Diversity of Interaction in a Quality Assurance Course Mark Ardis, Rose-Hulman Institute Cheryl Dugas, Indiana State University FIE 2005

Quality Assurance Course  Part of BS in Software Engineering  juniors  Usability Testing Module:

Expectations vs. Realities  Work alone with occasional meetings  All team members have similar backgrounds  Acquire new skills through study and practice  Work in teams with occasional solo tasks  Team members have diverse backgrounds  Acquire new skills through observation and apprenticeship

Classroom Limitations  Similar students  Working independently  Technical tasks

Demonstration 1 (Instructors)  Part 1: Monitor behaves properly  Part 2: Monitor fails to establish the proper rapport with the participant

You can observe a lot by watching  Role playing  Social context  Observing other students  Reflection

Demonstration 2 (Students)  Part 1: Participant causes problems, but Monitor adjusts to control the session  Part 2: Participant causes problems, and Monitor fails to control the session

Quiz  How did you score each moderator?  What did you learn from this exercise?

More Learning by Observing  Peer reviews  Observing other students  Unifying project

It ain't over 'til it's over  "I wish I had an answer to that because I'm getting tired of answering that question."