hts.StevenWood.com

Evaluating & Communicating the Results     

Description  

Students need to document their  work so that they and other programmers can make changes or updates later. Documentation may also have to be written for the program's users. Documentation should appear in the program in comments. Documentation outside the program can be written in a common document format, and may contain explanations of how the programming problem was solved, as well as diagrams, flowcharts, or descriptions. Documentation for the user usually explains the functions of the software. Program maintenance occurs when the task a program was written to do is changed, or when new features are needed, etc.

Strand(s) & Learning Expectations  

Strand(s): 

A. Programming Concepts and Skills  B. Software Development  C. Computer Environments and Systems  D. Topics in Computer Science

Prior Knowledge & Skills

• be familiar with the concepts of white box and black box testing;

Planning Notes

• The major goal of the final project should be to have students apply what they have learned, throughout the course, in the context of a larger problem. Teachers should act as a project manager or advisor.

• Testing should be a continual process during the software development process. However, formal testing can be considered a separate activity from coding a solution.

• The process of creating testing data should be considered as important as running the test cases.

• Evaluation of this activity should be tied to the project as a whole.

Teaching/Learning Strategies

• Distribute Memo #6 (Appendix 5.5.1)

• Students will provide documented test cases for each module in the final project.

• Students will provide documented system tests for the final project as a whole.

• Students will informally or formally test other students' final projects.

• Students will demonstrate that they have met the project specifications through testing.

• Students will recognize the importance of testing in the software process.

Assessment & Evaluation of Student Learning

As Learning

Students will be given time to:

• reflect on their progress/ understanding/areas of concern based on teacher/student/peer suggestions (e.g. after test take up)
• journalize their reflections
• reflect on the work of others

For Learning

The teacher will

• observe student progress/performance
• ask questions based on student work
• check homework correctness/completion when appropriate
• review formative quiz results

Of Learning

Accommodations

The following are ways in which the activity can be modified to accommodate students' individual needs:

• provide a planning framework to which students will add modules;

• select group members based upon previous classroom performance and recognized strengths and weaknesses;

• investigate software development tools;

• provide a graduated set of specifications, such as basic requirements, minor enhancements, major enhancements.

• provide sample test cases;

• investigate debugging tools within a specific programming environment.

Resources

• Steven Wood. HTS Bank Project.
• Roedy Green. How to write unmaintainable code. http://mindprod.com/unmain.html