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Investigating Students’ Reasoning in a Code-Tracing Tutor

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Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 12748))

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Abstract

Code tracing involves stepping through a program in order to predict its output. In the present study (N = 45), we used the think-aloud protocol to gain insight into students’ cognitive processes as they used a computer tutor to study code-tracing examples and work on code-tracing problems, using either a high-scaffolding or a reduced-scaffolding tutor interface. For the cognitive processes, we included both self-explanation and reading behaviors, relying on a qualitative coding to analyze the transcripts. Our results shed light on how different levels of assistance provided by a computer tutor impact student reasoning during code-tracing activities.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A between-subjects design was used because the high potential for order effects rendered a within-subject design not suitable.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cognitive Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

    Jay Jennings & Kasia Muldner

Authors
  1. Jay Jennings
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  2. Kasia Muldner
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jay Jennings or Kasia Muldner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

    Ido Roll

  2. Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Danielle McNamara

  3. Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Sergey Sosnovsky

  4. London Knowledge Lab, London, UK

    Rose Luckin

  5. University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Vania Dimitrova

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Jennings, J., Muldner, K. (2021). Investigating Students’ Reasoning in a Code-Tracing Tutor. In: Roll, I., McNamara, D., Sosnovsky, S., Luckin, R., Dimitrova, V. (eds) Artificial Intelligence in Education. AIED 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12748. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78292-4_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78292-4_17

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-78291-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-78292-4

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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