Bridging the Theory-Practice Gap in a Maintenance Programming Course: An Experience Report

This paper presents our experience in teaching a maintenance programming course with the aim of bridging the gap between theory and practice, a recurring issue in previous course offerings. To achieve this goal, we implemented active learning strategies within an active learning classroom setting and redesigned the project work. Our approach involves peer learning and teamwork activities to cover various aspects of legacy code maintenance. For the project work, we adopted an open-ended approach that allowed students to choose their legacy code projects, which could be open-source software or a previous software project they had worked on. Analysis of students' feedback and project reports highlighted the effectiveness of our approach in bridging the gap between theory and practice. We believe that our approach had the potential to enhance students' engagement and critical thinking abilities, as well as improve practical maintenance skills relevant to their future careers.