Teaching Software Engineering Concepts Research Articles

An application of games‐based learning within software engineering

AbstractFor some time now, computer games have played an important role in both children and adults' leisure activities. While there has been much written on the negative aspects of computer games, it has also been recognised that they have potential advantages and benefits. There is no doubt that computer games are highly engaging and incorporate features that are extremely compelling. It is these highly engaging features of computer games that have attracted the interests of educationalists. The use of games‐based learning has been growing for many years now; however, within software engineering, there is still a dearth of empirical evidence to support this approach. In this paper, we examine the literature on the use of computer games to teach software engineering concepts and describe a computer game we have been developing to teach these concepts.

Teaching PSP: challenges and lessons learned

Software engineering educators need to provide environments where students learn about the size and complexity of modern software systems and the techniques available for managing these difficulties. Five universities used the personal software process to teach software engineering concepts in a variety of contexts.

Establishing an Early Foundation in Software Engineering: Framework, Experiences and Results*

AbstractIn the fall of 1994 we reorganized the content of our three‐course introductory computer science sequence in order to introduce software engineering concepts early and provide a consistent software engineering focus from one course to the next. To implement these changes, we established detailed documentation and design standards. These standards would serve as a framework for teaching the software engineering principles and techniques that we considered appropriate and essential to novice software developers. In an attempt to assess the impact of this new teaching approach, we examined student performance in upper‐level, project‐oriented courses with respect to early exposure to software engineering concepts. This paper describes the documentation and design standards, as well as how these standards have been used as a framework for teaching software engineering concepts early in the curriculum. It also reports on what we have learned through assessment of this approach. Results indicate that students exposed early to software engineering concepts are indeed better prepared for upper‐level project‐oriented courses.

Teaching software engineering early

In the fall of 1994, we reorganized the content of our three-course computer science introductory sequence in order to introduce software engineering concepts early and provide a consistent software engineering focus from one course to the next. We also established documentation and design standards that would serve as a framework for teaching the software engineering principles and techniques that we considered appropriate and essential to novice software developers. In an attempt to assess the impact of this new teaching process, we compared the performances in upper-level project-oriented courses of students who had been exposed to the new introductory sequence to those of students who had not.This paper describes the documentation and design standards established in 1994, their evolution over the past four years, and how these standards can be used as a framework for teaching software engineering concepts early in the curriculum. It also reports on what we have learned through tracking our students. We found that, in three upper-level courses, project grades for students exposed to software engineering concepts early averaged as much as half a letter grade higher than those of other students.

An experiment in the use of Ada in course in software engineering

This paper describes our experience in using Ada as a vehicle for teaching Software Engineering concepts in a course for first year undergraduate students at the University of Montreal. We first review the curriculum at our university and then give an idea of the hardware and software at our disposition. We describe the goals we had in mind in using Ada as a teaching language and then we detail the topics and the assignments chosen in our course. We conclude by describing a few lessons learned from that experience. All in all, we are very satisfied with this experiment and we intend to carry on next year.

A project-oriented undergraduate course sequence in software engineering

The design of a two-semester course sequence in software engineering is described. These courses, offered at the undergraduate level, are centered around student projects developed in conjunction with local industry; the projects are used as a focal point to motivate and teach software engineering concepts and tools. The goal of the courses is to provide the student with an overview of the entire software development process, experience as a member of a project team, and exposure to a real-world software environment. This paper describes the course organization and topics, and techniques for project selection and monitoring. Results and experience gained to date with this approach are also discussed.

Software engineering education: Status and prospects

Software engineering is an emerging field aimed at improving the quality of computer software and the processess used to produce it. The field seeks to transform software creation from an art into an engineering discipline. Efforts have recently begun to teach software engineering concepts to university students and to practicing professionals in industry and government. This paper surveys past and present efforts in software engineering education, describes some existing problems in training software engineers, and outlines likely future developments in educational programs. The outline of a curriculum for a professional master's degree in software engineering is included.