Episode 43: Tim Fawns

“We need to be a little bit careful—if we put all our eggs in the assurance and academic integrity basket, then we’re at risk of forgetting some of the other really important parts of education.”

“Some of the ways in which we deal with academic integrity actually do the opposite of cultivating integrity.”

What is academic integrity in 2025—and how do we build learning environments that support it? In this 43rd episode of The Opposite of Cheating Podcast, Australian educator and researcher Tim Fawns shares his expertise at the intersection of digital education, assessment design, and values-based teaching.

Together, Tricia and Tim challenge simple binaries like online vs. in-person or authentic vs. secure. They explore how assessment security and human development can coexist, and why truly authentic assessment isn’t a panacea—it’s a complex design challenge requiring intentional trade-offs.

Tim also reflects on the unintended effects of AI Detectors, which may shift the locus of trust away from students and instructors, and on how educational design can better engage the “whole person.” Drawing on research from the AI in Higher Education project (https://aiinhe.org/), he explains how student integrity decisions are shaped by intersecting identities, pressures, and realities—not just individual morals.

You can follow Tim and/or learn more about him and his work on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-fawns-4aba225/) and on his website (https://timfawns.com/).

(Disclaimer: episode quotes and summary were created using Youtube's Transcript and ChatGPT and edited by a human. Any errors are the responsibility of the human).