An introductory-level undergraduate CS course that introduces parallel computing

Abstract

We present the curricular design, pedagogy, and goals of an introductory-level course on computer systems that introduces parallel and distributed computing (PDC) to students who have only a CS1 background. With the ubiquity of multicore processors, cloud computing, and hardware accelerators, PDC topics have become fundamental knowledge areas in the undergraduate CS curriculum. As a result, it is increasingly important for students to learn a common core of introductory parallel and distributed computing topics and to develop parallel thinking skills early in their CS studies. Our introductory-level course focuses on three main curricular goals: 1) understanding how a computer runs a program, 2) evaluating system costs associated with running a program, and 3) taking advantage of the power of parallel computing. We elaborate on the goals and details of our course's key modules, and we discuss our pedagogical approach that includes active-learning techniques. We also include an evaluation of our course and a discussion of our experiences teaching it since Fall 2012. We find that the PDC foundation gained through early exposure in our course helps students gain confidence in their ability to expand and apply their understanding of PDC concepts throughout their CS education.