"Like a Nesting Doll": Analyzing Recursion Analogies Generated by CS Students using Large Language Models

arXiv:2403.09409v1 Announce Type: cross
Abstract: Grasping complex computing concepts often poses a challenge for students who struggle to anchor these new ideas to familiar experiences and understandings. To help with this, a good analogy can bridge the gap between unfamiliar concepts and familiar ones, providing an engaging way to aid understanding. However, creating effective educational analogies is difficult even for experienced instructors. We investigate to what extent large language models (LLMs), specifically ChatGPT, can provide access to personally relevant analogies …

abstract analogy anchor arxiv bridge challenge computing concepts cs.ai cs.cl cs.hc gap generated good grasping ideas language language models large language large language models recursion struggle students type