UnLecture: Bridging the Gap between Computing Education and Software Engineering Practice
Vignesh Subbian, Carla Purdy · 2020
Abstract UnLecture: Bridging the Gap between Computing Education and Software Engineering PracticeAbstract: This paper presents a novel pedagogical strategy, called UnLecture that is based onactive learning and peer instruction. An UnLecture is a participant-driven discussion aimed atbringing real-world industry experiences into the classroom. Co-operative education (co-op) is amandatory requirement for students enrolled in engineering programs at the University of________. The primary objective of the UnLecture technique is to create a participatoryenvironment that allows students to share their experiences from co-op, internship, and otherindustry-based projects, and to reflect on the connection between classroom learning andengineering practice. Each UnLecture session is based on a theme directly related to one of the course topics.Typically, an UnLecture session on a topic is scheduled after that topic has been covered in anin-class lecture. A rubric is provided to the students a few days prior the session. The rubric isthe central element facilitating various components of this technique. It is a set of carefullydesigned questions categorized into three sections: Retrospection, Examination, and Reflection. Before the session, students retrospect their past co-op/internship assignments, recollect details that are related to the session theme, and document some fine points based on the questions in the rubric. During the session, students share their retrospective thoughts, and learn from fellow students’ cooperative education experiences. They also examine practices that were realized in various course projects and assignments, and analyze the differences and similarities between their experiences in industry and their learning experience from the course. After the session, the students combine their perspectives from both retrospection and examination to reflect on how they will perform differently in their next co-op rotation or work assignment. Five UnLecture sessions were designed and executed as a part of the course EECE 3XXX–Software Engineering. The following is the list of session themes:1. Project Management and Team Work2. Requirements Analysis, Design, and Modeling3. Software Implementation Techniques and Practices4. Testing and Code Maintenance5. Ethics and Technology/Patent Wars It can be observed that session themes are closely related to the topics in the discipline ofsoftware engineering. This paper will describe the rubric design and results related to each of thesessions and will discuss ways in which the UnLecture technique helps achieve course goals.