ClassAid: A Real-time Instructor-AI-Student Orchestration System for Classroom Programming Activities

TL;DR

ClassAid is a real-time system that enables instructors to dynamically manage AI support during classroom programming activities, enhancing personalized feedback and integrating AI effectively into education.

Contribution

We introduce ClassAid, a novel orchestration system that allows instructors to control AI agents providing feedback in programming classrooms, balancing AI support with educator guidance.

Findings

AI agents effectively supported student learning

Instructors found dynamic control beneficial for classroom management

Students and educators responded positively to the system

Abstract

Generative AI is reshaping education, but it also raises concerns about instability and overreliance. In programming classrooms, we aim to leverage its feedback capabilities while reinforcing the educator's role in guiding student-AI interactions. We developed ClassAid, a real-time orchestration system that integrates TA Agents to provide personalized support and an AI-driven dashboard that visualizes student-AI interactions, enabling instructors to dynamically adjust TA Agent modes. Instructors can configure the Agent to provide technical feedback (direct coding solutions), heuristic feedback (hint-based guidance), automatic feedback (autonomously selecting technical or heuristic support), or silent operation (no AI support). We evaluated ClassAid through three aspects: (1) the TA Agents' performance, (2) feedback from 54 students and one instructor during a classroom deployment, and (3) interviews with eight educators. Results demonstrate that dynamic instructor control over AI supports effective real-time personalized feedback and provides design implications for integrating AI into authentic educational settings.