Computer-Based Support for the Learning of Software Design

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Increasingly, society is demanding that people put their knowledge to use. One such application is the design of artifacts. The importance of technological support in the design process is clearly recognized by professional designers. The aim of this project is to explore how high schools and college students can best be supported as they learn a particular type of design process--software design. To this end, an educationally-motivated and educationally-sound computer-aided design environment (SODA, Software Design Lab) will be developed and classroom tested; SODA goes beyond merely supporting slices of the design process, and provides support for the four major activities in software design: planning, generating and evaluating alternative designs, debugging, and reflecting. Key to effective design is the management of complexity. Thus, in SODA, there will be mechanisms to manage artifact complexity (e.g., plan libraries), process complexity (e.g. aids to create and then navigate among alternative designs), as well as mechanisms to facilitate learning (e.g., scaffolding and customization). The research plan is to test increasingly more sophisticated versions of SODA, in four different educational environments using a broad range of students. A systematic procedure has been designed to assess student performance as well as process, using quantitative and qualitative methods; transfer of design skills will also be examined.