in functions or libraries to teach certain programming concepts. A lot of copied code will use these real-world approaches. Unless the student is able to recognize the things that will get them caught and rewrite the code to sneak under the radar, they are likely going to be caught.
And an easy way to determine if a student has copied code is simply to sit down with them and have them explain it! If the student wrote the code, sweated through it and got it to work, odds are they are going to understand it and will be able to explain how it works and what various lines do. Students who plagiarize code will not be able to explain it and will look like a deer in headlights when asked to go through it.
In the days before the Internet, students would often ask me to show them the solution. They were interested in using the tutoring service to get a solution rather than learn how to produce it. I always told them I could do so but if I did, I promised that they would fail the assignment since it would be immediately known that they hadn't written the code. The instructors knew my code style and it was distinctive enough that it couldn't be hidden. No one ever took me up on the solution once explained in these terms and ultimately learned how to solve the problems properly.
Trust me, an instructor who is paying attention to their students will known the student copied code. From the Internet wrongly or from the textbook rightly.
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As someone who tutored students in programming classes, I can say as an instructor that copied code would be immediately recognizable as such. Beginning and learning programmers generally lack the knowledge to understand the nuances of code they didn't write and like writing, coding has a distinct style. An instructor is going to expect a solution to a problem within the bounds of what has been taught in the course or demonstrating particular concepts already taught. A lot of copied code goes beyond those bounds and will be recognized as not originating from the classroom syllabus.
Often classroom code will avoid certain "real world" approaches like using built-in functions or libraries to teach certain programming concepts. A lot of copied code will use these real-world approaches. Unless the student is able to recognize the things that will get them caught and rewrite the code to sneak under the radar, they are likely going to be caught.
And an easy way to determine if a student has copied code is simply to sit down with them and have them explain it! If the student wrote the code, sweated through it and got it to work, odds are they are going to understand it and will be able to explain how it works and what various lines do. Students who plagiarize code will not be able to explain it and will look like a deer in headlights when asked to go through it.
In the days before the Internet, students would often ask me to show them the solution. They were interested in using the tutoring service to get a solution rather than learn how to produce it. I always told them I could do so but if I did, I promised that they would fail the assignment since it would be immediately known that they hadn't written the code. The instructors knew my code style and it was distinctive enough that it couldn't be hidden. No one ever took me up on the solution once explained in these terms and ultimately learned how to solve the problems properly.
Trust me, an instructor who is paying attention to their students will known the student copied code. From the Internet wrongly or from the textbook rightly.
See Questions On Quora
Continue reading...
