Organizing and Managing Software Engineering Team Projects

Industrial software development today requires a fundamental education in computer science as well as the ability to work productively and collaboratively in a team environment. Employers will therefore favor graduates who have mastered computer science and software engineering concepts and can apply them while developing a software system. To produce computer science graduates possessing the skills necessary to succeed in the workplace, team‐oriented software engineering courses with real projects (and with real clients) are increasingly emphasized. It is, however, difficult to successfully present a software engineering course that covers software engineering concepts and offers opportunities to apply them during a project in a team environment. The difficulties lie in project selection, team formation, team and project organization, process management, and, finally, grading. The objective of this article is to discuss these difficulties and provide suggestions for alleviating or avoiding them.     

Facilitating the learning process in design-based learning practices: an investigation of teachers’ actions in supervising students

Background: In research on design-based learning (DBL), inadequate attention is paid to the role the teacher plays in supervising students in gathering and applying knowledge to design artifacts, systems, and innovative solutions in higher education.

Purpose: In this study, we examine whether teacher actions we previously identified in the DBL literature as important in facilitating learning processes and student supervision are present in current DBL engineering practices.

Sample: The sample (N=16) consisted of teachers and supervisors in two engineering study programs at a university of technology: mechanical and electrical engineering. We selected randomly teachers from freshman and second-year bachelor DBL projects responsible for student supervision and assessment.

Design and method: Interviews with teachers, and interviews and observations of supervisors were used to examine how supervision and facilitation actions are applied according to the DBL framework.

Results: Major findings indicate that formulating questions is the most common practice seen in facilitating learning in open-ended engineering design environments. Furthermore, other DBL actions we expected to see based upon the literature were seldom observed in the coaching practices within these two programs.

Conclusions: Professionalization of teachers in supervising students need to include methods to scaffold learning by supporting students in reflecting and in providing formative feedback.     

The Attitudes of Japanese Children and the Effects of Parental Behaviour

Abstract

This study considers the characteristic isolation of Japanese children today and examines the effect that parents are ‘able to be respected’ (erai) or ‘not able to be respected’ (erakunai) has upon their children.     

Teacher‐Learner Interaction in the Process of Operating DL (Distance Learning) Systems

Abstracts

English: The analysing of students’ achievements shows a significant gap between schools in different areas. One of the main factors which influenced the students’ achievement is the level of teaching. The Distance Learning System can help in bridging the gap between what is needed and what the school can supply today     

Mathematics Across the University: Facing the Problem

Abstract

We explore the development of a Mathematics Advisory and Co‐ordinating Service (MACS) at Hull University. We discuss a theory of learning which supports our distinction between two types of mathematics support required in universities today. These two aspects of the problem lead to two distinct teaching models which relate back to the learning theory.     

How to use ISDN Video‐Conferencing to Develop Efficient Remote Education and Corporate Training

Abstract

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is available today in Macau and has been since 1997. It is emerging as a mainstream telecommunications network that will serve a wide variety of users’ needs. It has improved service capabilities, reduced costs and improved productivity for Macau organizations, both large and small. The following are short notes on possible uses.     

Developing knowledge intensive ideas in engineering education: the application of camp methodology

Background: Globalization, technological advancement, environmental problems, etc. challenge organizations not just to consider cost-effectiveness, but also to develop new ideas in order to build competitive advantages. Hence, methods to deliberately enhance creativity and facilitate its processes of development must also play a central role in engineering education. However, so far the engineering education literature provides little attention to the important discussion of how to develop knowledge intensive ideas based on creativity methods and concepts.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to investigate how to design creative camps from which knowledge intensive ideas can unfold.

Design/method/sample: A framework on integration of creativity and knowledge intensity is first developed, and then tested through the planning, execution and evaluation of a specialized creativity camp with focus on supply chain management. Detailed documentation of the learning processes of the participating 49 engineering and business students is developed through repeated interviews during the process as well as a survey.

Results: The research illustrates the process of development of ideas, and how the participants through interdisciplinary collaboration, cognitive flexibility and joint ownership develop highly innovative and knowledge-intensive ideas, with direct relevance for the four companies whose problems they address.

