The Role of ChatGPT in Student Software Development Competition
This article examines how ChatGPT influenced student projects in a software competition.
― 4 min read
Table of Contents
- The Competition
- Using ChatGPT
- Idea Planning and Brainstorming
- Documentation
- Coding and Implementation
- Debugging
- Quality Assurance and Testing
- Feedback and Evaluation
- Survey and Data Collection
- Pre-Competition Survey Results
- Participant Engagement
- The Results of ChatGPT Usage
- Post-Competition Survey Results
- Conclusion
- Original Source
- Reference Links
ChatGPT is an advanced tool powered by artificial intelligence that can generate text and interact with users. Its use in education is growing, especially in project-based learning environments. This article looks at how ChatGPT was used in a software development competition involving students. It focuses on how the tool impacted their project work and overall learning experience.
The Competition
A group of 36 students participated in a software development competition that lasted four weeks. The competition was divided into two rounds. In the first round, all participants worked on their individual projects. They were evaluated based on specific criteria, including the quality of their code, creativity, and how well they followed project requirements. The best 15 students were chosen to move on to the second round, where they competed for the highest scores.
Using ChatGPT
Throughout the competition, students had the option to use ChatGPT at different stages of their project development. The stages included brainstorming ideas, writing documents, coding, Debugging, and quality control. The idea was to see how the use of ChatGPT affected their project success.
Idea Planning and Brainstorming
In the first stage, students used ChatGPT to come up with and refine their project ideas. They gave prompts related to their topics and received helpful suggestions. This ability to generate ideas quickly was essential for getting started.
Documentation
Next, students used ChatGPT to help them create important project documents. This included gathering requirements and drafting structure documents like Market Requirements Document (MRD) and Product Requirements Document (PRD). The tool helped create clear and organized text from the inputs provided by students.
Coding and Implementation
During the coding phase, students utilized ChatGPT to generate code, create algorithms, and improve existing code. They asked ChatGPT for help with specific coding challenges and received relevant snippets. This support was vital, especially for those who faced difficulties in coding.
Debugging
When students encountered issues in their code, they turned to ChatGPT for debugging support. By describing the problems they faced, they received suggestions and solutions that helped them fix errors more efficiently.
Quality Assurance and Testing
In the final phase, students relied on ChatGPT to generate test cases and automate checks to ensure the quality of their software. This assistance helped them find potential problems and ensured a thorough testing process.
Feedback and Evaluation
Throughout the competition, participants received feedback from their peers and instructors. They used ChatGPT to analyze this feedback and improve their projects continuously. After the first round, the top performers were selected to refine their work and compete in the second round. A panel of six evaluators judged the final projects based on completeness, functionality, and originality.
Survey and Data Collection
To gather more understanding of how ChatGPT affected the students, surveys were conducted before and after the competition. These surveys asked about students' experiences with ChatGPT, how they used it, and their satisfaction with the tool.
Pre-Competition Survey Results
The pre-competition survey revealed differences between the groups of participants. All finalists in the first round used ChatGPT, while a smaller percentage of non-finalists did. This suggests that those who effectively used ChatGPT had better outcomes. The survey also showed that many participants had little prior experience with AI tools.
Participant Engagement
Interest in software development also played a role. A larger portion of the finalists expressed a strong interest in the field compared to non-finalists. This interest might have contributed to their success and engagement in the competition.
The Results of ChatGPT Usage
The impact of ChatGPT on the competition was significant. Students who extensively utilized the tool had better project completion rates and higher scores. Analysis showed that projects using ChatGPT received scores that were on average 15% higher than those that did not. There was a clear positive relationship between how much students used ChatGPT and their final scores.
Post-Competition Survey Results
After the competition, a survey assessed how students felt about the impact of ChatGPT on their learning and career prospects. A large number of participants agreed that ChatGPT helped them understand complex topics and improved their practical skills. They also felt it contributed positively to their career opportunities.
Conclusion
This study highlights the value of ChatGPT in enhancing the learning experience for students involved in project-based tasks. The tool proved beneficial in various stages, from planning to implementation and evaluation. Students reported that it improved their understanding of difficult subjects and their hands-on abilities. However, its use in specialized tasks was less prominent, showing areas for improvement.
Future research is planned to expand on these findings by including more participants and educational settings. This will help gather more data on how AI tools like ChatGPT can best be integrated into learning environments. By doing this, educators can better prepare students for their future careers, using innovative tools to make learning more effective and engaging.
Title: ChatGPT and Its Educational Impact: Insights from a Software Development Competition
Abstract: This study explores the integration and impact of ChatGPT, a generative AI that utilizes natural language processing, in an educational environment. The main goal is to evaluate how ChatGPT affects project performance. To this end, we organize a software development competition utilizing ChatGPT, lasting for four weeks and involving 36 students. The competition is structured in two rounds: in the first round, all 36 students participate and are evaluated based on specific performance metrics such as code quality, innovation, and adherence to project requirements. The top 15 performers from the first round are then selected to advance to the second round, where they compete for the final rankings and the overall winner is determined. The competition shows that students who use ChatGPT extensively in various stages of development, including ideation, documentation, software development, and quality assurance, have higher project completion rates and better scores. A detailed comparative analysis between first-round and second-round winners reveals significant differences in their experience with generative AI for software development, experience learning large-scale language models, and interest in their respective fields of study. These findings suggest that ChatGPT enhances individual learning and project performance. A post-survey of participants also reveals high levels of satisfaction, further emphasizing the benefits of integrating generative AI like ChatGPT in academic settings. This study highlights the transformative potential of ChatGPT in project-based learning environments and supports further research into its long-term impact and broader application in a variety of educational contexts.
Authors: Sunhee Hwang, Yudoo Kim, Heejin Lee
Last Update: Aug 22, 2024
Language: English
Source URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.03779
Source PDF: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2409.03779
Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Changes: This summary was created with assistance from AI and may have inaccuracies. For accurate information, please refer to the original source documents linked here.
Thank you to arxiv for use of its open access interoperability.