Injecting rapid feedback and collaborative reasoning in teaching specifications

Abstract

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.

An ACM 2013 exemplar course integrating fundamentals, languages, and software engineering

“…To ensure students understand specifications, we employ two methods. The first of these is to have them produce specification-based test points (see closed labs mentioned earlier, and quiz #3 discussed later), whereby students write valid input points (that satisfy pre-conditions) and expected outputs (that satisfy post-conditions); we have also built and used a tool for this purpose, named the Test Case Reasoning Assistant (TCRA) [9]. As another way to ensure students understand specifications, some of the lab assignments, as well as a project, ask students to produce implementations of components, given only their specifications.…”