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Project Debriefings: The Best Thing Next to a Vulcan Mind-Meld for Improving the Success of Introductory Programming Students
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- Bob Sedlmeyer, Indiana University Purdue University at Fort Wayne
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| For the dedicated Computer Science professor, there is nothing so heart breaking as the forlorn expression of the introductory programming student who fails to complete his project. Conversely, there is no greater delight than to see the exultation of one who succeeds. Computer Science educators have long made efforts to decrease the former and increase the latter. Advances in technology, such as integrated development environments and on-line access to course materials, have helped. Advances in pedagogy, such as the use of closed laboratories, have helped. After employing the wisdom of the Computer Science sages for many years, this humble professor has concluded that the best way to ensure success of introductory programming students is to perform a Vulcan mind-meld. This enables a quick and painless transfer of everything needed to successfully complete all programming projects. Unfortunately, I have yet to master this technique, but I have found a powerful substitute: Project debriefings. Software researchers and practitioners have recognized project debriefings (reviews, postmortems) as fundamental to successful software development. The purpose of a project debriefing is to review and document the good, the bad, and the ugly so that all may benefit from the lessons learned to improve both process and product for the next project. For introductory programming students, the primary purpose of the debriefing is to show how I completed the project. This gives students insight into how I applied the steps of the software development process, what knowledge was necessary to complete each step, how much time each step took, and how I knew each step was successfully completed. It also gives them an opportunity to compare their development experience with mine and recognize where they need to improve. |
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