Automated Feedback in Software Engineering: Enhancing Computational Thinking Process

Computational thinking is the systematic approach of defining a problem and crafting its solution. It employs computer programming algorithms to address scientific, engineering, and mathematical challenges using programming languages. Feedback plays a pivotal role in the learning journey of computational thinking. It is widely recognized that offering timely feedback to students on their computational endeavors significantly contributes to their achievement and overall satisfaction with the course. This research explores the implementation of an automated feedback system designed to evaluate and offer early feedback on computer engineering projects. The aim is to integrate best practices and software tools related to computational thinking into the thinking and learning processes within an engineering curriculum. Preliminary findings suggest that the automated feedback system enhances students' computational skills and improves their performance in the course. We anticipate that the insights gained from this research will inform the enhancement of curricula and course evaluations across different computational thinking tasks, disciplines, and courses.