Reflective Experiential Learning: Improving the Communication Skills of Software Engineers using Active Video Watching

Abstract

Communication skills are an essential competence for software engineers. However, teaching communication skills in a customary educational setting is costly and time-consuming. This paper presents a PhD project, which focuses on adopting active video watching (AVW) for teaching Software Engineering students how to improve their communication in face-to- face meetings. The paper outlines the objectives and research methodology. An instrument to measure face-to-face meeting communication skills of Software Engineering students was developed and validated during the first phase of the study. In the second phase, we investigate the impact of an active video watching system on software engineering students’ face-to-face meeting communication skills. In the last phase, this project will enhance the AVW platform by identifying and designing a teaching approach that scaffold interactive learning behaviours amongst students during active video watching and examine the efficacy of the method on software engineering students’ face-to-face meeting communication skills.