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Connecting computer science and physics through computer microarchitecture to change the title use the 'Full Editing Tools' option on the right

Sherri Goings & Melissa Eblen-Zayas, , Carleton College
This information was derived from your initial application. The goals and assessment sections should be updated as you move through the project.
CS208 & Phys 343
Number of Students in Class: CS208 30 students; Phys343 15 students

Project Description

From transistors to logic gates to more complicated components such as timers and logic unites, digital electronics is the foundation of modern computing. Currently at Carleton, the physics department offers an elective course on analog and digital electronics. The digital electronics portion of the course explores many of these fundamental computer building blocks from the bottom up, and also includes some lab activities and demonstrations related to microprocessors. The prerequisite for this course is Physics 235, and because half of the material is focused on analog electronics, few computer science students choose to take this course. At the same time, the computer science department offers a core course for the major on computer organization and architecture. This course explores the structure of computer processors, primarily from the top down, with less attention to how digital logic is actually implemented in hardware. Often times students in CS208 are interested in learning more about the digital electronics that are the foundation of computers, and Phys 343 students often express an interest in seeing a higher level pictures of how the gates and logic units they are exploring are actually employed in computers.
In this proposal, we aim to find ways to create connections between CS208 and Phys343 (both of which will be offered in Fall 2013) to promote deeper understanding of computes by connecting the physics and computer science concepts. Our goal is to develop opportunities for students in each of these courses to teach and learn from each other. One initial idea is to have students in each course prepare instructional mini-units on specific topics and then present them to the other class. For example a student (or a group of students) in Phys343 could present a unit on the physics behind the clock signal in a computer processor to the CS208 class, and then students in CS208 could present a unit to the physics students on how that clock signal actually drives the operations in the processor. Ultimately, we hope to find a way to design a hands-on project that would allow students to work together across these classes to create an actual digital electronics application.

Goals

The two learning goals for the Phys 343 course are as follows. Students who have completed the course:
1) will be able to design, build, and troubleshoot basic analog and digital circuits.
2) will be able to explain, either quantitatively or qualitatively, the behavior of a variety of analog and digital components and circuits at a level that is appropriate for a designated audience.

Within the context of these larger course learning goals, connecting with CS 208 will be particularly relevant to learning goal 2. Students will have to be able to identify what aspects of digital electronics are most relevant for computer scientists and explain the functioning of these digital elements/circuits at an appropriate level.

Assessment

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Progress Report

Description and Teaching Materials

References and Resources

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Lessons Learned

Context for Use

Teaching Notes and Tips

Description

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