'Can You Refactor This for Me?': Investigating How Students Use ChatGPT in Code Refactoring Exercises
Publication date
2025-06-27
Authors
Carneiro Oliveira, Eduardo
Keuning, Hieke
Jeuring, J.T.
Editors
Advisors
Supervisors
Document Type
Part of book
Metadata
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License
taverne
Abstract
LLMs are increasingly used in programming education. However, little research has explored their use in teaching and learning code refactoring. In this study, we use a grounded-theory approach to examine student-LLM conversations during code refactoring exercises. Our preliminary results show that students use LLM in various modes, such as requesting a refactoring for the entire program at once or discussing refactoring possibilities in long conversations.
Keywords
code refactoring, generative ai, llms, programming education, Taverne, Management of Technology and Innovation, Education
Citation
Carneiro Oliveira, E, Keuning, H & Jeuring, J 2025, 'Can You Refactor This for Me?': Investigating How Students Use ChatGPT in Code Refactoring Exercises. in ITiCSE 2025 - Proceedings of the 30th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education. Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, ITiCSE, vol. 2, Association for Computing Machinery, pp. 788-788, 30th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, ITiCSE 2025, Nijmegen, Netherlands, 27/06/25. https://doi.org/10.1145/3724389.3730789, conference