Enhancing Programming Education with ChatGPT: A Case Study on Student Perceptions and Interactions in a Python Course
It addresses the problem of enhancing programming education for university students, but is incremental as it builds on existing research with a specific case study.
This study investigated ChatGPT's use as a supportive tool in a Python programming course for first-year students over eight weeks, finding generally positive student perceptions and insights into its utility for debugging, code generation, and explanations.
The integration of ChatGPT as a supportive tool in education, notably in programming courses, addresses the unique challenges of programming education by providing assistance with debugging, code generation, and explanations. Despite existing research validating ChatGPT's effectiveness, its application in university-level programming education and a detailed understanding of student interactions and perspectives remain limited. This paper explores ChatGPT's impact on learning in a Python programming course tailored for first-year students over eight weeks. By analyzing responses from surveys, open-ended questions, and student-ChatGPT dialog data, we aim to provide a comprehensive view of ChatGPT's utility and identify both its advantages and limitations as perceived by students. Our study uncovers a generally positive reception toward ChatGPT and offers insights into its role in enhancing the programming education experience. These findings contribute to the broader discourse on AI's potential in education, suggesting paths for future research and application.