An automatic tutor for introductory programming students
Ronald L. Danielson, Jürg Nievergelt · 1975
This paper discusses an automatic tutor of programming, implemented on the PLATO IV CAI system [1] as a part of an automated instructional system for computer science being developed at the University of Illinois [8]. This tutor exposes the introductory student to structured programming concepts and top-down problem solution techniques by means of example. The student develops (on-line, using an approach based on stepwise refinement [11]) a solution to a single, relatively complex programming problem (symbolic differentiation of a polynomial). Student and tutor engage in an interactive dialogue during this problem-solving process, the tutor providing hints regarding solution steps, and comments about program structure and efficiency. A small sample of the types of responses the tutor might make is presented