Generative AI Assistants in Software Development Education: A vision for integrating Generative AI into educational practice, not instinctively defending against it
This addresses the problem of adapting software development education to disruptive generative AI technologies for educators and students, but it is incremental as it builds on existing trends without introducing new methods.
The paper tackles the integration of generative AI assistants like GitHub Copilot into software development education by conducting exploratory interviews with industry professionals to understand current practices and challenges, resulting in pedagogical recommendations for adapting educational practices.
The software development industry is amid another disruptive paradigm change - adopting the use of generative AI (GAI) assistants for programming. Whilst AI is already used in various areas of software engineering, GAI technologies, such as GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT, have ignited peoples' imaginations (and fears). It is unclear how the industry will adapt, but the move to integrate these technologies by large software companies, such as Microsoft (GitHub, Bing) and Google (Bard), is a clear indication of intent and direction. We performed exploratory interviews with industry professionals to understand current practice and challenges, which we incorporate into our vision of a future of software development education and make some pedagogical recommendations.