Mastery-Based Learning in Undergraduate Computer Architecture

Mastery-based learning is an approach in which students are graded based on their demonstrated mastery of explicit learning outcomes rather than by being awarded points less directly connected to course goals. Instead of submitting an assignment only once, students can use feedback to improve their work to increase their learning and grades. We describe our approach to mastery-based grading in introductory computer organization/architecture courses at two different institutions. Specifically, we allowed students to retake tests of basic skills as many times as needed, which was facilitated by programmatically-generated questions. For course projects, students were expected to refine and resubmit projects until they demonstrated mastery by passing all of the provided automated tests. We share our materials and experiences, including the challenge of loosening deadlines to provide students time for continued work without enabling them to fall irretrievably behind.CCS CONCEPTS• Applied computing $\rightarrow$ Interactive learning environments; Computer-assisted instruction; • Social and professional topics $\rightarrow$ Computer science education; Student assessment; • Computer systems organization $\rightarrow$ Architectures. ACM Reference Format:Ellen Spertus and Zachary Kurmas. 2021. Mastery-Based Learning in Undergraduate Computer Architecture. In Proceedings of Workshop on Computer Architecture Education 2021 (WCAE ’21). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 7 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/nnnnnnn.nnnnnnn