Software Engineering Education Research Articles

Transforming Learning Experiences With Advanced Educational T echnology Solutions

The rapid advancements in educational technology have transformed the landscape of learning, necessitating innovative solutions to enhance learner engagement and accessibility. This study examines the development and application of advanced educational technology solutions aimed at revolutionizing learning experiences. The objective is to explore how cutting-edge tools, including adaptive learning systems, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality, can address traditional educational challenges and foster personalized learning environments. Employing a mixed-methods research approach, this study integrates quantitative analysis of learner outcomes with qualitative feedback from educators and students to evaluate the effectiveness of these solutions. The findings reveal significant improvements in learner engagement, comprehension, and retention when utilizing technology-enhanced platforms compared to conventional methods. Furthermore, the integration of real-time analytics enables educators to tailor instructional strategies effectively, promoting inclusivity and accessibility across diverse learning communities. The research concludes that advanced educational technology solutions are pivotal in bridging the gap between traditional education models and the evolving demands of modern learners, offering scalable, efficient, and learner-centric approaches to education. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge in educational software engineering by highlighting the potential of technology-driven innovations to reshape the future of education, providing actionable insights for stakeholders in academia, industry, and policy-making.

Curriculum Design based on Outcome-Based Education Concept: A Case Study of the C Programming Course

This study, grounded in the principles of Outcome-Based Education (OBE), presents the design and implementation of a practical course syllabus for the C Programming Language within an industry-university collaboration framework. The syllabus development emphasizes the core tenets of "student-centered learning, outcome orientation, and continuous improvement." By aligning curriculum design with market demands, adopting effective teaching methodologies, and establishing a robust evaluation system, the syllabus addresses students' practical needs and professional aspirations, ensuring the comprehensive achievement of course objectives. The study incorporates process evaluation via the PTA platform and summative evaluation through system development projects, employing Rubric scoring criteria to holistically assess students' programming knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The findings reveal that the syllabus design and pedagogical approach significantly enhance students' competencies in programming, providing valuable insights and a reference model for talent cultivation in software engineering education.

Design and Research on Evaluation System of Computer Pro-gramming Code Quality

With the ongoing development of software engineering and programming education, the demand for evaluating programming code quality is increasing. High-quality code not only en-hances software maintainability and performance but also helps developers and learners optimize their coding skills. This paper focuses on the design and implementation of an evaluation system for computer programming code quality, proposing a multi-dimensional evaluation method that includes readability, complexity, efficiency, and security. The system combines static analysis with machine learning to automate code analysis and optimization recommendations, providing users with objective feedback on code quality. Additionally, this paper explores application cases of the system in programming education and software development, demonstrating its effectiveness in improving code quality and enhancing users' programming skills. Finally, the research contribu-tions are summarized, and directions for future improvements are proposed to further enhance the system’s intelligence and applicability.

A Roadmap for Integrating Sustainability into Software Engineering Education

The world faces escalating crises: record-breaking temperatures, widespread fires, severe flooding, increased oceanic microplastics, and unequal resource distribution. Academia introduces courses around sustainability to meet the new demand, but software engineering education lags behind. While software systems contribute to environmental issues through high energy consumption, they also hold the potential for solutions, such as more efficient and equitable resource management. Yet, sustainability remains a low priority for many businesses, including those in the digital sector. Business as usual is no longer viable. A transformational change in software engineering education is urgently needed. We must move beyond traditional curriculum models and fully integrate sustainability into every aspect of software development. By embedding sustainability as a core competency, we can equip future engineers not only to minimise harm but also to innovate solutions that drive positive, sustainable change. Only with such a shift can software engineering education meet the demands of a world in crisis and prepare students to lead the next generation of sustainable technology. This paper discusses a set of challenges and proposes a customisable education roadmap for integrating sustainability into the software engineering curricula. These challenges reflect our perspective on key considerations, stemming from regular, intensive discussions in regular workshops among the authors and the community, as well as our extensive research and teaching experience in the field.

