Date
Publisher
arXiv
Early 2025 we ran a series of vibe coding challenges across four different student cohorts. The cohorts included 54 ICT students, 24 digital marketing students, and 7 journalism students at Fontys University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands), and 22 BA Communication students at North-West University (South Africa).
From the student reflections, five major patterns emerged. Students reported that AI tools shifted their focus from syntax to higher-order thinking; they also described a skill shift from memorizing to evaluating; they viewed AI proficiency as career-essential; they framed their relationship with AI as partnership rather than replacement; and finally non-technical students showed the strongest appreciation for the accessibility these tools provide.
This practitioner report documents what we observed during the classroom experiments, we reflect on how the landscape has shifted in the year since, and shares practical lessons for educators considering similar experiments. We present the observations as what they are: patterns from practice, not proven conclusions, in the beleif that sharing early stage experiences contributes to the overall field of AI and education.
Study at a glance
- Question: What happens when frontier AI coding tools are introduced to students across different academic programmes and backgrounds?
- Setting and data: Higher education classrooms in the Netherlands and South Africa, early 2025, 107 student reflections across four cohorts.
- Method: Qualitative practitioner reflection across four experimental classroom sessions with student reflections.
Why it matters
Little is known about best approaches to learning with AI. Educators guiding students who encounter coding tools for the first time cannot wait for definitive answers as the ground moves beneath them.
Key findings
- Students across all cohorts viewed AI tools as collaborative partners, likening themselves to conductors directing an orchestra rather than expressing fear of replacement.
- Non-technical students in journalism and marketing felt the tools made IT product development accessible, shifting their focus toward evaluating rather than memorizing code syntax.
- The primary bottleneck for students was computer setup and file plumbing rather than formulating prompts or expressing intent to the AI tool.
Summary drafted with AI from the full paper and may contain errors. See the full paper for details.
What is the application?
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Study design
