Using high-performance computing artifacts as a learning intervention : a systematic literature review

High-Performance Computing (HPC) artifacts provide opportunities for students to improve their understanding of parallel computing, which is important for students who study computer science. In line with that, many computing departments are integrating HPC systems into their curricula. However, there is a need to investigate HPC artifacts that have been used as learning interventions. This study has employed a systematic literature review to investigate published papers on HPC education from 1988 to 2018. The findings of our investigation of a stratified sample of 211 papers reveal the state of the practice of application of HPC artifacts in computing education in terms of the contexts, themes, nature and topics of the publications. The study revealed that a majority of publications reported the usage of Beowulf and other clusters as the pedagogical tools. Furthermore, the study discovered gaps in research on the application of HPC artifacts in ability and aptitude, teaching and learning, teaching and learning techniques, curriculum, parallel programming, and parallel processing. This study contributes to our understanding of what HPC artifacts are used in computer science education