Abstract:

Education is a fundamental tool for societal transformation and resourceful living. Education, according to Condoleezza Rice, is the transformational tool that erases arbitrary divisions of race and class and culture and unlocks every person's God-given potential. Education experts also agree that quality education is the bedrock of sustainable national development. Therefore, learning should be targeted at impacting skills that empowers the students to create products and services that foster improved living.

Globally, nations which offer greater satisfaction and resourceful living to their citizenry are driven by innovative technologies largely powered by software applications. The impact is eminent in our daily lives through mobile phones, tablets, computers, automobiles and various apps. Software engineering or software development techniques, as offered in the university, is vital for capacity building towards attaining sustainable development. The leading examples of Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates show the significant role students can play in alleviating poverty and enhancing entrepreneurial endeavors even before graduation.

Therefore, this paper presents the evaluation of a student-centered learning approach adopted for two software development-related courses in Covenant University. The courses are offered by second-year and fifth-year engineering undergraduate students. Student-activity time was moved from 50% of the total contact hours per week to 85%. A single software project was assigned to each class and milestones were assessed weekly. The evaluation results show a significant improvement in the attitude of the students to software development. It also reveals an enriched and creative approach to proffering solution to common societal problems.

Keywords:

Software engineering, Student-centered learning, Sustainable development.