Practicing the Extension in Software Engineering Education: an Experience Report

Learning Software Engineering principles, processes, methods and tools is a prerequisite to becoming a Software Engineer. The technological advancements and revolution in this new century are probing the boundaries of education and training in software engineering. This work tries to locate the shortcomings in existing approaches to Education in Software Engineering (ESE) in respect to today's technological advancements. We hereby proposed a new model for Education in Software Engineering to bridge the industry-academia gap.

Project-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered and learn-by-doing approach that organizes learning around projects. While entrepreneurship and PBL in SE education are thrilling research topics, there seems to be very little work focusing on the pros and cons of involving external stakeholders to support real demands in software engineering education. Working on real projects also supports students to acquire leadership skills, such as communication, project management, and teamwork. This paper describes a case study integrating students from different Software Engineering programs and involving external stakeholders, underpinned by PBL concepts. We present how this study was designed and implemented in a large institution, in four steps, summarized as follows: (I) requirements gathering and design; (II) information system development and implementation; (III) integration tests and deployment process; (IV) support and maintenance activities. The study had the participation of 59 students from a professional technical course in step one, working in teams, and 10 undergraduate students from a Bachelor's program in Information Systems in the following steps, working in pairs. Overall, the feedback from stakeholders and students exceeded expectations, although it increased the workload of teachers. We were able to distill a new set of lessons learned, and we expect that at least some of them will be useful for anyone implementing a similar course. As a consequence of this study, we plan to institutionally formalize the PBL course improvement process by defining specific outcomes and measurements.

Indian software industry has set up huge growth targets for future. These targets would be heavily affected by the software engineering (SE) education scenario in the country. The purpose of this paper is to provide a holistic understanding of SE education issues and challenges specific to Indian context, from both industry and academic perspective. This study is based on our (a) interaction with industry through SE education related projects, surveys and discussions. (B) Observations as an integral part of Indian SE educators' community. There is an urgent need for addressing these deep rooted issues, as the lack of proper SE education may be the single largest factor that may negatively affect the industry. Understanding these issues will help to identify the action items that initiate software engineering educational reforms in the country. We also discuss the essential and minimal set of SE knowledge, skills and dispositions that the Indian industry expects from engineers who will be joining the industry. Indian software industry is a global leader in software application development and maintenance services, but there very few studies on the issues and effects associated with SE education in the Indian context. Though this discussion is limited to India, but we believe that it represents the existing conditions in many developing countries where IT and ITES (IT enabled services) industry is gaining importance.

Context: Undergraduate students often struggle with research methods and methodologies crucial for their development. Effective training is essential to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Objective: This course aimed to empower students with a solid understanding of scientific research, enhance their research planning skills and proficiency in empirical methods, and improve their scientific writing and presentation skills. Method: An in-person Empirical Software Engineering course was conducted for 17 undergraduates over 60 hours in a semester. It included theoretical classes, practical activities, seminars, evaluations of empirical articles, and peer evaluations of research projects. Results: Students reported high satisfaction with the course, particularly in topic approach, content references, and achieving objectives. Areas for improvement included clarity of course objectives and developing critical thinking skills. Most activities were found useful, though some were challenging. Conclusions: The course successfully developed research skills among students. Improving clarity of objectives and support for complex activities can further enhance the learning experience. This report provides insights into empirical research education in software engineering, highlighting successes and areas for improvement.

ABSTRACTIn recent years, software engineering education has rapidly changed to incorporate more realistic ways of learning. More frequently the software industry requires more skilled and qualified staff; however at the university level students are young, inexperienced, and relatively homogeneous in background and abilities. This article describes an approach that integrates a student teamwork methodology (TSPi) and project‐based learning (PBL) to improve software project managerial skills in undergraduate students. As complementary support, a computational tool, theTeamwork Platform for Software Engineering Education, has been developed to establish an interactive software engineering course with local software industry collaboration. Experimental results show that a set of software metrics was defined to demonstrate performance improvement of 45 students following our approach.© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 22:736–749, 2014; View this article online atwileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae; DOI10.1002/cae.21566

Contribution: Results and conclusions on the use of transactive memory system (TMS) in software engineering (SE) education in student project teams that consist of undergraduate and postgraduate students are documented. This can be valuable for the adoption of this learning approach and team formation by other universities and institutes. Background: Preparing students for the SE industry requires bringing them in close collaboration to real-world tasks. This is usually performed via students carrying out software projects, working in teams. In such environments, the knowledge sharing and the interactions within the team are worth investigating, as they can affect the outcome of the student collaboration and can provide insight on how the collaboration is valued by the team members. Research Questions: 1) What is the effect of TMS on students in SE education? 2) Do parameters, such as gender, affect TMS development? 3) Does the inclusion of a project manager with more expertise affect TMS? Methodology: Students were divided into teams working on SE projects. Teams consist of both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Data from students on TMS for consecutive academic years were gathered. Findings: TMS is present in student teams and some of its scale items are affected by parameters, such as the team composition and the project type. TMS also affects performance.