A Gamified Method for Teaching Version Control Concepts in Programming Courses Using the Git Education Game

Using version control tools is an indispensable skill for engineers in the software industry. This study introduces a gamification approach together with a serious game called the Git Education Game (GEG) to teach Git concepts and usage, intending to improve students’ motivation and learning performance compared to traditional lectures. An experiment was designed with two classes of the same course to compare the effect of GEG. A post-test was designed to verify whether the game could help students achieve better learning outcomes and higher motivation. The results show that our approach had a positive effect on students’ motivation, so the experimental group had a higher pass rate than the control group for most items in the post-test. Based on this study’s results, we emphasize the impact of interactive learning environments in software engineering education.

Mapping Software-Engineering Industry AI Use to Software-Engineering Curriculum: Developing the AI-USE Framework

Estimates predict a global deficit of 4 million software engineers by 2025, further complicated by the software engineering (SE) industry's escalating use of artificial intelligence (AI). To tackle this issue, our research suggests that computer science (CS) curricula in middle and high schools need to be updated to incorporate SE industry segments that significantly employ AI. This strategic curriculum alignment is significant for preparing a workforce equipped to meet future industry demands. Our initial analysis involved reviewing nine international AI education guidelines to evaluate current methods for integrating AI into SE education. The findings indicated a pronounced lack of specific guidance connecting AI applications in the SE industry with educational content. To address this, we performed a systematic literature review of 12 research papers focusing on AI's role across the SE industry, followed by multiple rounds of inductive content analysis. An industry segment was deemed "essential" if it was referenced in 75% or more of the papers' findings. Through this method, we identified 10 essential SE industry segments for inclusion in CS education: software development, software maintenance, process improvement, software economics, knowledge management, project management, software testing, software security, quality assurance, and deployment and operations (DevOps). These findings led to the creation of the AI-USE (Artificial Intelligence Usage in Software Engineering) framework, which maps these 10 key segments to the predominant uses of SE in the industry as identified in the literature. Further inductive content analysis helped us develop subsegments for these essential areas. Ongoing framework development involves refining these subsegments and gathering feedback from industry and academic professionals. We anticipate that the fully developed AI-USE framework will significantly enhance SE education, equipping the next generation of software engineers with the AI proficiency required to address the industry’s evolving demands.

Software engineering education: Results from a training intervention based on SonarCloud when developing web apps

Software engineering education: Results from a training intervention based on SonarCloud when developing web apps

Enhancing Software Engineering Education through Project-Based Learning

Enhancing Software Engineering Education through Project-Based Learning

Exploring the Frontier of Software Engineering Education with Chatbots

Exploring the Frontier of Software Engineering Education with Chatbots

Empowering Sustainable Software Engineering Education with Artificial Intelligence and Immersive Technology

This research investigates the impact of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and immersive technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), in software engineering education to promote continuous and adaptive learning. The purpose of this study was to explore how these technologies increase student engagement, personalize the learning experience, and enhance practical skills essential in software development. A mixed methods approach was used, combining a quantitative survey with qualitative interviews of 20 students and 5 educators actively engaged in AI and VR powered courses. Findings revealed that AI-based adaptive learning systems encourage personalized feedback and help address individual knowledge gaps, leading to increased engagement and retention. VR based simulations enable hands-on learning, which significantly improves skill acquisition in coding, debugging, and system analysis. Despite these benefits, challenges such as high costs, data privacy concerns, and limited infrastructure remain a barrier to widespread implementation. This study contributes original insights by identifying strategies to mitigate these challenges, including gradual adoption of technology, cloud-based solutions to reduce costs, prioritizing data security, and continuous educator training. The findings underscore the transformative potential of AI and immersive technologies in creating sustainable, accessible and adaptive learning environments and equipping students with the skills needed for the innovation driven software industry.

