The software industry needs well-trained software designers and one important aspect of software design is the ability to model software designs visually and understand what visual models represent. However, previous research indicates that software design is a difficult task to many students. This article reports empirical findings from a…

The teaching of introductory computer programming seems far from successful, with many first-year students performing more poorly than expected. One possible reason for this is that novices hold "non-viable" mental models (internal explanations of how something works) of key programming concepts which then cause misconceptions and difficulties. An…

Model-driven software development (MDSD) aims to support the development and evolution of software intensive systems using the basic concepts of model, metamodel, and model transformation. In parallel with the ongoing academic research, MDSD is more and more applied in industrial practices. After being accepted both by a broad community of…

Models in Software Engineering are considered as abstract representations of software systems. Models highlight relevant details for a certain purpose, whereas irrelevant ones are hidden. Models are supposed to make system comprehension easier by reducing complexity. Therefore, models should play a key role in education, since they would ease the…

Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) is changing the way we build, operate, and maintain our software-intensive systems. Several projects using MDE practices are reporting significant improvements in quality and performance but, to be able to handle these projects, software engineers need a set of technical and interpersonal skills that are currently…

In this article, we surveyed literature related to undergraduate computer science capstone courses. The survey was organized around course and project issues. Course issues included: course models, learning theories, course goals, course topics, student evaluation, and course evaluation. Project issues included: software process models, software…

We present an innovative pedagogical approach that we call "constructive evaluation," which shifts students from being consumers of knowledge to participants in a community of peers engaged in actively producing and sharing knowledge. Students are required to author a question that assesses one or more of the learning outcomes of a course. In…

This article describes how research methodologies were modified and integrated during the doctoral research conducted by the first author under the supervision of the second author. The research project concerned trying to understand why teachers do or don't use "Jeliot", a program animation system designed to facilitate teaching and learning of…

As computing makes the world a smaller place there will be an increase in the mobility of information technology workers and companies. The European Union has recognized the need for mobility and is instituting educational reforms to provide recognition of worker qualifications. Within computing there have been a number of model curricula proposed…

Reversing is the notion of thinking or working in reverse. Computer science textbooks and tutors recognize it primarily in the form of recursion. However, recursion is only one form of reversing. Reversing appears in the computer science curriculum in many other forms, at various intellectual levels, in a variety of fundamental courses. As such,…

Less than one half of one percent of all processors manufactured today end up in computers. The rest are embedded in other devices such as automobiles, airplanes, trains, satellites, and nearly every modern electronic device. Developing software for embedded systems requires a greater knowledge of hardware than developing for a typical desktop…

Design pattern creation, especially in the e-learning domain, is a highly complex process that has not been sufficiently studied and formalized. In this paper, we propose a systematic pattern development cycle, whose most important aspects focus on reverse engineering of existing systems in order to elicit features that are cross-validated through…

Recursion is a central concept in computer science, yet it is difficult for beginners to comprehend. Israeli high-school students learn recursion in the framework of a special modular program in computer science (Gal-Ezer & Harel, 1999). Some of them are introduced to the concept of recursion in two different paradigms: the procedural programming…

The premise of this paper is that computer science has much to offer the endeavor of instructional improvement. Software design processes employed in computer science for developing software can be used for planning instruction and should improve instruction in much the same manner that design processes appear to have improved software. Techniques…

Presents a summary of nine research reports from a National Educational Computing Conference research workshop whose purpose was to bring together researchers who have been conducting gender-related research in computer science education. Three subgroups discussed the issues of exposure, attraction, and retention of women to computer science. (MDH)