Intelligent Tutoring Systems approach to Introductory Programming Courses

Programming is difficult and requires a lot of work and dedication from the students and teachers. Programming is part of the curriculum of many courses, but especially in computer science, and most teaching and learning is problematic. Despite all the efforts of the researchers, it seems to be difficult to find an effective method of teaching that is suitable for all students. This paper describes a set of possible instructional strategies for teaching and learning and its application to an introductory programming course. The goal of utilizing a smart learning system was to increase student scores, pass rate, and increase efficiency for both students and teachers. The set of instructional strategies based on technology was implemented in an introductory programming course over several academic years. Data were collected and the results are analyzed. The results show that there are significant improvements in the grade distributions, the pass/fail rate, in the interest and participation of the students in the different activities developed throughout the course, greater motivation and passion in solving problems, and the more efficient use of teacher time and effort.