Project-based learning is widely recognized as an effective pedagogical approach in software engineering education, fostering real-world problem-solving, collaboration, and the integration of theory and practice. However, its scalability is challenged by the resources demanded for individualized feedback, especially in large classes. This pilot study explored the feasibility of simulated automated formative feedback to support student teams in a project-based software engineering course. Eighty-six students participated over 4 weeks, alternating between receiving simulated automated formative feedback emulated by instructors and standard feedback. Weekly surveys assessed perceptions of usefulness and motivation. No statistically significant differences were found between feedback conditions (Cohen's d = 0.16). Students expressed positive attitudes toward the simulated automated formative feedback: 78% agreed it supported their learning goals, and 74% reported it increased motivation. These findings suggest that automated feedback tools may effectively complement instructor support, offering a scalable solution for enhancing formative feedback in project-based learning environments.

In the Software Engineering Education (SEE) context, virtual worlds have been used in order to improve learning outcomes. However, there is a gap in the literature in order to characterize the use of the Metaverse for SEE. The objective of this work is to characterize the state of the art of virtual worlds in SEE and provide research opportunities and challenges to fill the limitations found. We conducted a systematic literature review, and we established 8 research questions that guided the study, as well as performed data extraction. We report on 17 primary studies that deal mostly with immersive experiences in SEE. The results show some limitations: few Software Engineering (SE) topics are covered; most applications simulate environments and do not explore new ways of viewing and interacting; there is no interoperability between virtual worlds; learning analysis techniques are not applied; and biometric data are not considered in the validations of the studies. Although there are virtual worlds for SEE, the results indicate the need to develop mechanisms in order to support the integration between virtual worlds. Therefore, based on the findings of the review, we established a set of components grouped by 5 layers to enable the Metaverse for SEE through fundamental requirements. We hope that this work can motivate promising research in order to foster immersive learning experiences in SE through the Metaverse.

Within the last few years constructivism has attracted both computer science and software engineer educators, because of its potential for improving academic learning. Currently, however, the application of constructivism is limited to examples in specific contexts so that it is difficult to transfer them to other institutions or even other courses. To apply effectively constructivism to software engineering and computer science education, instructors need a generic pedagogical model for translating constructivist principles into practice. This paper reports on the application of a pedagogical model for translating constructivism into a Web-based course in object-oriented software engineering.

This paper proposes a framework to support the development and use of tools that support the teaching of software and Web engineering. It describes the evolution of tools to support the teaching of software engineering from simple client-side tools that support drawing DFDs and UML diagrams to Web-based repositories that support process modelling. The paper specifically introduces the concept of and describes their use within the WWW. It also describes tools that automatically create automated walkthroughs for the World Wide Web (WWW) and their evaluation within a masters-level software engineering module. Conclusions are drawn about the general applicability of the framework and proposals are made for further work in this area.

English is considered as the major foreign language to learn in Indonesia. English is mainly taught in Indonesian classrooms as a required subject, but it is not given as a daily communication language. Dealing with reading comprehension of English texts, English teachers seem to look for the most effective way to teach reading skill to get reading comprehension. One learning model that can be applied as an alternative for teaching reading comprehension is Project-Based Learning (PBL). This research used a qualitative descriptive approach. The data taken were interview of the students based on their experiences in dealing with Project-Based Learning (PBL). The results of thematic analysis showed: (1) The students’ perceptions on the English teacher’s overview in explaining the application of Project-Based Learning (PBL); (2) The students’ perceptions on the English teacher’s explanation about the meaning of Project-Based Learning (PBL); (3) The students’ perceptions on the implementation of Project-Based Learning (PBL) in the classroom; (4) The students’ perceptions on the benefit of using Project-Based Learning (PBL) in the classroom; (5) The students’ perceptions on the difficulty of doing Project-Based Learning (PBL) task. The research findings and discussion revealed that those five perceptions were the students’ perceptions.

