Effective Pedagogical Principles and Practices in Teaching Software Engineering through Projects Valentin Razmov Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering University of Washington Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI

My Goals Inform Involve Inspire

Outline Background, Context, and Goals Main Pedagogical Principles Learning Formula Practices Related to “Doing” Practices Related to “Feedback” Practices Related to “Reflecting” Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI

Background: Course Goals and Organization Course: Software Engineering (intro) Enrollments varied between 8 and 39 Learning Goals: How to work effectively in large teams and deliver value on long-term projects Organization: Students work in teams of 6-8 on term-long projects Project milestones every 2.5 weeks Post-milestone events: Informal feedback discussions and Q&A with instructors Anonymous peer feedback within teams Individual reflective writings on project-related experiences Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI 4

Main Organizing Principles Giving students an opportunity to correct early missteps Blending “soft” topics into the curriculum Keeping open the bi-directional feedback channels b/w students and instructor Enabling prompt adjustments Having students own their decisions Keeping students’ motivation high and maintaining their vested interest Establishing a baseline for evaluating changes between course offerings Students picking their projects is good because it: follows the students’ energy; projects are likely more relevant to their interests. Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI 5

Learning Formula Learning = (Doing + Feedback + Reflection)+ Synergy between the three components Positive feedback loop between them, not a fixed contribution of each component More/less of one element means more/less of the others too Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI

Practices Related to “Doing” Incremental project deliveries Allows time to fail early, try again, and recover Builds confidence and creates space for feedback Early integration of project components a.k.a. “zero-feature release” Sets up all needed tools to work reliably together Use of professional tools Helps to recreate a realistic project environment Students propose and pick projects Increases dedication and gives students a stake A project is a playground for learning, not an end goal Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI

Practices Related to “Feedback”: Just-in-Time Feedback Increases relevance of feedback Feedback to/from students, to/from instructors Enables instructors to frequently see where students are Mechanisms: “Minute Paper” Mid-term and end-of-term student surveys Reflective writings Anonymous feedback Classroom interaction systems (e.g., Classroom Presenter) Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI

Just-in-Time Feedback in Action “Minute Paper” using Classroom Presenter Post-milestone in-class project retrospective Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI

Just-in-Time Feedback in Action (cont.) Student surveys Mid-term / end-of-term Specific questions to find out what worked well, what did not work well, what changes may help Goals: evaluate risks, reveal surprises, and compare with previous measurements Survey evolution based on predictability of the responses, need to elaborate on specific areas, need to cover new themes/aspects featured in the latest offerings Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI 10

Practices Related to “Feedback”: Iterative Peer Feedback Each student provides and receives feedback Automated collection, aggregation, and dissemination of peer feedback results Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI

Practices Related to “Feedback”: Feedback on Reflective Writings Feedback in electronic form Improves readability and speed Provides more space for comments Enables questions and answers in the same document Noting student grade could be separate Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI

Practices Related to “Reflection” Regular project and course retrospectives Goals: Create a lasting record of what instructors learned A balanced, “big picture” view of course Formulate intention for change Transfer distilled lessons easily to other instructors Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI

Practices Related to “Reflection” Regular project and course retrospectives Team size to promote need for communication

Practices Related to “Reflection” Regular project and course retrospectives Team size to promote need for communication Timing reflective activities to capture experiences Shortly after project milestones works best

Practices Related to “Reflection” Regular project and course retrospectives Team size to promote need for communication Timing reflective activities to capture experiences Shortly after project milestones Changing requirements reveals quality of design Possibly done as a thought exercise to avoid chaos E.g., localization Explicitly “changing hats” when switching roles Instructors play evaluator, coach, facilitator, expert, customer Motivating and carefully timing “soft” topics Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI

Summary of Results Distilled principles and practices to aid (software) engineering instruction Demonstrated practicality and positive effect in a real course over multiple terms Enabled steady incremental evolution of courses Selectively employed by different instructors in several courses Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI 17

Acknowledgements Prof. Richard Anderson My colleagues and students at the University of Washington HP, Microsoft Research External Research & Programs, NSF People and organizations without whom this work would not have been possible or would not have been worth it Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI

Additional Resources Effective Feedback Approaches to Support Engineering Instruction and Training in Project Settings, by Valentin Razmov, PhD thesis, 2007. Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI

Discussion Questions? Oct 13, 2007 FIE 2007, Milwaukee, WI