Encouraging Teamwork in an Undergraduate Software Engineering Course

Abstract

Students typically do not like to work in teams, especially computer science majors. Computer science is often perceived as an "asocial" discipline that does not foster teamwork, interactivity, or collaboration. Yet, teamwork and collaboration are the very characteristics that the workplace demands, particularly when designing and developing large scale software projects. Therefore, being able to effectively work in teams is an essential learning outcome for software engineering students and as educators, we must ensure that students not only possess technical skills, but soft skills as well. The goal of the research in progress was to create a collaborative learning environment that fostered teamwork and team learning for students enrolled in an undergraduate software engineering course. The paper summarizes how previous computing experience, background, and computer self-efficacy were used to create teams that represent those found in today's workplace. Implications and suggestions for future research are also provided.