This $400,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the STEM Education (CFDA 47.076) program supports a research and development project to redesign an introductory computer science (CS1) course at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). The goal is to explore how the use of large language model (LLM) AI assistants can impact the teaching and learning of programming skills.
The project, titled "Exploring the Value of LLMs in Teaching Introductory Programming," aims to: 1) redesign the CS1 course to emphasize skills like code reading, testing, and problem decomposition rather than just syntax and writing code from scratch; 2) study how students learn programming with the aid of an LLM; 3) compare student outcomes between the traditional CS1 and the new CS1-LLM course; 4) examine the impact on learning outcomes for underrepresented student groups; and 5) engage instructors worldwide to understand their perspectives on adopting such a course. The award has a period of performance from July 2024 through June 2027.
Generated 3/25/25, 4:55 AM