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Board 79: Course Improvement of An Introduction to Programming Course in ECE: Customizing Learning Paths for Parallel Computing Topics

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering Division (ECE) Poster Session

Tagged Division

Electrical and Computer Engineering Division (ECE)

Page Count

11

DOI

10.18260/1-2--42943

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/42943

Download Count

154

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Paper Authors

biography

Isabel Alviar University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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Isabel received her B.S. in Computer Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2023. She is currently attending University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign pursuing her M.S. in Computer Science.

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biography

Yuting W. Chen University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

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Dr. Yuting W. Chen received the B.S. degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2007, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2009 and 2011, all in Electrical Engineering. She is currently a Teaching Associate Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her current interests include recruitment and retention of under-served students in STEM, professional development for graduate students, and curriculum innovation in computing.

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Abstract

As data sets grow larger and computational problems become more complex, parallel computing is increasingly recognized as a key solution for unlocking the potential of computer resources and achieving more efficient task resolution. Parallel computing offers many advantages, such as faster computations, significant cost savings, reduced energy consumption, and the ability to create dynamic models. Despite its widespread use in today's world, introductory Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) courses often do not cover this essential topic and its associated skills. To address this issue, a team at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has designed custom learning paths to introduce parallel computing at an earlier stage through additional learning modules, aiming to enable students to extend their knowledge while preparing them for advanced computing courses in the future. This paper focuses on the design, improvement, and assessment of the course, investigating the implementation and outcomes of optional learning opportunities created in a 200-level introduction to programming course. The paper presents the details of each extended learning opportunity and analyzes the differences in student performance on a related extra credit quiz in correlation with their course grade, the difficulty level of parallel computing topics introduced, and the lessons learned by students and instructors that can be applied to future programs.

Alviar, I., & Bhowmik, U. K., & Chen, Y. W. (2023, June), Board 79: Course Improvement of An Introduction to Programming Course in ECE: Customizing Learning Paths for Parallel Computing Topics Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42943

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