Novice programmers often struggle on assignments, and timely help, such as a hint on what to do next, can help students continue to progress and learn, rather than giving up. However, in large programming classrooms, it is hard for instructors to provide such real-time support for every student. Researchers have, therefore, put tremendous effort…

This paper systematically explores how Large Language Models (LLMs) generate explanations of code examples of the type used in intro-to-programming courses. As we show, the nature of code explanations generated by LLMs varies considerably based on the wording of the prompt, the target code examples being explained, the programming language, the…

In this study, an interactive programming learning environment was built with two types of error prompt functions: 1) the key prompt and 2) step-by-step prompt. A quasi-experimental study was conducted for five weeks, in which 75 sixth grade students from disadvantaged learning environments in Taipei, Taiwan, were divided into three groups: 1) the…

The future of university learning in Sub-Saharan Africa has become increasingly digitally transformed by both e-Learning, and learning analytics, post-COVID-19 pandemic. Learning analytics intervention is critical for effective support of socially-shared regulated learning skills, which are crucial for twenty-first-century e-Learners.…

Worked examples, which present an explained code for solving typical programming problems are among the most popular types of learning content in programming classes. Most approaches and tools for presenting these examples to students are based on line-by-line explanations of the example code. However, instructors rarely have time to provide…

This teaching tip explores the integration of AI tools into database education. The author describes how instructors can use AI tools to prepare teaching materials and how students can use AI to facilitate database development. The teaching tips provided encompass both course-level objectives and assignment-specific strategies. The inclusion of AI…

In computer science education, introductory computer programming courses tend to be the most challenging for novices, with higher dropout rates than other computer science courses. Recruitment and retention of students in computer science fields is an important area of focus in computer science education research, and previous research has…

Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly recognized as a promising tool to enhance learning, yet research on the use of VR instructional approaches for online learning remains limited. The present study aims to address this research gap by examining the effects of VR instructional approaches and textual cues on learning. We conducted an educational VR…

Large language models present new opportunities for teaching and learning. The response accuracy of these models, however, is believed to depend on the prompt quality which can be a challenge for students. In this study, we aimed to explore how undergraduate students use ChatGPT for problem-solving, what prompting strategies they develop, the link…

Purpose: Software training is a new trend in software applications. A key problem with software training is that video tutorials are developed without considering the target audience. Although video tutorials are popular, little attention is given to their design features. This study aims to investigate how two multimedia research principles,…

Autograding systems are being increasingly deployed to meet the challenges of teaching programming at scale. Studies show that formative feedback can greatly help novices learn programming. This work extends an autograder, enabling it to provide formative feedback on programming assignment submissions. Our methodology starts with the design of a…

Video tutorials substantially support demonstration-based training where the main goal is to enhance procedural knowledge by observing various understandable examples of performing a task. Although video tutorials are broadly popular nowadays, little attention is given to the design features of an instructional tutorial. The aim of this study is…

Purpose: This study aims to examine the effects of voice enthusiasm (enthusiastic voice vs calm voice) on social ratings of the speaker, cognitive load and transfer performance in multimedia learning. Design/methodology/approach: Two laboratory experiments were conducted in which learners learned from a multimedia presentation about computer…

Students as Partners (SaP) approaches have gained more and more traction in higher education in recent years (Dai & Matthews, 2022). Rooted in values such as reciprocity and shared responsibility, SaP can offer opportunities for internationalizing the curriculum and departing from traditional teacher-student hierarchies (Green & Baxter,…

Recent years have seen a growing interest in block-based programming environments for computer science education. While these environments hold significant potential for novice programmers, they lack the adaptive support necessary to accommodate students exhibiting a wide range of initial capabilities and dispositions toward computing. A promising…