arXiv AI

An Explainable AI Assistant for Introductory Programming Education: Improving Feedback Reliability with Instructor-AI Collaboration

arXiv:2606. 12425v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Active learning is widely recognized as an effective approach for improving learning outcomes in introductory programming courses.

arXiv AI
Sep 25

Beyond Simple Input-Output Assessment Tasks: Leveraging Automated Programming Assessment for Non-Trivial Courses

The article discusses how machine learning exercises can be designed for automated assessment tools, framing them as deterministic input-output tasks. It emphasizes that this approach does not create a new grading system but enables existing platforms (e.g., VPL for Moodle, Codeforces, MOJ) to support AI education more effectively. The authors argue that integrating theory with practice through such exercises can foster dynamic, interactive AI courses.

By Artur Jordao
Hugging Face Trending Papers
Sep 24

A Risk-Adaptive and Evidence-Constrained Framework for Generative AI Feedback in Programming Education

The paper presents a risk‑adaptive, evidence‑constrained framework that uses learning analytics to provide personalized feedback in introductory programming. By training models on 2,993 failed‑submission states from 215 students, the authors predict persistent failure and generate four tailored feedback conditions for 136 cases. A calibrated risk policy selects interventions for 17.8% of eligible states, capturing 25.2% of persistent failures, and the framework ensures that generated messages contain all required components after evidence gating.

arXiv AI
Sep 25

A Risk-Adaptive and Evidence-Constrained Framework for Generative AI Feedback in Programming Education

The paper presents a risk‑adaptive, evidence‑constrained framework for providing feedback in introductory programming courses. Using data from 2,993 failed submissions by 215 students, the authors built models that predict persistent failure and generate four tailored feedback conditions for 136 cases. The framework employs calibrated risk to decide when to intervene, evidence gating to limit feedback content, and a progressive assistance strategy that moves from self‑checks to localized hints.

By Shihao Wang
arXiv AI
Sep 21

Self-Explanation Tutor for Active Study of CS1 Worked Examples

The paper presents ESSE, a self‑explanation tutor that uses a large language model to give immediate feedback on students’ line‑by‑line explanations of introductory programming worked examples. It evaluates the LLM’s judgments against a domain expert and a crowd of non‑experts, finding that the model is reliable enough to serve as the tutor’s assessment engine. In an introductory Java course, the tutor’s feedback encourages students to persist, improves the completeness and conceptual depth of their explanations, and shows evidence of learning.

By Arun-Balajiee Lekshmi-Narayanan, Mohammad Hassany, Kamil Akhuseyinoglu, Rully Hendrawan, Peter Brusilovsky
arXiv AI
Sep 25

Guardrails or Roadblocks? Effects of Pedagogical Style and Context Awareness in AI Teaching Assistants for Programming

The study examined how different designs of AI teaching assistants (AI TAs) affect students in an introductory programming course. Four AI TAs were compared based on pedagogical style (Socratic vs. Direct instruction) and context awareness (no context vs. full context). Results showed that the Socratic AI TA with full context received the lowest favorability ratings, had the highest interaction stress, the most external LLM use, and the lowest comprehension outcomes, though differences were not statistically significant.

By Madeleine Eastwood, Harshith Narne, Joseph Hilby, Paul Denny, Ashish Aggarwal, Amanpreet Kapoor