In support of student process improvement

Preparing students for careers as software developers or software engineers requires more than applying computer science. Software engineering education needs better and more robust instructional models to support the education of new generations of software engineers. The paper discusses the major instructional strategies of software engineering education, and considers their pedagogical value. The paper reviews current activity in software engineering in the context of current industrial emphasis on process improvement and the quality paradigm. We present a four part project model that we have developed and used that integrates recent research in cognitive psychology and software process practices. We suggest ways in which the processes involved in the project model provide the right environment to help students develop the skills truly needed to become accomplished practitioners.