Belief, Inquiry, Argument and Reflection as Significant Issues in Learning about Information Systems Development Methodologies

This chapter examines some of the issues that are driving the development of a master’s course designated as “Information Systems Development Methodologies.” The course takes a “reality as a social construct” view of the world, the purpose of the approach being to encourage students to challenge assumptions and enhance their abilities to research, reflect, critique, and develop strong arguments to support their understanding of the subject area. An interpretive approach such as this can challenge those students whose experiences of previous educational settings have been more strongly oriented toward rote or positivistic teaching and learning styles. The chapter outlines a number of approaches that have been adopted to help students deal with interpretive approaches to learning and to introduce them to issues of belief, inquiry, argument, and reflection.