The work-reflection-learning cycle - Department of Computer and ...

The work-reflection-learning cycle in SE student projects: Use of collaboration tools
student projects, using tools similar to those used in SE industry). However, adding to
the complexity of PBL, the adequate use of tools for supporting work may not be so
clearly determined: as new technologies and patterns of using them rapidly develop
across different domains, student teams may find themselves at the frontier of
technology use. For instance, current project work practices frequently involve the use
of lightweight collaborative tools, many of which are being used for social as well as
professional purposes, and many of which are especially widespread among young
people. The use of such tools in workplace settings is currently being explored (Decker
et al. 2007; Fuchs-Kittowski and Köhler 2005; Isaacs et al. 2002b; Stafford 2008). In
the research community of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), it is
acknowledged that further research is needed in this area (Pipek and Wulf 2007).
Learning from experience entails reflection (Boud et al. 1985b; Dewey 1933; Kolb and
Fry 1975). In context of a work practice, work and reflection are intertwined. Some
reflection is inherent to the meaning making (Bruner 1990) of day-to-day work, and
some requires more distance to the experience reflected upon (Schön 1983). The aspects
of work that can be elaborated through reflection range from those that are easily made
explicit to those that can be considered tacit (Polanyi 1966) but may be codified and
shared within a common frame of reference (Hildrum 2009), and include the affective
elements of personal experience (Boud et al. 1985b; Eraut 2000).
The role of reflection in learning has long been recognized in the educational field and
incorporated into current practices (e.g. of project based learning (Duim et al. 2007;
Helle et al. 2006)). In industry, the need to learn from experience is manifest in current
industry practices of facilitated reflection, such as in project post-mortem evaluations
(Dingsøyr 2005; Kerth 2001). Still, in educational as well as workplace settings, there
are obstacles to making reflection a useful part of the work practice that the reflection is
intended to support (Armarego 2007; Kasi et al. 2008).
Due to the central role of tools in mediating work and learning (Kirschner and Erkens
2006; Kuutti and Kaptelinin 1997; Stahl 2002), research on the support for reflection in
project based learning has a place in the research fields of Technology Enhanced
Learning (TEL) and Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL).
As an empirical case of project based learning for the PhD work presented in this thesis,
Software Engineering (SE) student projects were selected. The projects are
collaborative, complex and based on active use of state-of-the-art collaboration
technology. The extensive use of lightweight collaboration tools in the projects makes
them a good case for exploring the role of this type of technology in work and learning.
Regarding support for reflection, SE project course designs typically include activities
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