Owlgorithm: Supporting Self-Regulated Learning in Competitive Programming through LLM-Driven Reflection

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Nieto-Cardenas, Juliana, Kramer, Erin Joy, Kurto, Peter, Dickey, Ethan, Bejarano, Andres
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Nieto-Cardenas, Juliana
Kramer, Erin Joy
Kurto, Peter
Dickey, Ethan
Bejarano, Andres
author_facet Nieto-Cardenas, Juliana
Kramer, Erin Joy
Kurto, Peter
Dickey, Ethan
Bejarano, Andres
contents We present Owlgorithm, an educational platform that supports Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) in competitive programming (CP) through AI-generated reflective questions. Leveraging GPT-4o, Owlgorithm produces context-aware, metacognitive prompts tailored to individual student submissions. Integrated into a second- and third-year CP course, the system-provided reflective prompts adapted to student outcomes: guiding deeper conceptual insight for correct solutions and structured debugging for partial or failed ones. Our exploratory assessment of student ratings and TA feedback revealed both promising benefits and notable limitations. While many found the generated questions useful for reflection and debugging, concerns were raised about feedback accuracy and classroom usability. These results suggest advantages of LLM-supported reflection for novice programmers, though refinements are needed to ensure reliability and pedagogical value for advanced learners. From our experience, several key insights emerged: GenAI can effectively support structured reflection, but careful prompt design, dynamic adaptation, and usability improvements are critical to realizing their potential in education. We offer specific recommendations for educators using similar tools and outline next steps to enhance Owlgorithm's educational impact. The underlying framework may also generalize to other reflective learning contexts.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_09969
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Owlgorithm: Supporting Self-Regulated Learning in Competitive Programming through LLM-Driven Reflection
Nieto-Cardenas, Juliana
Kramer, Erin Joy
Kurto, Peter
Dickey, Ethan
Bejarano, Andres
Computers and Society
Artificial Intelligence
Human-Computer Interaction
K.3.2
We present Owlgorithm, an educational platform that supports Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) in competitive programming (CP) through AI-generated reflective questions. Leveraging GPT-4o, Owlgorithm produces context-aware, metacognitive prompts tailored to individual student submissions. Integrated into a second- and third-year CP course, the system-provided reflective prompts adapted to student outcomes: guiding deeper conceptual insight for correct solutions and structured debugging for partial or failed ones. Our exploratory assessment of student ratings and TA feedback revealed both promising benefits and notable limitations. While many found the generated questions useful for reflection and debugging, concerns were raised about feedback accuracy and classroom usability. These results suggest advantages of LLM-supported reflection for novice programmers, though refinements are needed to ensure reliability and pedagogical value for advanced learners. From our experience, several key insights emerged: GenAI can effectively support structured reflection, but careful prompt design, dynamic adaptation, and usability improvements are critical to realizing their potential in education. We offer specific recommendations for educators using similar tools and outline next steps to enhance Owlgorithm's educational impact. The underlying framework may also generalize to other reflective learning contexts.
title Owlgorithm: Supporting Self-Regulated Learning in Competitive Programming through LLM-Driven Reflection
topic Computers and Society
Artificial Intelligence
Human-Computer Interaction
K.3.2
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.09969