Designing a Parallel Programming Course for Lower-Division Students

This paper covers the design of a course introducing parallel programming. The design is partly based on the feedback collected by the author when teaching other parallel computing courses offered for senior undergraduates and graduates, plus the conversations with lower-division students outside of class. It targets the students typically having completed CS1 and CS2 courses and puts more emphasis on gaining parallel programming skills through hands-on exercises. Its ideal lecture schedule is that each week, one meeting introduces the concepts and theories of parallel computing in a traditional classroom and the other discusses parallel programming skills in a computer lab. Unlike the courses designed for senior undergraduates or graduates, its instructional approaches are more inclined to student-centered and teamwork approaches. Its coursework will include term projects, the topics of which are selected from the instructor' research area and tailored for this class. The course design has been completed and will be implemented in the spring of 2021 as a pilot.