Developing and sustaining a student-driven software solutions center—An experience report

Traditional approaches to software engineering education often limit students’ exposure and engagement to real-world projects; thereby, failing to fully harness their potential and creativity. Yet, the dynamic and rapidly-advancing digital landscape means that there is a continuous need to empower students to become active participants, problem solvers, and innovators in delivering high-quality software solutions. Therefore, it is not surprising that fresh graduates are often ill-equipped to handle industrial projects. Existing approaches to exposing students to industrial projects such as internships or capstone projects have not achieved the desired result because industries are often reluctant to assign important tasks to interns, and a capstone project is likely to be discontinued by the student after completing the course. Furthermore, all the team members in a capstone project are usually inexperienced engineers, and this may limit mentorship opportunities for the students. This paper presents an experience report on the establishment and sustenance of a student-driven software solutions center named Information Technology Solutions Center (ITSC), a unit within the School of Information Technology at the University of Cincinnati. A student-driven solution center empowers students to drive the design, development, execution, and maintenance of software solutions for industrial clients. This exposes the students to real-world projects and ensures that students are fully prepared to meet the demands of the ever-changing industrial landscape. The ITSC was established over a decade ago, has trained over 100 students, and executes about 20 projects annually with several industrial partners including Fortune 500 companies, government institutions, and research agencies. This paper discusses the establishment and maintenance of the center with the goal of motivating and providing a clear blueprint for computing programs that want to establish a similar student-driven software solutions center.

Enhancing Automated Peer Code Reviews in Software Engineering Education with Context-Aware Generative AI

This study investigates the enhancement of peer code reviews in software engineering education through the integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) with contextual awareness. Previous implementations of GenAI, such as ChatGPT, lacked detailed context about the educational content and assessment goals, limiting their effectiveness. Our work-in-progress research addresses this gap by providing GenAI with additional static and dynamic contextual information, including project overviews, pull-request descriptions, and comments. In a controlled study involving 26 students from a 12-week software engineering course, we compared the efficacy of the original GenAI system with a context-enhanced version. Results demonstrated that the context-aware GenAI provided more accurate and useful feedback, as perceived by the students. These findings suggest that incorporating contextual information improves the quality of automated peer reviews, offering a promising tool for educators to enhance student learning and engagement in code review activities.

Using Peer Assessment Leveraging Large Language Models in Software Engineering Education

This paper explores the integration of generative AI and large language models into the realm of software engineering education and training, with a specific focus on the transformation of traditional peer assessment methodologies. The motivation stems from the growing demand for innovative educational techniques that can effectively engage and empower learners in mastering Software Engineering principles. The proposed approach involves presenting students with modeling exercises solved by ChatGPT, prompting them to critically evaluate and provide constructive feedback on the generated solutions. By engaging students in a dialogue with the AI model, we aim to foster a dynamic learning environment where learners can articulate their considerations and insights, thereby enhancing their comprehension of software engineering principles, critical thinking and self evaluation skills. Preliminary results from pilot implementations indicate promising outcomes, suggesting that this approach not only enhances the quality of peer feedback but also contributes to a more interactive and engaging educational experience.

Construction of the Curriculum System of Software Engineering Based on the Agile Development Method

Under the background of “new engineering” construction, software engineering teaching pays more attention to cultivating students’ engineering practice and innovation ability. In view of the inconsistency between development and demand design, team division of labor, difficult measurement of individual contribution, single assessment method, and other problems in traditional practice teaching, this paper proposes that under the guidance of agile development methods, software engineering courses should adopt Scrum framework to organize course project practice, use agile collaboration platform to implement individual work, follow up experiment progress, and ensure effective project advancement. The statistical data of curriculum “diversity” assessment show that there is an obvious improvement effect on students’ software engineering ability and quality.

