Automatic Feedback in the Teaching of Programming in Undergraduate Courses: a Literature Mapping

TLDR: In this article , a literature mapping was conducted based on 119 articles published between 2017 and 2021 to answer the following research question (RQ): What does the literature tell us about the use of automatic feedback in teaching programming in undergraduate courses?

Abstract: Teaching programming in the early years of undergraduate courses has been a challenge for students, institutions, and professors. In view of this, Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and other teaching platforms have emerged to address some of the difficulties in this process. In this context, the present work intends to answer the following research question (RQ): What does the literature tell us about the use of automatic feedback in teaching programming in undergraduate courses? To answer this question, a literature mapping was conducted based on 119 articles published between 2017 and 2021. The mapping showed that the research area is expanding and has related studies from all over the world. The papers have different origins, and 37 countries are represented in this survey. The main programming languages used are Java, Python, C and C++. Another finding was that it is common practice to develop specific platforms for automatic feedback in programming courses. This paper presents the findings and results obtained.