Toward Using Higher-Level Abstractions to Teach Parallel Computing

We have developed two new approaches to teaching parallel computing to undergraduates using higher level tools that lead to ease of programming, good software design, and scalable programs. The first approach uses a new software environment that creates a higher level of abstraction for parallel and distributed programming based upon a pattern programming approach. The second approach uses compiler directives to describe how a program should be parallelized. We have studied whether using the above tools better helps the students grasp the concepts of parallel computing across the two campuses of the University of North Carolina Wilmington and the University of North Carolina Charlotte using a televideo network. We also taught MPI and OpenMP in the traditional fashion with which we could ask the students to compare and contrast the approaches. An external evaluator conducted three surveys during the semester and analyzed the data. In this paper, we discuss the techniques we used, the assignments we gave the students, and the results of what we learned.