Conclusions: The article demonstrates how the creativity camp methodology holds the potential of combining advanced academic knowledge and creativity, to produce knowledge intensive ideas, when the design is based on ideas of experiential learning as well as creativity principles. This makes the method a highly relevant learning approach for engineering students in the search for skills to both develop and implement innovative ideas.     

Regional aspirations with a global perspective: developments in East Asian labour studies

Abstract

Workers in East Asia have shown over the past 50?years that they are capable of challenging capital, despite facing vehement opposition by corporations, oftentimes joined by governments and their militaries, and sometimes even armed thugs. They have built some of the most dynamic labour organizations in the world. This article is designed to put these developments into a global and historical perspective. It identifies today’s movements of capital as the continuation of processes that developed to a new level in the 1700s, and which continue today. It also discusses struggles of workers under the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU-May First Movement) Labor Center of the Philippines, and shows how valuable research conducted to date has identified a number of lessons learned from these struggles, and how they have been communicated to workers worldwide.     

Encountering drawing

Abstract

This article divides into two roughly equal parts, both of which aim to address the act rather than the art of drawing. The second part focuses on a theoretical discussion of drawing. The first bears on a number of themes including the role of drawing in colonial history, drawing and data collection, and drawing and memory. It begins by describing an episode that unfolded as an encounter between two worlds, and two ages—an episode whose meaning and effects are still controversial today.     

Making Connections in the School Curriculum

Abstract

Possibly the greatest problem now facing citizens and educators is the increasing polarization in society. In this article, I address today’s social and political climate and the challenges it poses to communication and civil discourse. The problem is acute on college and university campuses, as well as in schools. I’ll propose one potential curricular solution, interdisciplinary studies, as a means of opening minds, spurring dialogue, and reducing polarization.     

‘The fruit caught between two stones’: the conflicted position of teachers within Aceh's independence struggle†

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the challenging situation faced by teachers as professionals and members of the community in Aceh, Indonesia during the province's civil war. It reveals how teachers’ sense of agency during this period was deeply influenced by the economic/material, political and socio-cultural condition at that time – conditions and experiences which today have bearing on a place for teachers in the post-conflict peace-building process occurring in the province. During the conflict, teachers struggled to balance their strategic societal positioning – as civil servants and community members – and found themselves caught in the middle of a complex range of hegemonic and counter-hegemonic forces at play. This position of constraint, we argue, limited the ability of teachers to act as peace-builders during the conflict, and continues to influence teachers’ ability to function in such ways today.     

‘Culture of Religion’ – a controversial secular school subject

ABSTRACT

This paper analyses the context, emergence, organisation and curriculum of the school subject known as ‘Culture of Religions’ (Kultura religija), which is given as an example of good practice in the Toledo Guiding Principles of the OSCE. It was designed, piloted and to a certain extent introduced in state schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina by a collaboration of international organisations and institutions, together with representatives from various local organisations. This paper addresses the challenges and opportunities that render this school subject not only highly relevant but also a controversial issue of education policy today.     

Experiences With an Open Systems Computing Laboratory

Open Systems are computing systems which are based on industry standards and nonproprietary multivendor components. As an increasing number of computing installations move away from single‐vendor proprietary architectures to more and more open architectures, academic institutions are increasingly faced with the responsibility of appropriately introducing open systems concepts into the undergraduate curricula. Using funding from the National Science Foundation, an open systems computing laboratory was recently set up at the University of Michigan‐Dearborn. The laboratory is based on the three most popular computing platforms today in the PC to Workstation range; namely IBM/PC, Macintosh, and Sun/UNIX. Supporting equipment include a postcript printer, a Novell network, a tape mass storage, and appropriate software and interfaces. A three credit‐hour course titled Open Systems Computing was offered in Summer 1995 to computer science and computer engineering majors. The course utilized the laboratory fully. This paper describes the design and implementation of the laboratory. Initial experiences with the course and laboratory are also described. Student enthusiasm about the course and laboratory was much higher than anticipated. A side benefit of the course was the ability to introduce several contemporary computing‐related topics which would have otherwise been omitted from the curriculum.     

