Mentoring Mentors in Cooperative Software Engineering Education Programmes

Cooperative programmes are principally partnerships between academia and industry to deliver education partly on campus and partly in the workplace. Mentors in the workplace are crucial in such cooperative programmes as they scaffold appropriate development activities for students. A workplace mentor in this situation is important not only for the development of detailed technical knowledge, but also in the development of software engineering skills that are almost never in fact taught in higher education, e.g. navigating large, neglected code bases. Consequently, workplace mentors are a key component of any high-quality education programme delivered in partnership with industry. However, higher education institutions and enterprises not only need to appreciate the importance of mentors in such schemes, but also ensure such staff are supported to use their experience to increase their skill as a mentor. Mentors need the space and support to reflect on their own practice, develop skills and attain new knowledge. In this sense, the challenge is not dissimilar to that faced by computing science school teachers that need to continually consider their own practice as well as have the time to consider emerging programming languages and frameworks. Many of the structures and existing research on how to support computing science school teachers could be adapted to support these workplace mentors, e.g. support groups. In this poster, we present initial research and models for mentoring mentors in cooperative software engineering programmes. The aim is to share initial work, receive feedback and to connect with potential collaborators

A Review of Work Based Learning in Higher Education

The idea of work based learning in higher education might sound like a contradiction in terms. Work based learning is surely in the the workplace. The senses in which it might also, under certain conditions, be in higher education are explored in this review. There are increasing arrangements whereby people can obtain academic recognition for learning which has taken place outside of educational institutions. In addition to traditional forms of professional education and sandwich courses, one can add a host of relationships between employers and higher education institutions which involve quite fundamental questioning of the roles and responsibilities of each in the continuing education and training of adults. Such developments can be related to broader themes concerning the organisation of knowledge in society, the changing nature of work and career, the learning society and the implications they hold for individual workers, their employers and educational providers. The Department for Education and Employment sponsored the study to produce a substantial literature review of progress and issues raised in the field of work based learning in higher education. The first part of the book provides a contextual and conceptual backdrop against which more practical aspects of work based learning are then considered in part two. The final part considers strategic issues of implementation for higher education institutions, employers and individuals, before turning to more wide ranging issues of policy

Beta: an experiment in funded undergraduate start up

This paper reports on an evaluation of a funded undergraduate project designed to enable student business start-up. The programme, entitled 'Beta', provides undergraduate students with £1,500 of seed-corn funding. The key objective of the project is for the participants to exit it with a viable and legal business entity through which they can start trading on completion of the course. The study adopts a case study approach and evaluates all aspects of the Beta programme, the actors involved and its processes and practices. The authors examine the development of the project and the challenges and hurdles that were identified and overcome to realize the project's goals

Tutoring and Mentoring

Complete Online JournalJournal of Student Affairs in Africa Vol. 5 issue

The Impact of Undergraduate Mentorship on Student Satisfaction and Engagement, Teamwork Performance, and Team Dysfunction in a Software Engineering Group Project

Mentorship schemes in software engineering education usually involve professional software engineers guiding and advising teams of undergraduate students working collaboratively to develop a software system. With or without mentorship, teams run the risk of experiencing team dysfunction: a situation where lack of engagement, internal conflicts, and/or poor team management lead to different assessment outcomes for individual team members and overall frustration and dissatisfaction within the team. The paper describes a mentorship scheme devised as part of a 33 week software engineering group project course, where the mentors were undergraduate students who had recently completed the course successfully and possessed at least a year’s experience as professional software engineers. We measure and discuss the impact the scheme had on: (1) student satisfaction and engagement, (2) team performance, and (3) team dysfunction

Effect of Mentoring on the Growth of Selected Small Scale Businesses in Makurdi Metropolis, Benue State-Nigeria

Strategies for developing the capabilities of employees are important part of any organization’s overall strategy and source of competitive advantage. This study investigated the effect of mentoring on the growth of selected small scale businesses in Makurdi Metropolis, Benue State. The study specifically examined the effect of career support, psychological support and knowledge transfer on the growth of selected small scale businesses in Makurdi Metropolis. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design and the population of the study was 152 (owners and employees) of small scale businesses within Makurdi Metropolis. A pilot study was carried out to measure validity and reliability of items on the questionnaire. Data collected from respondents through self-administered questionnaire were analysed using Mean, Standard Deviation and Regression Analysis. Formulated hypotheses were tested with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 23) software. The study found that career support has significant effect on the growth of small scale businesses (P.019; β=.349); psychological support has significant effect on the growth of small scale businesses (P.000; β=.734) and knowledge transfer has significant effect on the growth of small scale businesses (P.000; β=.516). It recommended amongst others that government should organize mentorship programmes for entrepreneurs and business men to enable them have knowledge about business mentoring and the importance of transferring knowledge to enhance viability and growth of their businesses

The lessons learnt from Willy Wonka (includes alternate ending)

Despite all that research has taught us, lectures and seminars still continue to be largely delivered in the classroom, with students sat in rows for far too long. Lecturers offer information, which some students choose to absorb. Some students choose not to, or don’t have the nature to be able to. So, what if we change this? What happens? And even more crucially, what can we do to use the ‘student voice’ to enhance how they learn and what they learn? Following a successful pilot in Experiential Education which we presented at the LJMU conference in 2013 we made developments which allow students to shape their own learning experience - truly engaging them in delivery. With Nick changing institutions at the beginning of this academic year we have both continued to explore Experiential Educational but in different ways. This presentation examines these developments and looks at three key areas: 1) The needs of students (which they weren’t shy in making clear to us!) and the differing learning styles they have, to see how teachers can use them to deliver an all-encompassing experience which is interactive, engaging and informative. 2) A taster of the technologies involved in flipped classrooms and the benefits of experiential education. 3) The reflective nature of learning journals to encourage the student voice to be raised (and then heard). Charlie got the Golden Ticket because he dreamt about it, because he did everything he could to get it. So, where did the others go wrong? And what could Wonka have done about this