Lesson Plan: Teaching Academic Integrity in an AI-Powered World

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This is a newer version of my post “Lesson Plan: Academic Integrity in the Age of AI,” written on December 6, 2025.

My core message in “The Ultimate Plagiarism Guide: How to Detect and Prevent It” (Ann S. Michaelsen, November 4, 2021) is that plagiarism prevention works best when we teach it proactively, build students’ habits early, and treat mistakes as learning opportunities rather than purely disciplinary moments. What is considered a game-changer these days are AI tools, which can generate, remix, and polish text in seconds—making it even more important to clarify ethical boundaries, teach transparent use, and expand academic integrity beyond plagiarism alone. This updated resource, therefore, pairs the practical classroom strategies from my original guide with new perspectives from “Academic Integrity and Copyrights in the World of AI” from Fiddler AI, shared with me through Joyce Kelly and student teacher Kim, to help students navigate originality, attribution, and responsible AI use with confidence.

Plagiarism is often described in strong terms, and for good reason. According to Merriam-Webster, to plagiarize means “to steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one’s own” or to commit “literary theft” by failing to acknowledge the source.

We often associate plagiarism with words such as stealing, cheating, copying, fraud, or misrepresentation. It can involve copying and pasting text, poorly paraphrasing someone else’s work, using sources without attribution, or presenting another person’s ideas as your own. Yet academic integrity is rarely as simple as a checklist of right and wrong actions. Questions of ownership, attribution, context, and originality can sometimes be more complex than they first appear. In the age of AI, these questions have become even more relevant as students navigate content that can be generated, remixed, and refined with just a few prompts.

When I wrote my book, “The Digital Classroom Transforming the Way We Learn”, I used the paid version of Grammarly. Because you never know if you accidentally write something previously written and published. You might remember it from somewhere you read, mistaking it for your own brilliant ideas. Better safe than sorry. The digital classroom. 

What Is Academic Integrity?

Academic integrity refers to the principles that uphold honesty, responsibility, and fairness in learning environments. It means producing your own work, acknowledging the ideas of others, and adhering to ethical and institutional guidelines when completing assignments, conducting research, or using digital tools.

At its core, academic integrity is grounded in:

Here are some exercises to discuss and use in the classroom:

If AI helped you…

  • Generate ideas → you still cite the human sources you use and disclose the AI tool if your teacher expects it.
  • Rewrite or paraphrase → you cite the original source and disclose AI assistance.
  • Create images/code → you disclose the tool, describe your edits, and confirm the output doesn’t mimic copyrighted work too closely. fiddler.ai
  • Find sources → you verify that the sources are real and relevant before citing them.

Essential questions (discussion + essay prompts)

  1. What do we owe our readers when we use ideas, words, and images that we found using AI?
  2. How does AI change the meaning of “original work” without changing the ethics of honesty?
  3. When does helpful AI support become academic dishonesty?
  4. Should schools treat AI misuse like plagiarism, like tutoring, or as something new? Defend your view.
  5. If AI-generated content isn’t fully copyrightable, what does that mean for students who want to publish or monetize creative work? fiddler.ai

The prevention toolbox, upgraded for AI

Use your “Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism” as the backbone, then add an AI lens to each habit:

  1. Never copy and paste online text into a draft without marking it clearly as a quote to be cited or removed later. annmichaelsen.com
  2. Outline your own ideas first, then research to support or challenge them. (This is the simplest way to ensure your thinking is visible.) annmichaelsen.com
  3. Clearly distinguish who said what—especially when AI blends your prose with paraphrased source language. annmichaelsen.com
  4. Learn to paraphrase while still citing the original author. annmichaelsen.com
  5. Evaluate source credibility—AI output is not a source; it’s a tool that may point you toward sources. annmichaelsen.com
  6. Use plagiarism detection tools as a learning mirror, not just a policing device. annmichaelsen.com

Tasks for students

1. Your Original Outline (before research)

Write a quick outline with:

  • Your main claim or focus
  • 3 key points you think you can explain
  • 1 question you’re not sure about yet

Rule: This outline must be written before you read sources or use AI.

2. Your Source Notes (with credibility check)

Find 2–3 credible sources.

For each source, include:

  • Title + author
  • 2–3 bullet notes in your own words
  • Why the source is trustworthy (publisher, expertise, evidence, date, etc.)

Reminder: AI is not a source. If AI helps you find sources, you still must verify them yourself.

3. Your Draft with “Who Said What” Labels

Write your draft and add quick labels in brackets for at least 4 places, like:

  • [My idea]
  • [Source idea]
  • [Quote]
  • [Background info from Source]

This makes your thinking visible and prevents accidental blending.

AI Use Rules for This Task

You may use AI for:

  • Brainstorming angles
  • Improving clarity
  • Generating an outline only after your original outline is done
  • Suggesting questions to research

You may not use AI to:

  • Write your full draft for you
  • Paraphrase sources in a way that replaces your thinking
  • Generate citations you don’t verify

If you use AI, add a short note at the end:

AI Transparency Note (2–3 sentences):

  • What you used it for
  • What you changed or decided yourself

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