A Systematic Map for Improving Teaching and Learning in Undergraduate Operating Systems Courses

Abstract

Operating Systems (OS) is an important area of knowledge included in virtually allundergraduate computing curricula and in some engineering curricula as well. Teaching and learning anOS undergraduate course have always been a challenge. Several different approaches have been used for OSteaching and learning. Nevertheless, it is not easy for a teacher to choose one of them. No guidelines areavailable on how to choose one of them to match the specific objectives of each OS course. The objective ofthis paper is to analyze the approaches that have been used to improve OS teaching and learning by applyinga systematic map. In particular, we consider the following dimensions: learning objectives, assessment,empirical study, methodology, and mode (face-to-face, online, or blended). The systematic map devisedin this paper is focused on the time span from 1995 to 2017 and considered six of the major publicationson the Computer Science Education. We considered three journals (theJournal of Engineering Education,the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ONEDUCATION, and theInternational Journal of Engineering Education) and threeconferences (the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education—SIGCSE, the Conferenceon Computing Education Research—ITiCSE, and the International Conference on Computing EducationResearch—Koli). A total of 55 papers were included in the study after performing a search based on theinclusion/exclusion criteria. Nine approaches to improve OS teaching and learning were identified andanalyzed. Furthermore, the implications for OS instructors and for research in this field are discussed.