CS Special Seminar: Juho Leinonen "Generative AI in Teaching Programming: Boon or Bane?"

Generative AI in Teaching Programming: Boon or Bane?

Juho Leinonen
Aalto University
Google Scholar

Abstract: It has been over two years since the release of ChatGPT and nearly three years since GitHub Copilot became freely available to students. Initially, the outlook for teaching programming in this new era of generative AI seemed bleak – fears abounded that students would use these tools to cheat or become overly reliant on them, hindering their learning. Early research fueled these concerns, showing that such tools could easily solve most introductory programming exercises. Today, generative AI is ubiquitous. In this talk, I will present my research into how generative AI is affecting the teaching of programming, and into building educational tools that teach students to leverage AI effectively. I will also outline my vision for what programming education will look like in the era of generative AI, and how we can ensure that these tools enhance rather than detract from learning to program.

Bio: Juho Leinonen is an Academy Research Fellow at Aalto University, Finland. He has previously worked at The University of Auckland and the University of Helsinki, where he completed his PhD in 2019. His research focuses on how educational technology and AI can be used to support and engage learners, with particular interests in learning analytics, generative AI in programming education, and learnersourcing. His work has been recognized with multiple best paper awards at leading conferences, including SIGCSE TS, ICER, ACE, UKICER, and Koli Calling. He currently serves as Program Chair for Koli Calling, Working Group Chair for SIGCSE Virtual, and Submissions Chair for ICER.