The shift to parallel computing, including multi-core processors, cloud computing, and heterogeneous systems, has induced a workforce development crisis for computer science (CS) education. This project addresses how crowded CS curricula, traditionally structured around sequential (non-parallel) computing, can be changed to effectively incorporate the rapidly-evolving body of parallelism knowledge.
Saint Olaf College, Calvin College and Macalester College are demonstrating how colleges and universities can insert short (one- to three-day) teaching modules on parallel computing into their courses through self-contained units that present conceptual principles and reinforce them by hands-on experience and follow-up exercises. New modules that incorporate emerging curricular recommendations, relevant applications to other fields, and parallel design patterns are under development. Parallelism is infused incrementally throughout the CS curriculum. Having developed this modular strategy in a predecessor CCLI Type I grant, this project demonstrates the scalability of this approach to other universities and colleges by targeting two geographical regions with workshops and follow-up adopter support.
Other project activities reward participants for creating new modules, promote the national dissemination of this modular approach through conference workshops and presentations, and expand existing synergistic partnerships between CSinParallel.org and related efforts in industry, academia, and professional organizations.
