Mark E. Hoffman

Work and personal life boundary management: Boundary strength, work/personal life balance, and the segmentation-integration continuum.

While researchers are increasingly interested in understanding the boundaries surrounding the work and personal life domains, few have tested the propositions set forth by theory. Boundary theory proposes that individuals manage the boundaries between work and personal life through processes of segmenting and/or integrating the domains. The authors investigated boundary management profiles of 332 workers in an investigation of the segmentation-integration continuum. Cluster analysis indicated consistent clusters of boundary management practices related to varying segmentation and integration of the work and personal life domains. But, the authors suggest that the segmentation-integration continuum may be more complicated. Results also indicated relationships between boundary management practices and work-personal life interference and work-personal life enhancement. Less flexible and more permeable boundaries were related to more interference, while more flexible and more permeable boundaries were related to more enhancement.

Computer literacy: what students know and from whom they learned it

Do new college students already know much of what has previously been taught in our computer literacy courses (assuming a functional definition of knowledge according to which students are proficient with personal computer and Internet applications)? We conducted a survey of incoming first-year students at Quinnipiac University to learn not only their skill level with a representative range of technology tasks, but also from whom they learned these tasks. Results provide a profile of students who report learning many technology tasks primarily on their own. We propose a taxonomy according to which native technology tasks are learned with family support, social and educational technology task categories are supported by friends and teachers, respectively, and optional technology tasks are learned with little support. Our results will help in the design of appropriate computer literacy courses.

Communication genres: Integrating communication into the software engineering curriculum

One way to improve the communication abilities of new software engineering graduates in the workplace is to integrate communication more effectively in the software engineering curriculum. But faculty typically conceive of communication as outside their realm of expertise. Based on the results of an NSF-funded project, we use theories of situated learning and genre to make the case that communication is integral to software engineering and that faculty are in the best position to guide students in becoming better communicators in the field. We identify software engineering genres and show how those genres may be used to integrate communication in the classroom and throughout the curriculum.

Workplace scenarios to integrate communication skills and content: a case study

A recent study of new software developers at Microsoft reveals the significance and integration of communication skills in their daily tasks. While the literature offers a variety of approaches to promote the integration of communication skills into the Computer Science curriculum, a discrepancy remains between what students get and what they need. In this paper, we propose using workplace scenarios that integrate communication skills with technical content situated in and mediating workplace activity. Workplace scenarios are based on an analysis of the workplace as an activity system. Guidelines for implementing workplace scenarios are provided. A case study analyzes the integration of communication skills with technical content using workplace scenarios in a software development course.

The Ongoing Development of a Collaboration between a Software Project Management Course and an Introduction to Software Development Course: (Abstract Only)

The ability to manage software development teams is an important skill in the computing professions. The Software Engineering Body of Knowledge devotes a separate knowledge area to this skill. It is difficult, however, to effectively teach software project management (SPM) in a traditional undergraduate setting, because it is logistically challenging to find software development teams that students can manage over a sufficiently long period of time. Thus, students often cannot apply in practice the SPM theory they learn in class and, in particular, the soft-skill aspects of SPM. To enhance student learning and experience of SPM, we have established a collaboration between a senior-level SPM course and a sophomore-level introduction to software development (ISD) course. In this collaboration, SPM students serve as managers of teams of ISD students during a semester-long project. We designed a methodology to evaluate the collaboration in terms of student learning and experience. This methodology is based on student surveys, reflections, meetings with students, and analysis of student artifacts (e.g., meeting minutes). We are in the third year of a longitudinal study in which we evaluate the collaboration after each semester it runs and evolve that collaboration based on the collected evidence. This poster describes the collaboration, the evaluation methodology, the continuous improvement process for evolving the collaboration, lessons learned on the educational benefits of the collaboration, and issues, such as the amount of managers/ authority, nature of managers/ tasks, logistics, and scheduling.

Reading and Writing Like Computer Scientists: How to Promote Critical Thinking and Student Engagement (Abstract Only)

This workshop introduces participants to an informal writing process that promotes student engagement and critical thinking with easily-assessed, low-stakes assignments. Unlike the formal writing typically used in software development or capstone courses to demonstrate knowledge, informal writing supports student learning (i.e., writing as thinking). Participants will use the Prioritize, Translate, and Analogize (PTA) Process in a model assignment; discuss how it works; and use it to develop a writing assignment. Participants will receive materials for the workshop assignment, samples of prompts employing the PTA process in a variety of courses, and other support materials. Participants are encouraged to bring an assignment idea to develop at the workshop. The workshop is intended for computer science instructors who want to learn about strategies for integrating writing in their courses to engage students and improve their critical thinking while limiting time for instruction and evaluation. No laptop is required.