Abstract
ChatGPT is one of the AI chatbots that can generate programming code and explain the flow of a computer program clearly to its users. Its ability to write computer programs and detect and fix errors has been a profound debate in recent years. The typical programming assignment requires students to design and write code and test it to ensure the program works without errors. Learning both declarative knowledge (understanding programming concepts, syntax, and semantics) and procedural knowledge (applying declarative knowledge to write a program to solve a problem) is a typical pedagogical method used in a programming course. Learning programming through errors is a novel learning approach to teaching and learning programming languages. Utilising ChatGPT as an AI teaching assistant is a promising approach to adapting to this method. This study investigates how effective ChatGPT can be for learning an introductory programming language through errors. The participants in this study were Foundation Engineering students enrolled in a Python Programming course in the 2023/2024 academic year. Learning programming through errors was the primary approach introduced in lectures. The lessons were divided into two parts to assess students’ abilities to learn programming through errors, both with and without the use of ChatGPT. Data was collected from assignments, final exam scores, and student portfolios. The results of this study provide insight into re-designing formative assessment methods for programming courses.
Author Information
Reginamary Matthews, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Malaysia
Paper Information
Conference: SEACE2025
Stream: Assessment Theories & Methodologies
This paper is part of the SEACE2025 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Matthews R. (2025) Transforming Formative Assessment Method in Introductory Programming Course With ChatGPT ISSN: 2435-5240 The Southeast Asian Conference on Education 2025: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 463-475) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2435-5240.2025.39
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2435-5240.2025.39
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