WIP: A Unit Testing Framework for Self-Guided Personalized Online Robotics Learning

TL;DR

This paper proposes a unit testing framework integrated into an online robotics course to provide real-time, personalized feedback, enhancing self-guided learning and debugging for students in programming robotics.

Contribution

It introduces a novel unit testing system embedded in the course workflow to facilitate interactive, feedback-rich, self-guided robotics programming education.

Findings

Enhanced student engagement through real-time feedback.

Improved debugging skills and autonomous learning.

Strengthened interactive learning environment.

Abstract

Our ongoing development and deployment of an online robotics education platform highlighted a gap in providing an interactive, feedback-rich learning environment essential for mastering programming concepts in robotics, which they were not getting with the traditional code-simulate-turn in workflow. Since teaching resources are limited, students would benefit from feedback in real-time to find and fix their mistakes in the programming assignments. To address these concerns, this paper will focus on creating a system for unit testing while integrating it into the course workflow. We facilitate this real-time feedback by including unit testing in the design of programming assignments so students can understand and fix their errors on their own and without the prior help of instructors/TAs serving as a bottleneck. In line with the framework's personalized student-centered approach, this method makes it easier for students to revise, and debug their programming work, encouraging hands-on learning. The course workflow updated to include unit tests will strengthen the learning environment and make it more interactive so that students can learn how to program robots in a self-guided fashion.