@staticmethod
def to_dict(module_name, class_name, properties=None):
    """Create a dictionary serialization from which an instance of the
        class loader can be created.

        Parameters
        ----------
        module_name: string
            Name of the Python module that contains the reference class
        class_name: string
            Name of the class that is being referenced
        properties: dict, optional
            Optional dictionary of class-specific configuration parameters

        Returns
        -------
        dict()
        """
    obj = {'moduleName': module_name, 'className': class_name}
    if not properties is None:
        obj['properties'] = properties
    return obj
