Use of AI-driven Code Generation Models in Teaching and Learning Programming: a Systematic Literature Review

The recent emergence of LLM-based code generation models can potentially transform programming education. To pinpoint the current state of research on using LLM-based code generators to support the teaching and learning of programming, we conducted a systematic literature review of 21 papers published since 2018. The review focuses on (1) the...

Variables in Practice. An Observation of Teaching Variables in Introductory Programming MOOCs

Motivation. Many people interested in learning a programming language choose online courses to develop their skills. The concept of variables is one of the most foundational ones to learn, but can be hard to grasp for novices. Variables are researched, but to our knowledge, few empirical observations on how the concept is taught in practice...

Challenges of end-user programmers: Reflections from two groups of end-users

The goal of this dissertation is to explore, understand, and mitigate when possible, the challenges that end-users face when creating their software programs. To gain a wider perspective of the challenges, we investigated two groups of end-users: spreadsheet users and school-age children learning to program.

Thinking out of the Box: Comparing metaphors for variables in programming education

When teaching novices programming, misconceptions can occur. Misconception are incorrect beliefs about certain programming concept. For example, some novices think that a variable can hold multiple values, in the case of two consecutive assignment statements, such as x = 5; x = 7. While explaining variables introductory materials often use...