Industry and Business Working with Education Through the Ages Within the UK

Abstract

The article looks at how, when major technologies appeared, from hand printing to data processing, via printing and broadcasting, ‘business’ or ‘companies’ or ‘industry’ responses involved education. The reasons for the response, it has to be said, often had a touch of self interest, but were none the less effective for that. This is continuing today as some of the examples cited indicate.     

Engineering design skills coverage in K-12 engineering program curriculum materials in the USA

ABSTRACT

The current K-12 Science Education framework and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in the United States emphasise the integration of engineering design in science instruction to promote scientific literacy and engineering design skills among students. As such, many engineering education programmes have developed curriculum materials that are being used in K-12 settings. However, little is known about the nature and extent to which engineering design skills outlined in NGSS are addressed in these K-12 engineering education programme curriculum materials. We analysed nine K-12 engineering education programmes for the nature and extent of engineering design skills coverage. Results show that developing possible solutions and actual designing of prototypes were the highly covered engineering design skills; specification of clear goals, criteria, and constraints received medium coverage; defining and identifying an engineering problem; optimising the design solution; and demonstrating how a prototype works, and making iterations to improve designs were lowly covered. These trends were similar across grade levels and across discipline-specific curriculum materials. These results have implications on engineering design-integrated science teaching and learning in K-12 settings.     

Trying to Get Ahead of the Curve: Raising and Understanding Current Themes in New Literacies Practices

Abstract

This article addresses the following questions: What impact does using the theoretical framework of new literacies have on understanding language, literacy, and learning practices today as technologies are constantly being developed and used? What is the state of research in this area? What are some new directions the field might take in order to develop in new ways? The conclusion suggests some possibilities for new research questions and positions in relation to new technologies.     

Inclusive and democratic practices in primary school classrooms: A multiple case study in Spain

ABSTRACT

Background: In order to offer all students the opportunity to progress and grow to their full potential, teachers must positively recognise and value the different expressions of diversity of all the class members. One of the biggest educational challenges that teachers face today is how to address classroom practices from a truly inclusive and democratic perspective.

Purpose: The main aim of this study was to explore, in a Spanish context, how primary school teachers articulate and implement inclusive and democratic practices in their classrooms.

Design, sample and methods: The methodological design of this study was situated within a qualitative research approach. A multiple case study structure, comprising three case studies, was utilised. Data collection was carried out via interviews, classroom practices inventories, scientific observation and analysis of documentation. The study was carried out over three academic years and had three phases. Data were analysed thematically.

Findings: In the three cases analysed, the analysis identified different possibilities in terms of the implementation and articulation of pedagogical differentiation (the structures, content, process and product) and democratic classroom management (collaborative culture, a shared leadership, democratic participation and school linked to environs).

Conclusions: The analysis highlights the need to support the formation of a critical citizenship within inclusive contexts, as well as the need to develop a sense of belonging to the educational community.     

Application of analytical geometry to the form of gear teeth

Nearly all gear wheels manufactured today have teeth with a profile based on the involute of a circle. The story of how this particular curve gained such mundane prevalence can be traced back to the pioneering work of European natural philosophers, in particular Euler. It involves the application of analytical geometry to a real world engineering problem.     

Responding to technical writing in an introductory engineering class: The role of genre and discipline

A case study of an experienced professor's comments on a design report in a first‐year engineering class was conducted over the period of an academic year. When compared with the commenting styles of technical writing teachers, the engineering professor's comments were found to be highly directive, and thus at odds with the preference for facilitative comments that prevails in composition studies. However, differences in genre conventions explain much of the discrepancy.     

‘Can art save the world?’ The colonial experience and pedagogies of display

ABSTRACT

The quote in the title of this paper is taken from the first line of Marc Depaepe’s article “An Agenda for the History of Colonial Education”, published in The Colonial Experience in Education (Ghent, 1995). This presentation takes as its focus the informal learning space of the museum and the art gallery, and the emergence in recent years of curatorial activism. It seeks to explore the changing discourse and politics around addressing through display the history of colonialism and its meaning in today’s globalised world.