Integrating Testing into Software Engineering Courses Supported by a Collaborative Learning Environment

Abstract

As software becomes more ubiquitous and complex, the cost of software bugs continues to grow at a staggering rate. To remedy this situation, there needs to be major improvement in the knowledge and application of software validation techniques. Although there are several software validation techniques, software testing continues to be one of the most widely used in industry. The high demand for software engineers in the next decade has resulted in more software engineering (SE) courses being offered in academic institutions. However, due to the number of topics to be covered in SE courses, little or no attention is given to software testing, resulting in students entering industry with little or no testing experience.We propose a minimally disruptive approach of integrating software testing into SE courses by providing students access to a collaborative learning environment containing learning materials on testing techniques and testing tools. In this article, we describe the learning environment and the studies conducted to measure the benefits accrued by students using the learning environment in the SE courses. . 2014. Integrating testing into software engineering courses supported by a collaborative learning environment. ACM Trans. Comput.

Toward Understanding Students’ Learning Performance in an Object-Oriented Programming Course: The Perspective of Program Quality

“…Since the effect of importing software testing on programming teaching seems intuitive, a substantial amount of computer education engineers have persistently worked on integrating software testing training in CS programs and collecting empirical evidence to support the claim. Several prior studies report that software testing training in programming courses might encourage students to produce more reliable code [15] [16]. Some recent studies have revealed that testing practice can help students think more critically while working on programming assignments [13].…”

Gamification-Based Cyber-Enabled Learning Environment of Software Testing

“…The results have demonstrated a meaningful relationship between the engagement and motivation of students using gamification and an online learning environment, specifically in the area of software testing. The context of software testing was developed by collaboration team [1] and realized in the new technology named Learning Objects using SCORM [7].…”

“…The LOs were made in response to feedback from users in the academic community. These enhancements include: (1) presenting the material in the learning objects using varied formats (e.g., video, audio and text); (2) new learning objects on testing techniques for black-box and white-box testing; and (3) new tutorials for testing tools based on cross-platform IDE (e.g., Eclipse and NetBeans). The transition to learning objects from tutorials allows for the sequencing of different levels of content on a specific testing topic and the ability to link objects on testing techniques to tutorials on testing tools.…”

“…This project provides several learning and engagement strategies (LESs) such as gamification, collaborative learning, social interaction and networking to improve students' knowledge of software testing in programming courses ranging from CS1/CS2 to more advanced courses with a programming component. In this experimental study at Alabama A&M University (AAMU), through a two-year collaborative effort with Florida International University (FIU) [1], we present the data, results and analysis of using gamification in programming related courses, as well as the way to improve student learning outcomes using WReSTTCyLE and gamification.…”

Integrating Software Testing to CS Curriculum Using WRESTT-CyLE

“…In order to populate WReSTT-CyLE with learning objects on software testing techniques a tree diagram was created to guide the development [10,11]. In this tree diagram, the learning objects developed at AAMU are mainly in the category of white-box testing and black-box testing.…”