Experience with the assessment of teaching and learning of Software Engineering

Abstract

This research presents a methodology to evaluate quantitatively the outcomes of Software Engineering courses. It was applied to evaluate a software development process taught in Software Engineering courses at Universidad Central de Venezuela, Faculty of Sciences, School of Computer Science (http://www.ciens.ucv.ve/ciens). As part of this study, a set of factors influencing teaching and learning outcomes was identified and an instrument was developed to measure perceived student success with the development process. After completing the data collection and standardization a reliability analysis was performed using Cronbach's alpha, to determine the internal reliability of the instrument. The main contributions of this work are a methodology to evaluate teaching and learning outcomes, findings regarding a software development process and the difficulties that students encounter when trying to master this process. The findings can help teachers develop course strategies aimed at promoting learning and understanding of key topics in Software Engineering.