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Introductory programming courses often emphasize mastering syntax and basic constructs before progressing to more complex and interesting programs. This bottom-up approach can be frustrating for novices, shifting the focus away from problem…
A significant amount of research has considered mathematical proofs, the students who learn them, and the instructors that teach them, from a variety of perspectives. This paper considers this topic from four main perspectives: students'…
Children learn though play. We introduce the analogous idea of learning programs through play. In this approach, a program induction system (the learner) is given a set of tasks and initial background knowledge. Before solving the tasks,…
Though recent technological advances have enabled note-taking through different modalities (e.g., keyboard, digital ink, voice), there is still a lack of understanding of the effect of the modality choice on learning. In this paper, we…
We have developed an alternative approach to teaching computer science students how to prove. First, students are taught how to prove theorems with the Coq proof assistant. In a second, more difficult, step students will transfer their…
Background and Context. The increasing integration of large language models (LLMs) in computing education presents an emerging challenge in understanding how students use LLMs and craft prompts to solve computational tasks. Prior research…
Teaching proofs is a crucial component of any undergraduate-level program that covers formal reasoning. We have developed a calculational reasoning format and refined it over several years of teaching a freshman-level course, "Logic and…
Background: Programming skills are advantageous to navigate today's society, so it is important to teach them to students. However, failure rates for programming courses are high, and especially students who fall behind early in…
Providing valuable and personalized feedback is essential for effective learning, but delivering it promptly can be challenging in large-scale courses. Recent research has explored automated feedback mechanisms across various programming…
AI code generators like OpenAI Codex have the potential to assist novice programmers by generating code from natural language descriptions, however, over-reliance might negatively impact learning and retention. To explore the implications…
We discuss two proof evaluation activities meant to promote the acquisition of learning behaviors of professional mathematics within an introductory undergraduate proof-writing course. These learning behaviors include the ability to read…
The feedback provided by current testing education tools about the deficiencies in a student's test suite either mimics industry code coverage tools or lists specific instructor test cases that are missing from the student's test suite.…
Computer-based testing is an expanding use of technology offering advantages to teachers and students. We studied Calculus II classes for STEM majors using different testing modes. Three sections with 324 students employed: Paper-and-pencil…
The study of propositional logic -- fundamental to the theory of computing -- is a cornerstone of the undergraduate computer science curriculum. Learning to solve logical proofs requires repeated guided practice, but undergraduate students…
Rubrics and oral feedback are approaches to help students improve performance and meet learning outcomes. However, their effect on the actual improvement achieved is inconclusive. This paper evaluates the effect of rubrics and oral feedback…
Large language models (LLMs) benefit greatly from prompt engineering, with in-context learning standing as a pivital technique. While former approaches have provided various ways to construct the demonstrations used for in-context learning,…
We asked students to explain the structure and execution of their small programs after they had submitted them to a programming exercise. These questions about learner's code (QLCs) were delivered at three occasions in an online and open…
Block-based environments such as Scratch are increasingly popular in programming education. While block syntax reduces surface errors, semantic bugs remain common and challenging for novices to resolve. Existing debugging workflows…
A close look at students' written work on examinations offers a wealth of information about their performance, their knowledge of the subject, their strengths, weaknesses and misconceptions, and their overall level of mathematical skills…
The aim of this study is to investigate the decisions and reasoning of undergraduate students when choosing simple measurement instruments in an introductory physics laboratory course. For this study, we have developed a questionnaire and…