Impact of Virtual Assistant on Programming Novices’ Performance, Behavior and Motivation

Abstract

In the following study, we deal with data-driven support for novice programmers – students, working in large groups. We introduce a virtual assistant, which aims to simplify communication and feedback, sending reports and advice during the programming course. We experiment with 134 students during one semester period, and we try to understand how the virtual assistant affects novices – students. In the introduction, we state 3 hypotheses, focusing on performance, behavior, and motivation. The experiment evaluation relies on data collected throughout the semester. The results reveal the impact of the virtual assistant on novice programmers in 2 of the studied aspects – performance and motivation. This can be perceived as potential towards efficient support in programming education, especially in large groups. We also believe the study is contributional to the areas of learning analytics and program comprehension.

Keywords

• virtual assistant
• novice programmers
• automated assessment
• learning analytics
• motivation
• educational data mining
• program comprehension