Work

LLMs Integration in Software Engineering Team Projects: Roles, Impact, and a Pedagogical Design Space for AI Tools in Computing Education

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This work takes a pedagogical lens to explore the implications of generative AI (GenAI) models and tools, such as ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot, in a semester-long 2nd-year undergraduate software engineering team project. Qualitative findings from a survey (39 students) and interviews (eight students) provide insights into the students' views on the impact of GenAI use on their coding experience, learning, and self-efficacy. Our results address a particular gap in understanding the role and implications of GenAI on teamwork, team-efficacy, and team dynamics. The analysis of the learning aspects is distinguished by the application of learning- and pedagogy-informed lenses to discuss the data. We propose a preliminary design space for GenAI-based programming learning tools highlighting the importance of considering the roles that GenAI can play during the learning process, the scaffolding support that can be applied to each role, and the importance of supporting transparency in GenAI for team members and students in addition to educators.

Source: ACM Transactions on Computing Education

DOI: 10.1145/3779296

Authors: Ahmed Kharrufa, Sami Alghamdi, Abeer Aziz, Christopher Bull

Institution: Newcastle University

Language: English

Topic: Teaching and Learning Programming

Subfield: Computer Science Applications

Field: Computer Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council