We describe an approach to teaching formal interface specifications using aspects of the Collaborative Reasoning Paradigm. The module requires students to construct test cases independently and cooperatively based on their understanding of a given set of method specifications. Students are supported by software-based reasoning assistants that guide them through their exercises and provide realtime feedback as they work -both for the students and the instructor. We describe the design of the course module, the supporting reasoning assistant, and representative reasoning exercises. We conclude with a discussion of evaluation results from a recent pilot study conducted at Clemson University.

We describe an approach to teaching formal interface specifications using aspects of the Collaborative Reasoning Paradigm. The module requires students to construct test cases independently and cooperatively based on their understanding of a given set of method specifications. Students are supported by software-based reasoning assistants that guide them through their exercises and provide realtime feedback as they work -both for the students and the instructor. We describe the design of the course module, the supporting reasoning assistant, and representative reasoning exercises. We conclude with a discussion of evaluation results from a recent pilot study conducted at Clemson University.

We introduce a "hands-on" experimentation approach for teaching mathematical specification and reasoning principles in a software engineering course. The approach is made possible by computer-aided analysis and reasoning tools that help achieve three central software engineering learning outcomes: (i) Learning to read specifications by creating test points using only specifications; (ii) Learning to use formal specifications in team software development while developing participating components independently; and (iii) Learning the connections between software and mathematical analysis by proving verification conditions that establish correctness for software components. Experimentation and evaluation results from two institutions show that our approach has had a positive impact.