Challenges and opportunities: Implementing diversity and inclusion in software engineering university level education in Finland

Considerable efforts have been made at the high school level to encourage girls to pursue software engineering careers and raise awareness about diversity within the field. Similarly, software companies have become more active in diversity and inclusion (D&I) topics, aiming to create more inclusive work environments. However, the way diversity and inclusion are approached inside software engineering university education remains less clear. This study investigates the current state of D&I in software engineering education and faculties in Finland. An online survey (N = 30) was conducted among Finnish software engineering university teachers to investigate which approaches and case examples of D&I are most commonly used by software engineering teachers in Finland. In addition, it was researched how software engineering teachers perceive the importance of D&I in their courses. As a result of the quantitative and thematic analysis, a framework to identify attitudes, approaches, challenges and pedagogical strategies when implementing D&I themes in software engineering education is presented. This framework also offers a process for integrating D&I themes for the curriculum or at the faculty level. The findings of this study emphasize that there is a continuing need for diverse-aware education and training. The results underline the responsibility of universities to ensure that future professionals are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to promote D&I in the field of software engineering.

Practice and Reflection on Cultivating Creativity in Software Engineering Education

Practice and Reflection on Cultivating Creativity in Software Engineering Education

Gender Mainstreaming and Diversity in Higher Education: An Experience in Software Engineering Education

Gender Mainstreaming and Diversity in Higher Education: An Experience in Software Engineering Education

Are Educational Escape Rooms More Effective Than Traditional Lectures for Teaching Software Engineering? A Randomized Controlled Trial

Are Educational Escape Rooms More Effective Than Traditional Lectures for Teaching Software Engineering? A Randomized Controlled Trial

Assessing gender bias in the software used in computer science and software engineering education

Women are underrepresented in Computer Science (CS)/ Software Engineering (SE) and other technology related degrees. As undergraduates, they are also less likely to persist with CS/SE studies than men enrolled in those same courses. Gender correlated differences in personal characteristics, behaviour, and preferences mean that course design decisions may introduce unintended bias. To address this issue, we drew inspiration from the GenderMag method. GenderMag uses personas with evidence-based gender differences in problem-solving traits to detect usability issues in software. In this paper we investigate the personal qualities of CS and SE students, and how these influence their CS/SE learning journey. A series of persona development workshops were held to gather an extensive and unique qualitative dataset capturing the prior experiences, preferences, learning styles, motivations, goals, frustrations, and constraints of CS/SE students. Gender differences were used to construct preliminary male and female student personas. These personas were used in cognitive walkthroughs of software applications commonly used in education, and their performance compared to GenderMag’s Tim and Abi. While the student personas were less effective and lacked specificity compared to Abi, they were able to identify issues not detectable with GenderMag. Furthermore, the findings show the utility of persona development workshops as a data collection method and introduce a comprehensive list of CS/SE student qualities that may inspire future investigations.

Empowering IoT Developers with Privacy-Preserving End-User Development Tools

Internet of Things applications (IoT) have the potential to derive sensitive user data, necessitating adherence to privacy and data protection laws. However, developers often struggle with privacy issues, resulting in personal data misuse. Despite the proposed Privacy by Design (PbD) approach, criticism arises due to its ambiguity and lack of practical tools for educating software engineers. We introduce Canella, an integrated IoT development ecosystem with privacy-preserving components leveraging End-User Development (EUD) tools Blockly@rduino and Node-RED, to help developers build end-to-end IoT applications that prioritize privacy and comply with regulations. It helps developers integrate privacy during the development process and rapid prototyping phases, offering real-time feedback on privacy concerns. We start by conducting a focus group study to explore the applicability of designing and implementing PbD schemes within different development environments. Based on this, we implemented a proof-of-concept prototype of Canella and evaluated it in controlled lab studies with 18 software developers. The findings reveal that developers using Canella created more privacy-preserving applications, gained a deeper understanding of personal data management, and achieved better privacy compliance. Our results also highlight Canella's role in educating and promoting privacy awareness, enhancing productivity, streamlining privacy implementation, and significantly reducing cognitive load. Overall, developers found Canella and its privacy-preserving components useful, easy to use, and easy to learn, which could potentially improve IoT application privacy. Watch the demo video.