Teaching Design Patterns Using Interactive Methods

Abstract

Even though design patterns are one of the most important building blocks in the current software engineering ecosystem, computer science and software engineering graduates face trouble applying these patterns. To address this, we propose a tutorial and an online lab assessment method to solidify the idea of design patterns for students. The tutorial part integrates a live coding session. The online lab assessment consists of a three-stage process (designing a solution using a class diagram, peer review, and implementation) where students are expected to come up with a fully working solution using design patterns. The proposed approach is applied twice over two semesters to a total sum of 196 students. We discuss the effects of these interactive educational methods on learning by comparing pre-surveys, post-surveys and analyzing final grades. The analysis of the surveys shows that live coding is highly beneficial in enhancing the understanding of design patterns.