Analysis of Introducing Active Learning Methodologies in a Basic Computer Architecture Course

This paper presents an analysis of introducing active methodologies in the Computer Architecture course taught in the second year of the Computer Engineering Bachelor´s degree program at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain. The paper reports the experience from three academic years, 2011-2012, 2012-2013, and 2013-2014, in which three types of data were considered for analysis: students´ dedication, as measured by time spent on the project, their marks, and their level of satisfaction. The study shows that about 86% of students are satisfied with the teaching methodology and are willing to continue using it in future courses. The study also shows that the active methodologies used contribute to the students´ cross-curricular training and do not generate any great increase in student workload. Finally, a statistical analysis of the evolution of student performance showed that marks improved to a statistically significant extent after introducing active methodologies.