Students in software development chose to meet on campus on a recent Sunday afternoon at the conclusion of the semester, as they finished work on a group project which was to design an application to track textbook adoption.
The class typically meets online, but the students wanted to work out the bugs in real time, eyeball to eyeball.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no hierarchy here,鈥� said instructor Steve Robinett, who joined them. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all equals.鈥�
Students threw out ideas and laid out the foundations for the app with occasional feedback from Robinett.
One informed Robinett of a new way to do things, and Robinett just about jumped out of his chair.
鈥淗ow鈥檇 you know that?鈥� the instructor asked.
鈥淐丑补迟骋笔罢.鈥�
Robinett was clearly pleased to learn from the student.
鈥淭he students were able to complete about 60% of their goal,鈥� Robinett said. 鈥淲hat they did learn 鈥� and they learned this beautifully 鈥� was how to function as a self-organizing team capable of adapting to rapid change and self- improvement.鈥�
The students used the Agile development methodology, which is the dominant software development approach across most industries, Robinett said.