Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Agile Methodologies in Education: A Review

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Agile and Lean Concepts for Teaching and Learning

Abstract

One of the main challenges faced by teachers in education, both at K-12 and academy levels, is related to the need to attract and retain the attention and the commitment by students, and ensure they achieve the required learning outcomes. Thus, new and exciting methodologies were developed to support teachers. Many of them have been inspired by approaches devised for Agile software development. This chapter aims to review the main Agile methodologies that have inspired educational approaches and to provide a description of the features retained in the educational context. Several experiences reported in the literature are also described.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abrahamsson, P., Salo, O., Ronkainen, J., & Warsta, J. (2002). Agile software development methods: Review and analysis. VTT.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahmad, M. O., Liukkunen, K., & Markkula, J. (2014). Student perceptions and attitudes towards the software factory as a learning environment. In IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON) (pp. 422–428).

    Google Scholar 

  • Alfonso, M. I., & Botia, A. (2005). An iterative and agile process model for teaching software engineering. In IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T) (pp. 9–16).

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, N., & Gegg-Harrison, T. (2012). Pair^2 learning = pair programming × pair teaching. In Western Canadian Conference on Computing Education (pp. 2–6).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashraf, M. A., Shamail, S., & Rana, Z. A. (2012). Agile model adaptation for E-learning students’ final-year project. In IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment and Learning for Engineering (TALE) (pp. T1C–18).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bacea, I. M., Ciupe, A., & Meza, S. N. (2017). Interactive Kanban—Blending digital and physical resources for collaborative project based learning. In IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT) (pp. 210–211).

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, K. (1999). Extreme Programming explained: Embrace change. Addison-Wesley Professional.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, K., Beedle, M., van Bennekum, A., Cockburn, A., Cunningham, W., Fowler, M., … Thomas, D. (2001). Manifesto for agile software development. Retrieved from http://agilemanifesto.org.

  • Bruegge, B., Krusche, S., & Wagner, M. (2012). Teaching Tornado: From communication models to releases. In Educators’ Symposium (EduSymp) (pp. 5–12).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruegge, B., Reiss, M., & Schiller, J. (2009). Agile principles in academic education: A case study. In International Conference on Information Technology: New Generations (pp. 1684–1686).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cockburn, A. (2004). Crystal clear: A human-powered methodology for small teams. Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cockburn, A., & Highsmith, J. (2001). Agile software development, the people factor. Computer, 34(11), 131–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cubric, M. (2013). An agile method for teaching agile in business schools. The International Journal of Management Education, 11(3), 119–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • da Silva Coelho, R. A., da Cunha, A. M., Gomes, A. A., Segeti, E. R., Marques, J. C., Vicente, L. M., … Mirachi, S. (2014). Developing a CDS with Scrum in an interdisciplinary academic project. In IEEE/AIAA Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC) (pp. 5D6–1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Delhij, A., van Solingen, R., & Wijnands, W. (2015). The eduScrum Guide (No. 1.2) (p. 21). Retrieved from http://eduscrum.nl/en/file/CKFiles/The_eduScrum_Guide_EN_1.2.pdf.

  • Dewi, D. A., & Muniandy, M. (2014). The agility of agile methodology for teaching and learning activities. In Malaysian Software Engineering Conference (MySEC) (pp. 255–259).

    Google Scholar 

  • Dingsøyr, T., Nerur, S., Balijepally, V., & Moe, N. B. (2012). A decade of agile methodologies: Towards explaining agile software development. Journal of Systems and Software, 85(6), 1213–1221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duvall, S., Hutchings, D., & Kleckner, M. (2017). Changing perceptions of discrete mathematics through Scrum-based course management practices. Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, 33(2), 182–189.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dybå, T., & Dingsøyr, T. (2008). Empirical studies of agile software development: A systematic review. Information and Software Technology, 50(9–10), 833–859.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandes, J. M., & Sousa, S. M. (2010). PlayScrum—A card game to learn the scrum agile method. In International Conference on Games and Virtual Worlds for Serious Applications (pp. 52–59).

    Google Scholar 

  • Fronza, I., Ioini, N. E., & Corral, L. (2017). Teaching computational thinking using agile software engineering methods: A framework for middle schools. ACM Transactions on Computing Education, 17(4), 1–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gestwicki, P., & McNely, B. (2016). Interdisciplinary projects in the academic studio. ACM Transactions on Computing Education, 16(2), 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grimheden, M. E. (2013). Can agile methods enhance mechatronics design education? Mechatronics, 23(8), 967–973.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haddaway, N. R., Collins, A. M., Coughlin, D., & Kirk, S. (2015). The role of google scholar in evidence reviews and its applicability to grey literature searching. PLoS ONE, 10(9), e0138237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanks, B. (2007). Becoming agile using service learning in the software engineering course. In Agile Conference (AGILE) (pp. 121–127).

