Fostering the Learning Process in a Programming Course With a Chatbot

Novice programmers have to focus and learn different programming skills in programming 1 course at the same time. Therefore, they need more support to answer their queries related to the programming domain. This study developed and offered a chatbot in programming 1 course. The chatbot focuses on course details, fundamental programming concepts, and common programming errors. The perception of programming 1 students and instructors regarding the chatbot in programming education were collected through the survey and focus group respectively. The results of the students’ survey revealed that the chatbot supports students in learning programming and common programming errors in the course. The focus group participants agreed that the chatbot provides one-to-one teaching experience to novices. The chatbot serves as a virtual teaching assistant and promotes students-centered learning. The focus group participants also agreed that the chatbot approach provides additional support to students in their learning process of programming domain.