A project spine framework for software engineering education (abstract only)

Software engineering (and by extension software engineering education) is a fast-paced and still emerging discipline (by historical comparison to traditional engineering), yet still immature. We argue this immaturity shows in software engineering education in two ways. First, significant efforts in the software engineering and computer science communities focus on content taxonomies or bodies of knowledge (BOKs), whereas BOKs are more established in traditional engineering disciplines. Second, project experiences are not viewed as a central integrating feature of a degree program's curricular implementation. Project experiences tend to be disjoint; there may be a "freshman project" or a "capstone" or an "undergraduate research experience" or merely a semester project undertaken by the individual initiative of an instructor. The Software Enterprise at Arizona State University uses project experiences as the contextual teaching and learning vehicle throughout the Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering degree program. Students engage in classroom learning, group-oriented lab exercises, implementation on scalable projects, and reflective assessment co-located in time for each concept. The result is a student who not only acquires a new skill, but also immediately understands how to put that skill in practice. The Software Enterprise, now in its 9th year, has evolved from an upperclassmen experience to the full-fledged project spine in the Software Engineering program. In a project spine, content is de-emphasized; foundational concepts are tied to project work throughout the undergraduate program. The Enterprise provides over 40 curricular modules (with labs), assessment tools, and pedagogical guidance on project-centered learning to computing educators.