Adding software testing to programming assignments

This tutorial provides a practical introduction to how one can incorporate software testing activities as a regular part of programming assignments, supported by live demonstrations, with a special focus on early introduction in CS1 and/or CS2 courses. It presents five different models for how one can incorporate testing into assignments, provides examples of each technique, and discusses the corresponding advantages and disadvantages. The focus is on unit testing, test-driven development, and incremental testing, all of which work well in a classroom environment. Examples will use Java, although participant discussion regarding support in other languages such as Python and C++ is welcome. Approaches to assessment- using testing to assess student code, assessing tests that students write, and automated grading-are all discussed. A live demonstration of automatic assignment grading based on student-written tests is included. Advice for writing “testable” assignments is given. Participant discussions are encouraged.