    Google Scholar 

  • Heikkilä, V. T., Paasivaara, M., & Lassenius, C. (2016). Teaching University Students Kanban with a Collaborative Board Game. In IEEE/ACM International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering Education and Training Track (ICSE-SEET) (pp. 471–480).

    Google Scholar 

  • Heinonen, K., Hirvikoski, K., Luukkainen, M., & Vihavainen, A. (2013). Learning agile software engineering practices using coding dojo. In ACM SIGITE Conference on Information Technology Education (SIGITE) (pp. 97–102).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kastl, P., Kiesmüller, U., & Romeike, R. (2016). Starting out with projects: Experiences with agile software development in high schools. In Workshop in Primary and Secondary Computing Education (WiPSCE) (pp. 60–65).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R., & Dykman, N. (2007). Integrating traditional and agile processes in the classroom. In ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE) (pp. 312–316).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitchenham, B., & Charters, S. (2007). Guidelines for performing systematic literature reviews in software engineering. EBSE Technical Report, Keele University. Retrieved from https://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~norsaremah/2007%20Guidelines%20for%20performing%20SLR%20in%20SE%20v2.3.pdf.

  • Ladas, C. (2009). Scrumban: Essays on Kanban systems for lean software development. Modus Cooperandi Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Y., Marepalli, D. B., & Yang, J. (2017). Teaching test-drive development using dojo. Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, 32(4), 106–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lembo, D., & Vacca, M. (2012). Project Based Learning + Agile Instructional Design = EXtreme Programming based Instructional Design Methodology for Collaborative Teaching (No. 8). Dipartimento di Informatica e Sistemistica “Antonio Ruberti”, Sapienza Università di Roma.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu, B., & DeClue, T. (2011). Teaching agile methodology in a software engineering capstone course. Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, 26(5), 293–299.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lui, D., Litts, B. K., Widman, S., Walker, J. T., & Kafai, Y. B. (2016). Collaborative maker activities in the classroom: Case studies of High School Student pairs’ interactions in designing electronic textiles. In Annual Conference on Creativity and Fabrication in Education (FabLearn) (pp. 74–77).

    Google Scholar 

  • Luz, R. B. da, Neto, A. G. S. S., & Noronha, R. V. (2013). Teaching TDD, the coding dojo style. In IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT) (pp. 371–375).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, T. D., Herold, M., Bolinger, J., Deshpande, S., Bihari, T., Ramanathan, J., & Ramnath, R. (2011). An agile boot camp: Using a LEGO®-based active game to ground agile development principles. In IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) (pp. F1H–1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahnic, V. (2012). A capstone course on agile software development using Scrum. IEEE Transactions on Education, 55(1), 99–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mäkiö, J., Mäkiö-Marusik, E., & Yablochnikov, E. (2016). Task-centric holistic agile approach on teaching cyber physical systems engineering. In Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IECON) (pp. 6608–6614).

    Google Scholar 

  • Meerbaum-Salant, O., & Hazzan, O. (2010). An agile constructionist mentoring methodology for software projects in the high school. ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE), 9(4), 21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melnik, G., & Maurer, F. (2003). Introducing agile methods in learning environments: Lessons learned. In Conference on Extreme Programming and Agile Methods (pp. 172–184).

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Melnik, G., & Maurer, F. (2005). A cross-program investigation of students’ perceptions of agile methods. In IEEE/ACM International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) (pp. 481–488).

    Google Scholar 

  • Missiroli, M., Russo, D., & Ciancarini, P. (2017). Agile for millennials: A comparative study. In IEEE/ACM International Workshop on Software Engineering Curricula for Millennials (SECM) (pp. 47–53).

    Google Scholar 

  • Noguera, I., Guerrero-Roldán, A.-E., & Masó, R. (2018). Collaborative agile learning in online environments: Strategies for improving team regulation and project management. Computers & Education, 116, 110–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paasivaara, M., Heikkilä, V., Lassenius, C., & Toivola, T. (2014). Teaching students Scrum using LEGO blocks. In IEEE/ACM International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering Education and Training Track (ICSE-SEET) (pp. 382–391).

    Google Scholar 

  • Paez, N. M. (2017). A flipped classroom experience teaching software engineering. In IEEE/ACM International Workshop on Software Engineering Curricula for Millenials (SECM) (pp. 16–20).

    Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, S. R., & Felsing, M. (2001). A practical guide to feature-driven development. Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinto, L., Rosa, R., Pacheco, C., Xavier, C., Barreto, R., Lucena, V., … Maurçcio, C. (2009). On the use of Scrum for the management of practical projects in graduate courses. In IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) (pp. 1–6).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramos, M. P., Matuck, G. R., Matrigrani, C. F., Mirachi, S., Segeti, E., Leite, M., … Dias, L. A. V. (2013). Applying interdisciplinarity and agile methods in the development of a smart grids system. In International Conference on Information Technology: New Generations (pp. 103–110).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rico, D. F., & Sayani, H. H. (2009). Use of agile methods in software engineering education. In Agile Conference (AGILE) (pp. 174–179).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ringert, J. O., Rumpe, B., Schulze, C., & Wortmann, A. (2017). Teaching agile model-driven engineering for cyber-physical systems. In IEEE/ACM International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering Education and Training Track (ICSE-SEET) (pp. 127–136).

    Google Scholar 

  • Romeike, R., & Göttel, T. (2012). Agile projects in high school computing education: emphasizing a learners’ perspective. In Workshop in Primary and Secondary Computing Education (WiPSCE) (pp. 48–57).

    Google Scholar 

  • Scharf, A., & Koch, A. (2013). Scrum in a software engineering course: An in-depth praxis report. In IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T) (pp. 159–168).

    Google Scholar 

  • Scharff, C., & Verma, R. (2010). Scrum to support mobile application development projects in a just-in-time learning context. In ICSE Workshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (pp. 25–31).

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwaber, K., & Beedle, M. (2002). Agile software development with Scrum. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwaber, K., & Sutherland, J. (2011). The Scrum guide. Scrum Alliance.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seman, L. O., Hausmann, R., & Bezerra, E. A. (2018). On the students’ perceptions of the knowledge formation when submitted to a project-based learning environment using web applications. Computers & Education, 117, 16–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T., Cooper, K. M., & Longstreet, C. S. (2011). Software engineering senior design course: Experiences with agile game development in a capstone project. In International Workshop on Games and Software Engineering (GAS) (pp. 9–12).

    Google Scholar 

  • Stapel, K., Lübke, D., & Knauss, E. (2008). Best practices in Extreme Programming course design. In IEEE/ACM International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) (pp. 769–776).

    Google Scholar 

  • Stapleton, J. (2003). DSDM: Business focused development. Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steghöfer, J.-P., Burden, H., Alahyari, H., & Haneberg, D. (2017). No silver brick: Opportunities and limitations of teaching Scrum with lego workshops. Journal of Systems and Software, 131, 230–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, J. C., DeCusatis, C. S., Kidder, K., Massi, J. R., & Anne, K. M. (2009). Evaluating agile principles in active and cooperative learning. In Student-Faculty Research Day, CSIS, Pace University (p. B3).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sugimori, Y., Kusunoki, K., Cho, F., & Uchikawa, S. (1977). Toyota production system and Kanban system materialization of just-in-time and respect-for-human system. The International Journal of Production Research, 15(6), 553–564.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takeuchi, H. & Nonaka, I. (1986, January). The new product development game. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/1986/01/the-new-new-product-development-game.

  • Umapathy, K., & Ritzhaupt, A. D. (2017). A meta-analysis of pair-programming in computer programming courses: Implications for educational practice. ACM Transactions on Computing Education, 17(4), 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vivian, R., Falkner, K., & Falkner, N. (2013). Analysing computer science students’ teamwork role adoption in an online self-organised teamwork activity. In Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research (Koli Calling) (pp. 105–114).

    Google Scholar 

  • von Wangenheim, C. G., Savi, R., & Borgatto, A. F. (2013). SCRUMIA: An educational game for teaching Scrum in computing courses. Journal of Systems and Software, 86(10), 2675–2687.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werner, L., Arcamone, D., & Ross, B. (2012). Using Scrum in a quarter-length undergraduate software engineering course. Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, 27(4), 140–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wohlin, C. (2014). Guidelines for snowballing in systematic literature studies and a replication in software engineering. In International Conference on Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering (EASE) (p. 38).

    Google Scholar 

  • Zorzo, S. D., de Ponte, L., & Lucredio, D. (2013). Using Scrum to teach software engineering: A case study. In IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) (pp. 455–461).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. USI Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano, Switzerland

    Pasquale Salza

  2. University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy

    Paolo Musmarra & Filomena Ferrucci

Authors
  1. Pasquale Salza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Paolo Musmarra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Filomena Ferrucci
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pasquale Salza .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Mind Lab by Unitec, Auckland, New Zealand

    David Parsons

  2. Eastern Institute of Technology, Napier, New Zealand

    Kathryn MacCallum

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Salza, P., Musmarra, P., Ferrucci, F. (2019). Agile Methodologies in Education: A Review. In: Parsons, D., MacCallum, K. (eds) Agile and Lean Concepts for Teaching and Learning. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2751-3_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2751-3_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-2750-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-2751-3

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation