Adapting Cooperative Learning To Teach Software Architecture In Multiple Role Teams

The software architecture process depends on successful teamwork involving cooperation among members of the design team, cooperation between the design team and the clients, and cooperation between the design team and the development organization. Cooperative learning is a pedagogy that directly supports this type of teamwork. Through cooperative learning students realize their interdependence, practice face-to-face communication, recognize their individual accountability to the success of the group, practice interpersonal and small-group skills, and engage in frequent reflective processing of their achievements. We have adapted cooperative learning to teach software architecture in two undergraduate software engineering programs. In traditional cooperative learning, students work on one team for an extended period. This helps foster acceptance of individual differences and promotes successful teamwork. In our courses we kept students together on the same teams, but we wanted students to play multiple roles: clients, architects, and developers. So, we let the