Towards a learner-centred approach to teaching object-oriented design

Recently, the problems attributed to reaching object-oriented design (OOD) have been likened to those encountered when applying it. The current waterfall approach to teaching OOD adopts a “lecture, apply and assess” curriculum that leaves little scope for feedback using iterative and recursive mechanisms touted by object-oriented techniques. The paper reports on a learner-centred approach to teaching object technology at the University of Nottingham, UK. The differences between object-oriented and teaching methods are amplified and a solution expressed in the form of quality enhancing techniques. Design heuristics are employed to pinpoint design anomalies and suggest reparative mechanisms to enhance product quality. A prototypical tool that implements the current catalogue of automatable design heuristics is outlined and progress towards it given