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ICPC 2021
Tue 18 - Thu 20 May 2021
co-located with ICSE 2021

Students sometimes produce code that works but that its author does not comprehend. For example, a student may apply a poorly-understood code template, stumble upon a working solution through trial and error, or plagiarize. Similarly, passing an automated functional assessment does not guarantee that the student understands their code. One way to tackle these issues is to probe students’ comprehension by asking them questions about their own programs. We propose an approach to automatically generate questions about student-written program code. We moreover propose a use case for such questions in the context of automatic assessment systems: after a student’s program passes unit tests, the system poses questions to the student about the code. We suggest that these questions can enhance assessment systems, deepen student learning by acting as self-explanation prompts, and provide a window into students’ program comprehension. This discussion paper sets an agenda for future technical development and empirical research on the topic.

Tue 18 May

Displayed time zone: Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna change

10:10 - 10:50
Empirical Studies in Program ComprehensionResearch / Education at ICPC Main Room
Chair(s): Chaiyong Ragkhitwetsagul Mahidol University, Thailand
10:10
10m
Paper
Considerations and Pitfalls in Controlled Experiments on Code ComprehensionICPC 2021 Honorable Mention
Research
Dror Feitelson Hebrew University
Pre-print Media Attached
10:20
10m
Paper
Let's Ask Students About Their Programs, Automatically
Education
Teemu Lehtinen Aalto University, André L. Santos University Institute of Lisbon, Portugal, Juha Sorva Aalto University
Pre-print Media Attached
10:30
10m
Paper
The effect of block-based formulas on formula comprehension in spreadsheets
Research
Bas Jansen Delft University of Technology, Felienne Hermans Leiden University
Pre-print Media Attached
10:40
10m
Paper
Is Algorithm Comprehension Different from Program Comprehension?
Education
Philipp Kather , Jan Vahrenhold Department of Computer Science, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
Pre-print Media Attached

Information for Participants
Tue 18 May 2021 10:10 - 10:50 at ICPC Main Room - Empirical Studies in Program Comprehension Chair(s): Chaiyong Ragkhitwetsagul
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