On the Use of Semantic-Based AIG to Automatically Generate Programming Exercises

Abstract

In introductory programming courses, proficiency is typically achieved through substantial practice in the form of relatively small assignments and quizzes. Unfortunately, creating programming assignments and quizzes is both, time consuming and error prone. Furthermore, grading the assignments and providing timely and detailed feedback is paramount to student improvement. We use Automatic Item Generation (AIG) in order to address the problem of creating numerous programming exercises that can be used for assignments or quizzes in introductory programming courses. AIG is based on the use of test-item templates with embedded variables and formulas. The variables and formulas in the template are resolved by a computer program with actual values to generate test-items. Thus, hundreds or even thousands of test-items can be generated with a single test-item template. We discuss a semantic-based AIG approach for automatically generating programming exercises. The approach was incorporated into an existing selfassessment and practice tool for students learning computer programming. The tool has been used in different introductory programming courses to generate a set of practice exercises different for each student, but with the same difficulty and quality.

A Systematic Review of Automatic Question Generation for Educational Purposes

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