Ten Years of Badge-Based/Mastery Learning for Computer Architecture—Lessons Learned
Peter Jamieson · 2024
Abstract Ten years ago, we chose to implement a badge-based version of a computer architecture course. We presented a research paper on this approach with the concern that the modality would result in a flattened grade distribution where most students would receive high grades. Our early results showed this was not the case, and in retrospect, the concern was not relevant. In this paper, we provide lessons learned over the 10 years we have taught the course in a badge-based format providing information on interventions we implemented in an attempt to make the course better for students. For the last ten years of running a computer architecture in a badge-based format, we will provide the current structure of the course including a badge-stream that focuses on security. We will also present the statistics from the course including student grades, badge completion statistics, and anecdotal observations from the student reviews including student comments. Overall, we believe this approach to teaching computer architecture is successful in helping students who want to learn the topic with a focus on their interests. There also is a clear divide among students who like the badge-based approach versus those who would prefer a more traditional and less-student-centered teaching model. The results of this work provide a longitudinal experience of using badge-based teaching for computer architecture, and we believe the approach is sound understanding that the limitation of the model is how large it can be scaled to.