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…

Programming demands a variety of cognitive skills, and mastering these competencies is essential for success in computer science education. The importance of formative feedback is well acknowledged in programming education, and thus, a diverse range of techniques has been proposed to generate and enhance formative feedback for programming…

In recent years, there has been an increasing trend of utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) methodologies over traditional statistical methods for predicting student performance in e-learning contexts. Notably, many researchers have adopted AI techniques without conducting a comprehensive investigation into the most appropriate and accurate…

The emergence of generative AI tools like ChatGPT has sparked investigations into their applications in teaching and learning. In computer programming education, efforts are underway to explore how this tool can enhance instructional practices. Despite the growing literature, there is a lack of synthesis on its use in this field. This rapid review…

This paper demonstrates that a teachable agent (TA) can play a dual role in an online learning environment (OLE) for learning by teaching--the teachable agent working as a synthetic peer for students to learn by teaching and as an interactive tool for cognitive task analysis when authoring an OLE for learning by teaching. We have developed an OLE…

The rise of online programming education has necessitated more effective personalized interactions, a gap that PythonPal aims to fill through its innovative learning system integrated with a chatbot. This research delves into PythonPal's potential to enhance the online learning experience, especially in contexts with high student-to-teacher ratios…

Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) are educational systems that reflect knowledge using artificial intelligence implements. In this paper, we give an outline of the Programming-Tutor architectural design with the core implements on user interaction. This pilot proposal is for designing a model domain of a subset in the computer programming…

Online learning systems should support students preparedness for professional practice by equipping them with the necessary skills while keeping them engaged and active. In that regard, the development of online learning systems that support students' development and engagement with programming is a challenging process. Early career computer…

Artificial intelligence (AI) in programming teaching is something that still has to be explored, since in this area assessment tools that allow grading the students work are the most common ones, but there are not many tools aimed toward providing feedback to the students in the process of creating their program. In this work a small sized…

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…

Intelligent tutoring systems for programming education can support students by providing personalized feedback when a student is stuck in a coding task. We study the problem of designing a hint policy to provide a next-step hint to students from their current partial solution, e.g., which line of code should be edited next. The state of the art…

Online higher education provides exceptional flexibility in learning but demands high self-regulated learning skills. The deficiency of self-regulated learning skills in many students highlights the need for support. This study introduces a confidence-based adaptive practicing system as an intelligent assessment and tutoring solution to enhance…

Block-based visual programming environments are increasingly used to introduce computing concepts to beginners. Given that programming tasks are open-ended and conceptual, novice students often struggle when learning in these environments. AI-driven programming tutors hold great promise in automatically assisting struggling students, and need…

This work analyses the use of artificial intelligence in education from an interdisciplinary point of view. New studies demonstrated that an AI can "deviate" and become potentially malicious, due to programmers' biases, corrupted feeds or purposeful actions. Knowing the pervasive use of artificial intelligence systems, including in the…

ChatGPT is largely acknowledged for its substantial capacity to enhance the teaching and learning process despite some concerns. Based on the available literature, no study compares groups of students using ChatGPT and those who did not, more so in programming. Therefore, the main goal of this study was to examine how ChatGPT affects SHS students'…