Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!cornell!rochester!ritcv!mjl
From: mjl@ritcv.UUCP (Mike Lutz)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Soft eng in 1st yr classes.. pontification
Message-ID: <375@ritcv.UUCP>
Date: 12 Apr 88 14:11:14 GMT
References: <555@psu-cs.UUCP> <1434@ur-tut.UUCP> <3415@bunker.UUCP> <5359@utah-cs.UUCP> <36845UH2@PSUVM> <563@psu-cs.UUCP> <1167@pembina.UUCP> <2330@uvacs.CS.VIRGINIA.EDU> <1204@pembina.UUCP>
Reply-To: mjl@ritcv.UUCP (Michael Lutz)
Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
Lines: 32

In article <1204@pembina.UUCP> cdshaw@pembina.UUCP (Chris Shaw) writes:
>Somebody else mentioned that as an adult student, he didn't like the concept
>of mind games, because he already knew what real life was about. Well true,
>but clearly some of the tactics mentioned in my previous posting were to
>motivate young folks who might feel otherwise disinclined to bother. Such
>stuff is probably inappropriate with people over 25 in a classroom setting,
>simply because such students will do what you ask, and will believe it when
>you tell them that the toy problems are toys.

While this is generally true, like all generalizations it is subject
to failure when circumstances skew the population being served.  We
ran a program for a local firm that was trying to retrain some of their
existing engineering staff (mainly EE's and ME's) so that they could more
effectively participate in the "new world" of software development.
Those who did particularly well were to be considered for entry into
our M.S. program (with lots of prerequisites to make up, to be sure).

Our experience was that these "professionals" were more resistant to
the s/w engineering concepts than any freshman class.  They made your
run-of-the-mill high school hacker look like Dijkstra, and they were
proud of it.  Needless to say, few made it into the formal program.

Now, of course, the skill and interest distribution was *highly*
skewed, as the really top notch ME's and EE's at the firm were
obviously not in the program.  The point is, of course, that age is an
indicator of maturity and discipline, but no guarantee.

Mike Lutz
-- 
Mike Lutz	Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester NY
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