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

Operating Systems (OS) is an important area of knowledge included in virtually all undergraduate computing curricula and in some engineering curricula as well. Teaching and learning an OS undergraduate course have always been a challenge. Several different approaches have been used for OS teaching and learning. Nevertheless, it is not easy for a teacher to choose one of them. No guidelines are available on how to choose one of them to match the specific objectives of each OS course. The objective of this paper is to analyze the approaches that have been used to improve OS teaching and learning by applying a 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 devised in this paper is focused on the time span from 1995 to 2017 and considered six of the major publications on the Computer Science Education. We considered three journals (the Journal of Engineering Education, the IEEE TransactionS on Education, and the International Journal of Engineering Education) and three conferences (the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education-SIGCSE, the Conference on Computing Education Research-ITiCSE, and the International Conference on Computing Education Research-Koli). A total of 55 papers were included in the study after performing a search based on the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Nine approaches to improve OS teaching and learning were identified and analyzed. Furthermore, the implications for OS instructors and for research in this field are discussed.