Improving Embedded System Education with Software Engineering Methodologies

该项目探索一种独特的教育模式，将软件工程实践系统地整合到一系列嵌入式系统课程中。它解决了教育学生在复杂的嵌入式软件项目中使用软件工程方法的需要，这是一个在软件或嵌入式系统课程中都没有充分解决的主题。该项目包括入门级、中级和高级嵌入式系统课程。在相应的课程中介绍适合每个层次的最重要的软件工程方法，并将软件工程实践整合到课程实验和项目中。将介绍常用的软件工程工具以及嵌入式系统开发环境。该项目将提高学生在这两个领域的学习和教学效率。此外，从材料中抽象出来的短期课程对开发特定领域嵌入式系统的其他工程学科有益。我们正在设计教材，以便重新编排，以服务其他学科的学生和工程师，以满足他们对软件工程培训的需要。在该校教育研究所一位专家的指导下，评估工作正在使用经过验证的抽样调查工具、有关成就和成长的机构数据、焦点小组和个人访谈来监测项目的有效性、影响和意想不到的结果。研究者正在通过他们的网站、期刊和会议场所以及专业渠道（包括共享软件基础设施计划和实地测试学习评估指南）传播他们的方法和结果。更广泛的影响包括材料的传播，包括它们的评估工具，以及它们向其他工程学科的延伸。

Engineering - Electrical (55)The project is exploring a unique education paradigm that systematically integrates software engineering practice into a series of embedded systems courses. It addresses the need to educate students in using software engineering methods in complex embedded software projects, a topic that is not addressed adequately in either software or embedded systems courses. The project involves introductory-, intermediate- and advanced-level embedded systems courses. The most important software engineering methods appropriate to each level are introduced in the corresponding course and the software engineering practices are integrated into the course laboratories and projects. Commonly used software engineering tools will be introduced along with embedded systems development environments. The project will improve student learning and teaching effectiveness in both areas. Furthermore, a short course abstracted from the materials is benefiting other engineering disciplines that develop domain-specific embedded systems. The teaching materials are being designed so that they can be re-organized to serve students and engineers from other disciplines to meet their need for training in Software Engineering. The evaluation effort, under the guidance of an expert from the campus's institute for studies of education, is using validated sample survey instruments, institutional data on achievement and growth, focus groups, and individual interviews to monitor the project's effectiveness, impact, and unexpected outcomes. Investigators are disseminating their methods and results through their website, journal and conference venues, and specialty outlets, including the Shared-Software Infrastructure Program and the Field-tested Learning Assessment Guide. Broader impacts include the dissemination of the material, including their assessment tools, and their outreach to other engineering disciplines.