Teaching SOLID Software Design Principles Using Peer Instruction—A Pilot Study

Bhuvaneswari Gopal

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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: Computing and Information Technology Division (CIT) Technical Session 3
Tagged Division: Computing and Information Technology Division (CIT)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/48068

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Bhuvaneswari Gopal University of Nebraska, Lincoln

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Dr. Bhuvaneswari (Bhuvana) Gopal is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the School of Computing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she teaches Software Engineering, Software Security in Practice, the industry internship course, and leads the Learning Assistant Program that serves several computing courses at the School of Computing. Dr. Gopal has extensive experience in the software industry, where she spent 14 years in various roles, including Software Architect and Lead software engineer positions before switching to full time academia. She is also a Microsoft certified professional, with an MCPD certification. Her research work is focused on evidence-based, active learning pedagogies to improve software engineering education. She has published papers specifically on Peer Instruction and Process Oriented Guided Inquiry-based Learning-like pedagogical approaches in the undergraduate software engineering classroom, both in person and virtual. She holds a Bachelors degree in Physics from the University of Madras, Chennai, India. She holds two Masters degrees - one in Computer Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and one in Medical Physics from Anna University, Chennai, India. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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Abstract

In this paper we study the efficacy of Peer Instruction (PI) as a pedagogy for teaching the SOLID principles of software design in an in-person undergraduate software engineering classroom. SOLID principle based software design is an important topic in helping students get ready to work in the software industry. Peer Instruction (PI) is an active learning pedagogy in which students actively participate in their own learning by discussing questions with small groups of peers during class, providing real-time feedback to the instructor through an online portal, or a handheld student response system device, or through manual raising of hands or flashcards. Several studies on PI in computing exist, but very few studies focus on PI in the topic of software design in general and/or SOLID principles in particular. In this pilot study we focus on comparing correctness gains for students learning SOLID principles through lecture-based instruction and PI. We utilized a purely lecture based approach in one semester, followed by PI in the next semester. We developed our own PI questions for SOLID principles, which is another unique contribution of this study. We conducted pre- and post course surveys for both the lecture iteration as well as the PI iteration of the course. We analyzed over 140 student responses to the pre- and post- surveys to determine if PI had helped students learn and recognize SOLID principles more effectively than lectures. Cognitively, we found a correlation between PI and student learning, by observing encouraging increases in levels of success as measured through cognitive pre- and post-course survey, for SOLID principles. We found statistically significant correctness gains for students with PI over lectures, indicating that students learned better using PI than they did through lectures. We categorized our findings regarding the student population in general, as well as in specific underrepresented minorities in computing. In this regard, we found that PI helped students of marginalized identities, specifically students of color, women, and first-generation students in computing statistically significantly more than lectures did, with their cognitive gains. From a SOLID principles perspective, PI also seemed to have helped students with little to no prior internship experiences do at least as well as students with one or more industry internships leading up to the course.

Citation
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Gopal, B. (2024, June), Teaching SOLID Software Design Principles Using Peer Instruction—A Pilot Study Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/48068

TY - CPAPER
AB - In this paper we study the efficacy of Peer Instruction (PI) as a pedagogy for teaching the SOLID principles of software design in an in-person undergraduate software engineering classroom. SOLID principle based software design is an important topic in helping students get ready to work in the software industry. Peer Instruction (PI) is an active learning pedagogy in which students actively participate in their own learning by discussing questions with small groups of peers during class, providing real-time feedback to the instructor through an online portal, or a handheld student response system device, or through manual raising of hands or flashcards. Several studies on PI in computing exist, but very few studies focus on PI in the topic of software design in general and/or SOLID principles in particular. In this pilot study we focus on comparing correctness gains for students learning SOLID principles through lecture-based instruction and PI. We utilized a purely lecture based approach in one semester, followed by PI in the next semester. We developed our own PI questions for SOLID principles, which is another unique contribution of this study. We conducted pre- and post course surveys for both the lecture iteration as well as the PI iteration of the course. We analyzed over 140 student responses to the pre- and post- surveys to determine if PI had helped students learn and recognize SOLID principles more effectively than lectures. Cognitively, we found a correlation between PI and student learning, by observing encouraging increases in levels of success as measured through cognitive pre- and post-course survey, for SOLID principles. We found statistically significant correctness gains for students with PI over lectures, indicating that students learned better using PI than they did through lectures. We categorized our findings regarding the student population in general, as well as in specific underrepresented minorities in computing. In this regard, we found that PI helped students of marginalized identities, specifically students of color, women, and first-generation students in computing statistically significantly more than lectures did, with their cognitive gains. From a SOLID principles perspective, PI also seemed to have helped students with little to no prior internship experiences do at least as well as students with one or more industry internships leading up to the course.

AU - Bhuvaneswari Gopal
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Teaching SOLID Software Design Principles Using Peer Instruction—A Pilot Study
UR - https://peer.asee.org/48068
ER -