The Mind's Best Work

In the period 1986–1991, experiments have been carried out with an introductory course in computer programming, based on functional programming. Due to thorough educational design and evaluation, a successful course has been developed. This has led to a revision of the computer programming education in the first year of the computer science curriculum at the University of Twente.This article describes the approach, the aim of the computer programming course, the outline and subject matter of the course, and the evaluation. Educational research has been done to assess the quality of the course.

Teaching functional programming to first-year students

Focus on masters' level education in software engineering. Topics discussed include: software engineering principles, current software engineering curricula, experiences with ex- isting courses, and the future of software engineering edu- cation.

Software Engineering Institute and Wang Institute of Graduate Studies on Software engineering education: the educational needs of the software community

We attempt to identify important methodological concepts within knowledge of programming. In one dimension, there are various levels of abstraction; in another, there are various levels of generality. Still another dimension marks different meta-levels. We relate these properties to typical concepts in programming and problem solving. A critical survey of some of the currently used interpretations and applications of these concepts is given. We discuss a formulation of a method of programming that would better reflect the fundamental relations.

A closer look at programming expertise: critical survey of some methodological issues

This paper discusses the future of Software Engineering education in Australia in the 1990s from the perspective of the current debate on the separation of Computer Science and Software Engineering as academic disciplines. It supports the prevailing view that maintaining the unity of Computer Science and Software Engineering is of critical importance.

Software Engineering Education in the 1990s - The Way Foreward

Perception of Software Engineering as a multi-disciplinary profession like established branches of engineering justifies its treatment in a specialised bachelor's degree. Identification of the essence of professional engineering education in general, and the instantiation of this essence with the particular content requirements of SE, provide precise SEE design criteria. The critical role of the introductory Programming course in establishing the importance of correct SE methods dictates the adoption of functional programming for its purposes. Necessary resources for teaching functional programming to introductory classes are either available or easily accessible. The curriculum overall builds upon this foundation, avoiding mistakes in existing CS curricula, providing quality academic education with the extensive practical and integrative work required for professional preparation.

A Proposal for a Bachelor's Degree Program in Software Bngineering

The importance of software development expertise to our society and likewise the importance of education in this field are self-evident. At the same time it is undisputed that software development at the professional level is a complex activity. It must be presumed that the make-up of expertise required to successfully complete such activities will itself be non-simple, deserving of our attention. A hierarchical view of professional expertise is presented and a method for determining the fundamental principles making up lasting expertise is systematically derived. The method is applied to determine principles of software engineering expertise. The view presented provides a step towards a well founded understanding of the types of expertise needed for the activity of software development. Educators involved in courses releasing professionally recognised software developers should be interested to examine which aspects of the expertise-derivation they already utilise and which aspects could further benefit their courses.

Andreas Rosel

Papers

A Proposal for a Bachelor's Degree Program in Software Bngineering

Identifying foundations of software engineering expertise