Predicting learner actions and intentions is crucial for providing personalized real-time support and early intervention in programming education. This approach enables proactive, context-aware assistance that is difficult for human instructors to deliver by foreseeing signs of potential struggles and misconceptions, or by inferring a learner's…

Background and Context: Feedback on one's progress is essential to new programming language learners, particularly in out-of-classroom settings. Though many study materials offer assessment mechanisms, most do not examine the accuracy of the feedback they deliver, nor give evidence on its validity. Objective: We investigate the potential use of a…

The Nolan Index (NI) is a normed, quantitative measure for comparing the degree of resemblance (similarity or dissimilarity) between free listings with an Excel program for calculating it. This article enhances that effort with the addition of an R program and additional applications. Free-list resemblance measures have been used to investigate…

A staple of many spreadsheet-based management science courses is the use of Excel for activities such as model building, sensitivity analysis, goal seeking, and Monte-Carlo simulation. What might those things look like if carried out using Python? We describe a teaching module in which Python is used to do typical Excel-based modeling and…

Knowledge Tracing (KT) models predicting student performance in intelligent tutoring systems have been successfully deployed in several educational domains. However, their usage in open-ended programming problems poses multiple challenges due to the complexity of the programming code and a complex interplay between syntax and logic requirements…

Moderated multiple regression (MMR) has become a fundamental tool for applied researchers, since many effects are expected to vary based on other variables. However, the inherent complexity of MMR creates formidable challenges for adequately performing power analysis on interaction effects to ensure reliable and replicable research results. Prior…

This study aims to identify the characteristics of implementation and integration strategies of computational thinking (CT) and scientific approaches in programming education, viewed from the lens of educational levels, subject Matter, and research focus. The method employed is a systematic literature review following the PRISMA framework. A total…

The project-based learning model via generative artificial intelligence, or PjBL model via Gen-AI, is a research tool that was initiated based on the concept of project-based learning management focusing mainly on self-directed learning, in which learners are able to learn and practice through the projects they are interested in as to their…

Objectives: Code style is an important aspect of text-based programming because programs written with good style are considered easier to understand and change and so improve the maintainability of the delivered software product. However teaching code style is complicated by the existence of many style guides and standards that contain…

This paper reports a validation study based on descriptive multidimensional item response theory (DMIRT), implemented in the R package "D3mirt" by using the ERS-C, an extended version of the Relevance subscale from the Moral Foundations Questionnaire including two new items for collectivism (17 items in total). Two latent models are…

Virtual Reality has proven to be highly promising within the field of learning. Most VR learning methods do not effectively implement pedagogical models or adapt to the individual's learning style. This research aims to bridge this gap by integrating Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs), Flow Theory and Gamification within an educational Virtual Reality…

Challenge: The Hodgkin-Huxley membrane conductance model has been featured in biomedical engineering (BME) curricula for decades. A typical BME assignment might require students to apply the relevant equations and parameters to model the generation of action potentials; however, there is opportunity for students to build and explore both…

This study examined the effects of worked examples with different explanation types and novices' motivation on cognitive load, and how this subsequently influenced their programming problem-solving performance. Given the study's emphasis on both instructional approaches and learner motivation, the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning served as…

Supporting academically at-risk students has attracted much attention in the field of learning analytics. However, much of the research in this area has focused on developing advanced machine learning models to predict students' academic performance, which alone is insufficient to improve student learning without the implementation of timely…

The University of Palermo is proud to host the 18th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM) in Palermo, Italy, from July 20 to July 23, 2025. EDM is the annual flagship conference of the International Educational Data Mining Society. This year's theme is "New Goals, New Measurements, New Incentives to Learn." The theme…