Evaluation of the effectiveness of developing real-world software projects as a motivational device for bridging theory and practice

ABSTRACT

While incorporating project-based exercise is a common practice in software engineering education, few studies have been conducted in investigating how real-world project development influences university students’ proactive learning and knowledge transformation. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of developing real-world projects with industry engagement in encouraging students to apply knowledge to practice and be more proactive in learning. Using a two-group, post-test quasi-experimental design, the performance between the students taking real-world project development and the students in the control group are compared using descriptive statistics, the independent samples t-test and Welch t-test, accordingly. Both the Spearman’s rank-order and Kendall’s τ-b are used to examine the relationship between students’ practical works and the level of knowledge transformation estimated by the students through online surveys. The results suggest that using real-world projects in the classroom can be an effective motivational device for proactive learning and knowledge transformation. Project-based exercise should be both comprehensive and keeping pace with technology development driven by the software industry evolution to be more effective. The direct interaction with stakeholders, dynamic requirements change, employment of Agile methods, self-organising teams, and using challenging real-world projects, are essential in simulating a real-world software development environment in the classroom.

KEYWORDS:

• Software engineering
• project
• development
• theory
• practice

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. http://agilemanifesto.org.

2. The establishment of the partnership was initially bridged through the Experiential Learning Office of the University.

3. In Scrum software development method, a Sprint is a short duration of the project development that contains activities including planning, development, review and retrospective.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Project Live Initiative, which was funded by the HEA Innovation and Transformation Project “Future Ready” run by Maynooth University Experiential Learning Office.” Contacted the funder: there is no Grant Number associated with the project; the funder name is: Higher Education Authority (Ireland).

Notes on contributors

Dapeng Dong

Dapeng Dong is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Computer Science at Maynooth University. He received his PhD degree in Computer Science and MSc degree in Software and Systems for Mobile Networks from National University of Ireland, Cork. Prior to joining Maynooth University, he was a senior postdoctoral researcher at the Boole Centre for Research in Informatics, Insight Centre for Data Analytics, and Mobile & Internet Systems Laboratory, at National University of Ireland, Cork. His current research interests are in efficient big data analysis and resource optimisation in hyper-scale, heterogeneous clouds.

Robert Butler

Robert Butler has been a college lecturer in the Department of Economics since September 2006, completing his doctorate in 2013. Robbie’s research has been published in leading international journals and includes two ABS 4* papers in the British Journal of Industrial Relations and European Journal of Operational Research. Robbie also has papers in ABS 3* and ABS 2* journals including European Sports Management Quarterly, Journal of Agricultural Economics, Journal of Institutional Economics, Journal of Sports Economics, Journal of Economic Studies and The Scottish Journal of Political Economy. Since November 2017 Robbie has been Director of the Centre for Sports Economics and Law. In October 2015, Robbie was awarded the President’s Prize for Teaching, becoming one of the youngest staff members to receive the award. In October 2016, he won the Teaching Hero Award from the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, becoming the first UCC person to receive both awards. He has been a Teaching Fellow within UCC’s CITRL since September 2018.

John Herbert

John Herbert is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science, UCC since September 1999. During the academic year 2008–2009 he was a Research Fellow at SRI International, Menlo Park, California, USA, and Visiting Fellow at Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, UK while working in the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. Prior to his present position, he has worked for SRI International, Cambridge, UK, and the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. He obtained a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. He has an M.Sc. in Physics, and a B.Sc. in Physics and Mathematics, both from University College Cork.