Software engineering: learning through innovation and interaction

This case study has been developed from data gathered through observations of the teaching component; interviews with the tutor and a student focus group. This case study highlights an innovative approach to teaching software engineering to first year students in the School of Systems Engineering at the University of Reading. The module is a compulsory 20 credit course for the cohort of 200+ students and runs for 20 weeks, starting from the first week of the academic year. The surface learning for the course is provided by a traditional lecture course of two lectures per week. All of the theoretical aspects are dealt with in the lectures and two of Rachel McCrindle’s colleagues present the majority of these. There is also one seminar per week and these are divided approximately 50:50 between those that directly complement the lecture course or look at career management and those that relate to the subject of this case study: group work projects designed to generate a board game that when played would teach the players software engineering.