From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.5-pre1 (2020-06-20) on ip-172-31-74-118.ec2.internal X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.8 required=3.0 tests=BAYES_50 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.5-pre1 Date: 14 Jul 91 07:40:29 GMT From: weyrich!orville@uunet.uu.net (Orville R. Weyrich) Subject: Re: Software Engineering Education Message-ID: <1991Jul14.074029.4291@weyrich.UUCP> List-Id: In article <1505@screamer.csee.usf.edu> stelmack@screamer.csee.usf.edu (Gregory M. Stelmack) writes: > >2) Teaching Software Engineering Concepts in classes: I think the greatest >hindrance to this is that students are taking several classes at once, and >many are working to help pay for school (me, for one). Students simply don't >have the time to do the kind of major projects that allow the teaching and >experience of what has been called "macro-SE" here. One way that USF does get What you are really saying is that your school has not designed their curriculum to support macro-SE. It would be terribly burdensome on the students if each professor "got the religion" and decided to put a good macro-SE experience into his/her courses. The proper way to do this is to pick out some REQUIRED course or course sequence and to put the macro-SE into that course (sequence) ONLY. And warn the students that they should not expect to take 3 programming courses concurrently with that course (sequence). All this requires planning at the department level, and coordination of the implementation. >this to some students is by allowing some undergraduates to get in on research >projects. In this way, the undergraduate gets a part-time job working in with >other programmers, an experience that naturally teaches much about SE (as well >as a good deal about whatever the research project is on). Maybe if more of >these kinds of positions were offered, more undergraduates will get that >experience. But, if an undergraduate has to work a non-computer job, that >student will be scrimping for time, and is forced to throw a program together >in a few hours for a class to get it in on time. While a curriculum committee should take student convenience into account, there is a definite limit to how much the program should be compromised to accomodate students' work schedules. The program should be designed to provide a full-time student [without distractions] a quality education in 4 years. Those students that have distractions should expect to have to reduce their course load and take longer. -------------------------------------- ****************************** Orville R. Weyrich, Jr., Ph.D. Certified Systems Professional Internet: orville%weyrich@uunet.uu.net Weyrich Computer Consulting Voice: (602) 391-0821 POB 5782, Scottsdale, AZ 85261 Fax: (602) 391-0023 (Yes! I'm available) -------------------------------------- ******************************