Bringing Interactive Instruction to the Software Engineering Classroom: A Multicultural Group Case Study

In interactive instruction, learning is enhanced through social interaction. Communication is key in this type of instruction: between the teacher and the students, as well as between students, without the direct participation of the instructor. In software engineering instruction, one of the many challenges is making students face situations similar to those in real life, with the goal of preparing them for their future work as software engineers. Whereas the traditional style of lecturing is still largely used in this field, hands-on, practical and interactive approaches have repeatedly proven to be more effective. This short paper is based on the experience of using such a teaching approach in a multicultural software engineering classroom, by considering the additional challenges brought by interacting with colleagues from different cultural backgrounds and speaking in a common, foreign language. The strategies employed throughout the course will be highlighted, along with various lessons learned, to be integrated in future software engineering classes.