The Influence of Group Labs on Student Adoption of Software Methodologies: An Empirical Test

The ACM's CIS curriculum model calls for structured laboratories using groups to instruct students in software engineering methodologies. A social-psychological model of individual acceptance of a technological innovation is employed to empirically test the effectiveness of structured labs in fostering individual adoption of a software engineering methodology. Our findings suggest that a structured lab experience does influence a student's belief system regarding the usefulness of a methodology, leading to a decision to adopt the methodology in completing individual programming assignments.