Discovering, Autogenerating, and Evaluating Distractors for Python Parsons Problems in CS1

David H. Smith, Craig Zilles

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

In this paper, we make three contributions related to the selection and use of distractors (lines of code reflecting common errors or misconceptions) in Parsons problems. First, we demonstrate a process by which templates for creating distractors can be selected through the analysis of student submissions to short answer questions. Second, we describe the creation of a tool that uses these templates to automatically generate distractors for novel problems. Third, we perform a preliminary analysis of how the presence of distractors impacts performance, problem solving efficiency, and item discrimination when used in summative assessments. Our results suggest that distractors should not be used in summative assessments because they significantly increase the problem's completion time without a significant increase in problem discrimination.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationSIGCSE 2023 - Proceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Pages924-930
Number of pages7
ISBN (Electronic)9781450394314
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2 2023
Event54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, SIGCSE 2023 - Toronto, Canada
Duration: Mar 15 2023Mar 18 2023

Publication series

NameSIGCSE 2023 - Proceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
Volume1

Conference

Conference54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, SIGCSE 2023
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityToronto
Period3/15/233/18/23

Keywords

  • cs1
  • distractors
  • item discrimination
  • parsons problems
  • tools

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • General Computer Science

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