Impact of PLP on Student Learning: Initial Results

The Progressive Learning Platform (PLP) is a System on a Chip design with accompanying tools reflecting a contemporary CPU architecture. This pilot study examines the impact of PLP on student learning in an introductory microprocessors class. To examine the impact on learning, students were required to write reflections about their learning every week after their lab experience. Reflections were then analyzed from a corpus-based discourse analytic perspective for what kind of knowledge the students gained in the PLP experience, procedural or declarative. Additionally, the language in the reflections was analyzed for stance—the students’ perspectives on what they claimed they had learned. Results showed that students were gaining procedural knowledge throughout the semester. In this PLP experience, which follows a trajectory of research, implementation and integration, the procedural knowledge was articulated with less evaluation than later when students showed more stance, i.e. expression of attitude toward the knowledge, and integration of their learning.