  Static analysis tools are frequently used to scan the source code and detect
deviations from the project coding guidelines. Given their importance, linters
are often introduced to classrooms to educate students on how to detect and
potentially avoid these code anti-patterns. However, little is known about
their effectiveness in raising students awareness, given that these linters
tend to generate a large number of false positives. To increase the awareness
of potential coding issues that violate coding standards, in this paper, we aim
to reflect on our experience with teaching the use of static analysis for the
purpose of evaluating its effectiveness in helping students with respect to
improving software quality. This paper discusses the results of an experiment
in the classroom over a period of 3 academic semesters, involving 65
submissions that carried out code review activity of 690 rules using PMD. The
results of the quantitative and qualitative analysis shows that the presence of
a set of PMD quality issues influence the acceptance or rejection of the
issues, design, and best practices-related categories that take a longer time
to be resolved, and students acknowledge the potential of using static analysis
tools during code review. Through this experiment, code review can turn into a
vital part of the educational computing plan. We envision our findings enabling
educators to support students with code review strategies to raise students
awareness about static analysis tools and scaffolding their coding skills.
