一句话：通过教学反思与专家咨询揭示 UML 教育中的恶性循环，并提出破解危机的潜在策略。
本文从教育视角审视 UML 教学困境。尽管 UML 是软件工业标准建模语言和软件工程教育通用语，但其教与学均被认定困难。研究旨在超越 UML 自身复杂性，深入理解造成教育困难的原因，并提出可操作缓解策略。方法上，作者对软件工程转专业项目中的教学活动、教学材料和学生学习效果进行批判性反思，并咨询外部 UML 专家。结果观察到并展示了 UML 教育危机的恶性循环，初步提出一组打破循环、应对危机的潜在策略。结论指出，从业者缺乏良好 UML 知识与技能可能超出教育者控制范围，破解该恶性循环需要整个社区协同努力。
Context: Unified Modelling Language (UML) is not only a standard modelling language in the software industry but also the "lingua franca" of software engineering education. However, teaching and learning UML have been both identified as difficult tasks. Aim: This study aims to have a practical and deep understanding of what causes the difficulties in UML education (in addition to the known complexity of UML), and correspondingly to propose actionable mitigation strategies. Method: we conducted critical reflection on our educational activities, teaching materials, and students' learning effects in a software engineering conversion programme, followed by consulting external UML experts. Results: We observed and demonstrated a vicious cycle of the UML crisis in education, which in turn drove us to preliminarily propose a set of potential tactics for breaking the vicious cycle and addressing the UML crisis. Conclusions: Practitioners' lack of good UML knowledge and skills could have been out of educators' control. Breaking the vicious cycle of the UML crisis in education requires collaborative efforts across the whole community.