"ChatGPT Is Here to Help, Not to Replace Anybody" -- An Evaluation of Students' Opinions On Integrating ChatGPT In CS Courses

TL;DR

This study surveys first-year CS students to understand their opinions on integrating ChatGPT into education, revealing general support but highlighting the need for proper training and varied views on professional impact.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into students' perceptions of ChatGPT in CS education, an area less explored compared to teacher-focused research.

Findings

Students favor academic use of GPT but do not over rely on it.

Some students struggle with effective GPT usage, indicating a need for training.

Students recognize GPT's importance in academic practice, with mixed views on professional impact.

Abstract

Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT and Bard are capable of producing code based on textual descriptions, with remarkable efficacy. Such technology will have profound implications for computing education, raising concerns about cheating, excessive dependence, and a decline in computational thinking skills, among others. There has been extensive research on how teachers should handle this challenge but it is also important to understand how students feel about this paradigm shift. In this research, 52 first-year CS students were surveyed in order to assess their views on technologies with code-generation capabilities, both from academic and professional perspectives. Our findings indicate that while students generally favor the academic use of GPT, they don't over rely on it, only mildly asking for its help. Although most students benefit from GPT, some struggle to use it effectively, urging the need for specific GPT training. Opinions on GPT's impact on their professional lives vary, but there is a consensus on its importance in academic practice.