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Using the Readiness Assurance Process and Metacognition in an Operating Systems Course

There is significant evidence that active learning techniques facilitate superior learning outcomes when compared to traditional lecture-based techniques. However, adopting an entirely new pedagogy is a time-consuming endeavor that requires considerable effort. In this work, we describe simple transitional steps that we used to increase the amount of active learning in our Operating Systems (OS) course. After introducing these techniques in the Fall 2013 offering of this course, we observed dramatic improvements in a variety of measures of student outcomes, including withdraw-D-failure (WDF) rates and final exam performance. We also observed marked improvement in project completion rates. Our results suggest that adopting components of active learning pedagogies can contribute to positive outcomes with modest investments in time and effort.