Seminar: Real-Time Intelligent Programming Assistance for CS Education
Yan Chen
Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech
Friday, April 7, 2023
2:30 - 3:45 PM
2150 Torgersen Hall
Abstract
In programming education, students often face challenges in receiving personalized feedback and real-time support, especially in large-scale classrooms. These obstacles can hinder learning engagement
and limit students' progress. In this talk, I will present three projects that address these challenges by fostering collaboration, offering real-time support, and tailoring learning experiences. PuzzleMe
leverages peer assessment in in-class exercises, VizProg enables instructors to monitor coding progress, and the third project integrates social presence into asynchronous learning environments. Together, these
projects showcase innovative approaches to enhancing programming education.
Biography
Yan Chen is an Assistant Professor in the CS Department at Virginia Tech. Yan received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan in 2020, followed by a two-year Postdoc training at the University of Toronto, Canada. His research spans human-computer interaction, CS education, programming support tools, and software engineering. Yan is active in the HCI research community. His work has been published at top HCI conferences, including ACM CHI, UIST, and CSCW. He received the Best Short Paper award at VL/HCC 2020 and the Best Paper Honorable Mention Award at UIST 2022.