Complete thesis - Murdoch University

tionary cycles in 2002, 2003 and 2005.The overarching goals of this study were to enhance learning transfer within formaleducation in a discipline (Requirements Engineering) by attempting to model practitioneraction. The corollary to this was that major intervention from academic staff should beminimised when this knowledge was applied later in the learners’ studies.Evaluating the success of the intervention planned and actioned in the succeeding ActionResearch cycles is based on strategies in several dimensions:• was the model well implemented – this was somewhat determined by examining theteaching style of the lecturer and by modelling the stages of the learning model appliedexplicitly• was the model appropriate◦ in the short term – for this student cohort. Assessment items, learning diagnosticinstruments and student feedback assisted in the evaluation of this item◦ in the longer term – to achieve the overarching goals of the research. Studentperformance in the follow-on unit was observed in several of the cycles.The next sections describe the initial motivation for this research, and provide an overviewof the individual cycles and the phases within them.5.2.1 Initial reflectionThe researcher has been involved with both the practice of RE and the teaching of it, thelatter within different tertiary education contexts. It became apparent early on that howRE was being taught was not how it was practiced, and that students at one institution, inparticular, were not motivated to study an area they considered peripheral to their chosenprofession (in this case Computer Science). The issue of transfer was also raised at this time– students appeared to acquire the content knowledge, and be able to apply skills learnt toproblems within the context of the unit. However, when required to draw on this knowledgein a subsequent situation, students floundered. This was most noticeable during the capstoneproject. Although all students undertaking a software development project were expectedto develop a formal Requirements Specification, very few were able to do so without majorintervention from academic staff.A career move to Murdoch University, at that time in the process of developing a programmein Software Engineering, provided the opportunity to begin addressing some of these concerns.220