Study Reveals Patterns of Learner-AI Interaction in Programming Courses

A research paper published on arXiv examines how students interact with generative AI tools in an object-oriented programming (OOP) course. The study surveyed 210 undergraduate students enrolled in a first-year OOP course where GenAI use was allowed for coursework but prohibited in assessments. Results indicate that students used GenAI most frequently for explanation seeking and debugging. The research explores the relationship between different patterns of learner-AI interaction and academic performance, perceived difficulty, understanding, and trust. The findings contribute to understanding the educational impact of GenAI tools in programming education, an area where evidence remains mixed. The paper is categorized as a full research paper and was announced on arXiv with ID 2607.24755.