Gweneth Barbre

Victor-Alexandru Pădurean, Kaitlin Riegel, Gweneth Barbre et al.

Learning to communicate with code-generating AI models is an emerging skill for novice programmers. One recent pedagogical approach, Prompt Problems, has students solve computational tasks by writing natural-language prompts for code-generating AI models. However, little is known about the specific prompt-level mistakes novice programmers make, the kinds of computational details they fail to communicate, and what strategies they use to recover when generated code is incorrect. In a CS1 course, we studied attempts by more than 900 students to solve dialogue-based Prompt Problems. We analyzed student reflections, unsuccessful prompts, and reported debugging strategies. Compared to traditional coding tasks, students generally found prompting easier, more enjoyable, and better targeted at developing problem-solving skills. The most common mistakes are related to the omission of key details, suggesting both a failure to acknowledge their importance and over-reliance on AI to infer them. When prompts failed, students focused more on clarifying their intent and reflecting on the provided problem details than on tracing generated code or examining test cases.

James Prather, Brent N. Reeves, Paul Denny et al.

Non-native English speakers (NNES) face multiple barriers to learning programming. These barriers can be obvious, such as the fact that programming language syntax and instruction are often in English, or more subtle, such as being afraid to ask for help in a classroom full of native English speakers. However, these barriers are frustrating because many NNES students know more about programming than they can articulate in English. Advances in generative AI (GenAI) have the potential to break down these barriers because state of the art models can support interactions in multiple languages. Moreover, recent work has shown that GenAI can be highly accurate at code generation and explanation. In this paper, we provide the first exploration of NNES students prompting in their native languages (Arabic, Chinese, and Portuguese) to generate code to solve programming problems. Our results show that students are able to successfully use their native language to solve programming problems, but not without some difficulty specifying programming terminology and concepts. We discuss the challenges they faced, the implications for practice in the short term, and how this might transform computing education globally in the long term.