While game-based learning is widely used in programming education, few tools offer adaptive, real-time support for complex topics, such as C pointers. We present DeliverC, a GenAI-enhanced game that integrates GPT-4-mini to provide personalized hints and generate pointer-related challenges on the fly. In a pilot study involving 25 undergraduate students, we investigated the impact of the system on learning through gameplay data and a 15-item survey that covered constructs such as motivation, self-efficacy, metacognition, and feedback quality. Results show that most students felt more confident and reflective after using the tool, and error rates decreased as students progressed through scaffolded levels. However, participation decreased with task difficulty, and some students reported receiving unclear or vague feedback. These findings suggest that DeliverC can enhance engagement and understanding in systems programming, although refinement in AI-generated feedback is still needed. Our study highlights the potential of combining GenAI with game-based learning to support personalized and interactive practice in traditionally challenging programming domains.

Fri 20 Feb

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10:40 - 12:00
Teaching Computing Through Play: From Pointers to ParallelismPapers at Meeting Room 103-104
Chair(s): Jake Renzella University of New South Wales, Sydney
10:40
20m
Talk
DeliverC: Teaching Pointers through GenAI-Powered Game-Based Learning
Papers
Wyatt Petula Pennsylvania State University, Anushcka Joshi Pennsylvania State University, Peggy Tu Pennsylvania State University, Amrutha Somasundar Pennsylvania State University, Suman Saha PC
11:00
20m
Talk
Gamified Learning and Instructional Analogies for Theory of Computing Courses
Papers
Robert Belcher United States Military Academy, Wesley Yeatman United States Military Academy, Ryan Dougherty United States Military Academy
11:20
20m
Talk
Parallel X: Redesigning of a Parallel Programming Educational Game with Semantic Foundations and Transfer Learning
Papers
Devon McKee University of California at Santa Cruz, Zhiyu Lin University of California Santa Cruz, Boyd Fox Independent, Jiahong Li University of California Santa Cruz, Jichen Zhu IT University of Copenhagen, Magy Seif El-Nasr University of California Santa Cruz, Tyler Sorensen Microsoft Research and University of California at Santa Cruz