Flipping a course on computer architecture

Abstract

This paper reports on an experiment with a flipped classroom for a Computer Architecture course. In a flipped classroom, students access content out of the classroom and then engage in a discussion in-class, rather than the other way around. This seemed like an ideal strategy for a course that can easily focus on the minutiae of architectural details and computer history. The results showed that students liked the interactive and practical aspects of the course but were particularly negative about pre-lecture readings. These results suggest that students need to learn how to learn in different ways, and move away from the exclusive strategy of in-classroom, content-centric lectures.