Integrating CASE in software engineering education

The paper addresses the integration of CASE in university based software engineering education. A comprehensive 1992 study of software engineering education in Australian universities and Colleges of TAFE (similar to US community colleges) indicated that software engineering is considerably more important in universities than in other types of institutions. University based software engineering education must encourage and reinforce deep level learning and lead students to seek and develop theoretical understanding and personal meaning if they are to survive and thrive as software engineers. CASE can illuminate or obscure student understanding of concepts and can facilitate or retard skills formation depending on when and how it is introduced and used during study. The paper outlines two contrasting approaches, reports what happened when each was used and concludes with recommendations based on experience with both