Balancing Plan-Driven and Agile Methods in Software Engineering Project Courses |
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| Authors: | Barry Boehm Dan Port A Winsor Brown |
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| Institution: | 1. Science Education Department , School of Education, Tel-Aviv University, and Software Engineering Department, Ort Braude College , Karmiel, Israel ornamu@braude.ac.il;3. Department of Computer Science , Holon Institute of Technology, and The Davidson Institute of Science Education, The Weizmann Institute of Science , Rehovot, Israel |
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| Abstract: | Abstraction is a major concept in computer science and serves as a powerful tool in software development. Pattern-oriented instruction (POI) is a pedagogical approach that incorporates patterns in an introductory computer science course in order to structure the learning of algorithmic problem solving. This paper examines abstraction processes in the course of solving an algorithmic problem and highlights three distinct, although interrelated, facets of abstraction: pattern recognition, black-boxing, and structure identification. A study that examined the influence of the POI approach on students' abstraction skills is described; students who learned according to the POI approach were compared with students who learned in a traditional manner with regard to analogical reasoning and problem decomposition and solution, as well as verbal expression. The three facets of abstraction were used to analyze students' abstraction skills and their competency in algorithmic problem solving. |
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| Keywords: | algorithmic patterns abstraction processes algorithmic problem solving pattern-oriented instruction |
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