Increasing Authenticity in Pre-College Software Engineering Education through Role-Play

Per G. Norstrom; Charlotta Nordlöf; Konrad J. Schönborn; Jonas Hallström

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Bart's Big Plan: Engaging High Schoolers in Engineering Adventures ... Ay Caramba!
Tagged Division: Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE)
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/47612

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Paper Authors

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Per G. Norstrom Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) orcid.org/0000-0002-7778-2552

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Per Norström is associate professor in technology and engineering education at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden. His research interests include pre-university engineering education, and analytical philosophy of technology.

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Charlotta Nordlöf Linkoping University orcid.org/0000-0002-6177-3897

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Charlotta Nordlöf is an associate senior lecturer in technology education at Linköping University, Sweden. She has a background as a technology teacher in upper secondary school. Her research interests are focused on educational and didactic aspects of technology education, with a particular emphasis on teachers' views of technology education.

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Konrad J. Schönborn

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Jonas Hallström Linkoping University orcid.org/0000-0003-0829-3349

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Abstract

Engineering is much more than merely calculating or modelling various technological outcomes. Engineers have a professional culture that is traditionally learned at work and not primarily during engineering education. Organized attempts to include such cultural components in engineering education have been made, for example, through the CDIO (conceive, design, implement, operate) initiative in higher education, although they are mostly lacking in secondary education. Thus, the objective of the proposed study is to investigate the affordances for authenticity of role-play based project work in a Swedish upper secondary software engineering program. The students partake in a development project role-play, where they take on previously decided roles (project manager, responsible for legal and integrity issues, art director). The teacher acts as both customer and manager. The students are intended to act (behave) like engineers in their activities and communication within and outside of the project group. Data were collected through observations and interviews with teachers and students.

Preliminary findings indicate that students take the project more seriously when they engage in role-play, and they express that they received experiences that better prepare them for the future. For instance, the students are more formal and to the point when acting as consultants and updating their “boss” on the progression of their web designs. The assigned roles helped the students to structure their work. The clear division of responsibilities lowered the level of conflict in some groups. For example, the art director had the final say when it came to design decisions. However, some students also felt that the project was not deemed real enough just because it was a role-play. For example, the teacher was boss, customer, and educator in different phases of the project. Nevertheless, students mostly expressed engagement by the fact that the project was student-centered and was something different than regular schoolwork. Albeit so, some students expressed during the interviews that they did not know whether the project was realistic or not, but trusted the teacher’s professional experience.

Implications of the study are that it demonstrates that while role-playing is not necessarily equivalent to authentic, it is fulfills a situated learning process. Such learning maysimulate real-world scenarios, bridge theory and practice, and facilitate transfer to a real-world context, provided there is mutual confidence and responsibility between students and teacher.

Citation
Format

Norstrom, P. G., & Nordlöf, C., & Schönborn, K. J., & Hallström, J. (2024, June), Increasing Authenticity in Pre-College Software Engineering Education through Role-Play Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://strategy.asee.org/47612

TY - CPAPER
AB - Engineering is much more than merely calculating or modelling various technological outcomes. Engineers have a professional culture that is traditionally learned at work and not primarily during engineering education. Organized attempts to include such cultural components in engineering education have been made, for example, through the CDIO (conceive, design, implement, operate) initiative in higher education, although they are mostly lacking in secondary education. Thus, the objective of the proposed study is to investigate the affordances for authenticity of role-play based project work in a Swedish upper secondary software engineering program. The students partake in a development project role-play, where they take on previously decided roles (project manager, responsible for legal and integrity issues, art director). The teacher acts as both customer and manager. The students are intended to act (behave) like engineers in their activities and communication within and outside of the project group. Data were collected through observations and interviews with teachers and students.

Preliminary findings indicate that students take the project more seriously when they engage in role-play, and they express that they received experiences that better prepare them for the future. For instance, the students are more formal and to the point when acting as consultants and updating their “boss” on the progression of their web designs. The assigned roles helped the students to structure their work. The clear division of responsibilities lowered the level of conflict in some groups. For example, the art director had the final say when it came to design decisions. However, some students also felt that the project was not deemed real enough just because it was a role-play. For example, the teacher was boss, customer, and educator in different phases of the project. Nevertheless, students mostly expressed engagement by the fact that the project was student-centered and was something different than regular schoolwork. Albeit so, some students expressed during the interviews that they did not know whether the project was realistic or not, but trusted the teacher’s professional experience.

Implications of the study are that it demonstrates that while role-playing is not necessarily equivalent to authentic, it is fulfills a situated learning process. Such learning maysimulate real-world scenarios, bridge theory and practice, and facilitate transfer to a real-world context, provided there is mutual confidence and responsibility between students and teacher.
AU - Per G. Norstrom
AU - Charlotta Nordlöf
AU - Konrad J. Schönborn
AU - Jonas Hallström
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Increasing Authenticity in Pre-College Software Engineering Education through Role-Play
UR - https://strategy.asee.org/47612
ER -