This research is entitled Application of Project Based Learning (PjBL) Model in Improving Writing Skills in Indonesian Language Learning with a focus on the application of project-based learning methods in improving students' writing skills. The Project Based Learning (PjBL) model is a learning approach that emphasizes the active involvement of students through real projects that are relevant to everyday life. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of the application of PjBL in improving students' writing skills in Indonesian language learning. The research method used is qualitative with a literature review approach, analyzing ten scientific articles published in the period 2022 to 2024. The results showed that the implementation of PjBL significantly improved students' writing skills, as well as encouraged the development of creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking skills. In addition, students reported increased motivation and engagement in the learning process. Nonetheless, challenges in implementing PjBL, such as the need for thorough preparation from teachers and effective time management, need to be considered. The conclusion of this study confirms that PjBL is an effective method to improve students' writing skills, and can be integrated in Indonesian language learning to create a more interesting and meaningful learning experience. The results of this research emphasize that PjBL is an effective, innovative and relevant learning method for equipping students with 21st century skills.

In teaching software engineering, it is a major challenge to integrate applied methodology and theory into the practice of software development. Today teaching a course in software engineering involves a theoretical approach with white board and doing a project at the end of the course. Teaching Software engineering as a course involves many disciplines and requires delivering lectures accompanied by lecture demos and hands on lab sessions to accompany individual constituent topics or areas that form the bricks and mortar of this course. Only when the bricks and mortar of software engineering have delivered a solid foundation, is it then the software engineering as a course will be delivered in a true and meaningful sense. This paper presents a method to teach Software Engineering using the applied approach that the author designed and successfully used.

Software engineering education must be guided by developments in software engineering and aim for professional and educational development of students. This position paper explores the historical and conceptual evolution of software engineering as a discipline central to modern integrated design, software systems, and process science, tracing the trajectory from early structured models, through waterfall, to Agile and AI-augmented paradigms, and looks at how changes in application mix and modes of use, technological complexity, and business and enterprise needs have shaped development methodologies. Special attention is paid to the role of generative AI on the software engineering process and the role of the software engineer, altering workflows, collaboration, and enterprise architectures, and further enabling automation, digital transformation, and autonomous systems, shifting responsibilities and skill sets upwards. The article then considers corresponding shifts in software engineering education, highlighting the need for curricula that intertwine process thinking, systems theory, and ethical engagement, integrate with generative AI technologies, and place greater emphasis on “soft skills”, in courses that combine development of professional expertise with conceptual capabilities and an enhanced capacity for life-long learning. It then presents a set of requirements, options, and guidelines for software engineering education in the era of generative AI.

Introduction . In the educational systems of different countries, much experience has been gained regarding the use of project-based learning. This method is an alternative to traditional lecture-based learning: it helps to pull together a theoretical training material with real life; additionally, it changes the roles of pupils and teachers: students become active fully-competent subjects of an educational process, whereas teachers organize, supervise and direct this process, but do not transfer readily available information. The aim of the publication is an analytical review of the cases of application of project-based learning in Finland, France, Australia, China and the USA, which were described in the articles of foreign peer-reviewed journals. Methodology and research methods. The methodological framework of the present research is based on systemic and active approaches. The general scientific methods of comparative analysis, synthesis and generalization were applied. The case study method was chosen as a basic tool of the research. Results. A brief background to the history of the genesis and development of project-based learning is given. The emphasized features of various approaches to project-based learning application are different in their orientation towards the solution of certain tasks, as well as in the possibilities for selecting goals and means for implementing specific projects. The case studies in Finnish universities are worked out for the development of social skills of students; however, students can choose both the goals and tools of project activities by themselves. The industrial project method has gained a wide popularity in France; the method is focused on the market, therefore, the choice of the goals and instruments is made on account of the needs of a particular employer. The experience of some Australian universities shows that the project-based learning is used to develop professional skills; the choice of instruments occurs with an orientation towards the latest technological advances. In China the key objectives of the project-based learning are various social projects (for example, environmental projects) which are declared at the governmental level. A broad range of versions of project-based learning have been practised for more than one decade in the leading United States universities, colleges and schools: social competences of students are formed by the means of this method; there is an introduction of innovative technologies into educational process; partnerships are build between educational organizations and market; comprehensive ecological programs are created; etc. However, at this stage, the project-based learning is singled out for serious criticism; the analysis of previous experience and the search for solutions are conducted in order to increase the efficiency of education and improve academic performance of students. Scientific novelty. In the Russian Pedagogy, this paper is the first attempt for understanding and generalizing the experience of international project-based learning application. Practical significance. The materials of the publication provide a possibility for education administrators and educators-practitioners to get familiarized with the educational potential and a variety of approaches of project-based learning in order to adopt the best and most appropriate methods towards the Russian realias and the Russian educational institutions.