[Colloq] TODAY: Colloquium Talk - Working Knowledge: On the Construction of an Effective Master of Software Engineering Program - Richard Gabriel - 12:00pm, 366 WVH

[Jessica Biron]

Working Knowledge: 

On the Construction of an Effective Master of Software Engineering Program 

Richard P. Gabriel 

April 17th, 12:00pm 
366 WVH 

I got my undergraduate degree at Northeastern University, and what I think I learned beyond mathematics was that there is a big difference between knowing about something and knowing how to do something. The co-op program gave me the first hints about this, but I learned it thoroughly when I was taught writing in a sort of apprenticeship context. There we practiced what I describe as "reflect while doing," and it was the heart of the work of learning whereas reading and sitting in lectures were secondary(ish). The 
idea is not just to practice, practice, practice, but to reflect on what you're doing, critique what you're doing, critique other work of the same sort, and to subject yourself to the criticisms of both teachers and peers. I also learned that criticism and critiques don't have to be severe and aggressive. 

In this talk, I will show how to turn these ideas into a Master of Software Engineering program.