LeafTutor: An AI Agent for Programming Assignment Tutoring
This addresses the shortage of instructors and TAs in universities, offering a scalable solution for STEM education, though it appears incremental as it applies existing LLM methods to a new domain.
The paper tackled the problem of scalable tutoring support in STEM education by developing LeafTutor, an AI tutoring agent using large language models, which was evaluated on real programming assignments and found to deliver guidance comparable to human tutors.
High enrollment in STEM-related degree programs has created increasing demand for scalable tutoring support, as universities experience a shortage of qualified instructors and teaching assistants (TAs). To address this challenge, LeafTutor, an AI tutoring agent powered by large language models (LLMs), was developed to provide step-by-step guidance for students. LeafTutor was evaluated through real programming assignments. The results indicate that the system can deliver step-by-step programming guidance comparable to human tutors. This work demonstrates the potential of LLM-driven tutoring solutions to enhance and personalize learning in STEM education. If any reader is interested in collaboration with our team to improve or test LeafTutor, please contact Pu Tian (pu.tian@stockton.edu) or Yalong Wu (wuy@uhcl.edu).