Customizable and scalable automated assessment of C/C++ programming assignments

The correction of exercises in programming courses is a laborious task that has traditionally been performed in a manual way. This situation, in turn, delays the access by students to feedback that can contribute significantly to their training as future professionals. Over the years, several approaches have been proposed to automate the assessment of students' programs. Static analysis is a known technique that can partially simulate the process of manual code review performed by lecturers. As such, it is a plausible option to assess whether students' solutions meet the requirements imposed on the assignments. However, implementing a personalized analysis beyond the rules included in existing tools may be a complex task for the lecturer without a mechanism that guides the work. In this paper, we present a method to provide automated and specific feedback to immediately inform students about their mistakes in programming courses. To that end, we developed the CAC++ library, which enables constructing tailored static analysis programs for C/C++ practices. The library allows for great flexibility and personalization of verifications to adjust them to each particular task, overcoming the limitations of most of the existing assessment tools. Our approach to providing specific feedback has been evaluated for a period of three academic years in a course related to object-oriented programming. The library allowed lecturers to reduce the size of the static analysis programs developed for this course. During this period, the academic results improved and undergraduates positively valued the aid offered when undertaking the implementation of assignments.Universidad de Cádiz, Grant/Award Numbers: sol-201500054192-tra, sol-201600064680-tra; Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Grant/Award Number: RTI2018-093608-B-C33; European Regional Development Fun

Piloteinsatz einer E-Assessment-Plattform für die grafische Modellierung

Die KEA-Mod-Plattform ermöglicht es, Modellierungsaufgaben mit verschiedenen Modellierungssprachen wie z.B. UML, Petri-Netzen, EPK oder BPMN durch Dozierende zu erstellen und von Studierenden bearbeiten zu lassen. Die Plattform kam in einer großen Lehrveranstaltung mit ca. 250 Studierenden zum Piloteinsatz. Die Studierenden konnten mit Hilfe der Plattform und des integrierten Modellierungswerkzeugs eine Aufgabenreihe mit Modellierungsaufgaben zu Petri-Netzen bearbeiten und einreichen. Anschließend erhielten die Studierenden automatisiert generiertes Feedback. Das Poster beschreibt die Evaluation dieses Piloteinsatzes aus der Perspektive der Studierenden und bietet erste Ergebnisse in Bezug auf die Plattform-Usability und zur wahrgenommenen Lernförderlichkeit des Feedbacks

Using fast model-based fault localisation to aid students in self-guided program repair and to improve assessment

Computer science instructors need to manage the rapid improvement of novice programmers through teaching, self-guided learning, and assessment. Appropriate feedback, both generic and personalised, is essential to facilitate student progress. Automated feedback tools can also accelerate the marking process and allow instructors to dedicate more time to other forms of tuition and students to progress more rapidly. Massive Open Online Courses rely on automated tools for both self-guided learning and assessment.Fault localisation takes a significant part of debugging time. Popular spectrum-based methods do not narrow the potential fault locations sufficiently to assist novices. We therefore use a fast and precise model-based fault localisation method and show how it can be used to improve self-guided learning and accelerate assessment. We apply this to a large selection of actual student coursework submissions, providing more precise localisation within a sub-second response time. We show this using small test suites, already provided in the coursework management system, and on expanded test suites, demonstrating scaling.We also show compliance with test suites does not predictably score a class of "almost correct" submissions, which our tool highlight

Bedingungen für einen Beitrag der EU-Strukturfonds zur realen Konvergenz in Europa

EU-Strukturfonds haben das Potential, einen Beitrag zur realen Konvergenz in Europa zu leisten, dessen Realisierung aber von Bedingungen abhängt. Ausgehend von theoretischen Überlegungen sowie Erfahrungen der “alten“ Mitgliedsländer werden Schlussfolgerungen (nicht nur) für die neuen Mitglieder gezogen: Erstens müssen die knappen Mittel räumlich konzentriert werden, (a) auf jene Länder und Regionen mit dem größten Aufholbedarf, (b) auf dynamische Regionen und (c) auf Wachstumspole und existierende Cluster. Zweitens ist eine thematische Konzentration erforderlich. Investitionen in Humankapital sind dabei eine Schlüsselgröße für langfristiges Wachstum. Eine ausreichende Infrastrukturausstattung ist dagegen eine notwendige, nicht aber eine hinreichende Bedingung für Wirtschaftswachstum. Wirtschaftsförderungsmaßnahmen sollten auf das wirtschaftliche Umfeld konzentriert sein, während Staatsbeihilfen stark limitiert bleiben sollten. Die Förderung des ländlichen Raums hat die abnehmenden Bedeutung des Agrarsektors in Rechnung zu stellen; Projekte mit unklaren ökonomischen Wirkungen sollten unterbleiben. Drittens ist eine effektive Implementierung der Strukturfonds nötig. Schließlich: Strukturfonds können nur in einem soliden makroökonomischen Umfeld wirksam sein, in dem Strukturreformen vorangetrieben werden und adäquate institutionelle Rahmenbedingungen gegeben sind. Die Erreichung realer Konvergenz bleibt damit eine nationale Verantwortung. Abstract EU structural funds can potentially contribute to real convergence in Europe. However, realising potential depends on several conditions. Starting from theoretical insights and experiences in the old member states, conclusions are drawn (though not exclusively) for the new Member States: First, the scarce resources have to be concentrated spatially, (a) on countries and regions with the highest need, (b) on dynamic regions and (c) on growth centres and existing clusters. Second, a thematic concentration is essential. Here, investment in human resources can be regarded as key to long term growth while an adequate infrastructure endowment is a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for growth. Support for the private sector should be concentrated on the business environment. In contrast, state aid should be very limited. Support for rural development should reflect the declining importance of the agricultural sector and projects with dubious economic impact should be avoided. Third, an effective implementation of structural funds is necessary. Finally: structural funds can only be effective in a solid macro-economic environment with advanced structural reforms and an adequate institutional framework. Consequently, real convergence remains a national responsibility

Network Connections in REIT Markets

Relationships play a central role across the spectrum of real estate transactions. Whether negotiating prices, securing funding, or acquiring permits, knowing the right people provides multiple channels to facilitate deal making. To better understand the role of relationships in real estate markets, we examine how the connectedness of REIT directors is associated with deal making, growth, and profitability. We find strong evidence that REIT connections are positively associated with both deal making and accounting based measures of profitability, however, those relations do not translate into better market returns or higher valuations. One explanation of these somewhat contradictory results is that connections also increase firm risk. Preliminary support for this conjecture is found through our examination of each firm’s implied cost of equity capital. Specifically, we find increasing connectedness is associated with a higher cost of equity capital. Thus, connections appear to offer both advantages and disadvantages to REIT managers and shareholders