[Paper Review] ChatGPT impacts in programming education: A recent literature overview that debates ChatGPT responses

Christos‐Nikolaos Anagnostopoulos|arXiv (Cornell University)|Aug 30, 2023

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and EducationMedicine3 citations

TL;DR

This paper investigates ChatGPT's impact on programming education by querying the model on key issues and validating its responses against recent literature. It identifies applications, advantages, limitations, and ethical concerns, concluding that AI can be a transformative educational ally if integrated with clear roles and cooperation rules.

ABSTRACT

This paper aims at a brief overview of the main impact of ChatGTP in the scientific field of programming and learning/education in computer science. It lists, covers and documents from the literature the major issues that have been identified for this topic, such as applications, advantages and limitations, ethical issues raised. Answers to the above questions were solicited from ChatGPT itself, the responses were collected, and then the recent literature was surveyed to determine whether or not the responses are supported. The paper ends with a short discussion on what is expected to happen in the near future. A future that can be extremely promising if humanity manages to have AI as a proper ally and partner, with distinct roles and specific rules of cooperation and interaction.

Motivation & Objective

• To examine the impact of ChatGPT on programming education through a literature-based analysis.
• To evaluate the accuracy and reliability of ChatGPT-generated responses on key educational topics.
• To identify applications, advantages, limitations, and ethical concerns related to AI in programming education.
• To assess whether ChatGPT's responses align with findings from recent scholarly literature.
• To discuss future implications of AI integration in computer science education with responsible collaboration frameworks.

Proposed method

• The study queries ChatGPT on core topics in programming education, including applications, benefits, limitations, and ethical issues.
• Responses from ChatGPT are collected and systematically compared against recent peer-reviewed literature.
• A literature review is conducted to verify the factual accuracy and completeness of ChatGPT’s answers.
• The analysis focuses on identifying discrepancies, overstatements, or omissions in the model’s responses.
• The study evaluates the consistency of ChatGPT’s answers with current research trends and educational practices.
• A reflective discussion is provided on future AI-education collaboration models with defined roles and ethical guidelines.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 To what extent do ChatGPT's responses on programming education align with findings in recent academic literature?
• RQ2 What are the primary applications, advantages, and limitations of using ChatGPT in programming education according to both AI and scholarly sources?
• RQ3 What ethical concerns are raised in the literature regarding AI use in programming education, and how do they compare to ChatGPT’s own responses?
• RQ4 How reliable and factually sound are ChatGPT’s answers when evaluated against current research?
• RQ5 What future educational models could emerge from responsible collaboration between AI and human educators?

Key findings

• ChatGPT provides generally accurate and comprehensive responses on applications of AI in programming education, such as tutoring and code generation.
• The model correctly identifies key advantages, including personalized learning and immediate feedback, which are supported by recent literature.
• Limitations such as hallucinations and overconfidence in responses were noted in ChatGPT’s answers and confirmed by the literature.
• Ethical concerns like academic integrity and overreliance on AI were consistently raised in both the literature and ChatGPT’s responses.
• The study found that while ChatGPT’s responses are largely aligned with current research, they sometimes lack nuance or depth on complex pedagogical issues.
• The paper concludes that AI can be a valuable educational partner if used with clear guidelines, defined roles, and human oversight.