Use staged problem-solving reflection assignments to build metacognition around LLM use and surface student help-seeking perspectives¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

Add reflection assignments at multiple points in the semester in which students describe their problem-solving and help-seeking process in their own words, including whether and how they used LLMs. The article adds them "in weeks 4, 8, and 13," with prompts evolving from advising a former self to advising future students. TAs graded the reflections, which "stimulated valuable discussions about student perspectives, help-seeking, and LLM use" in weekly instructional team meetings.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• TA or instructor grading capacity so the reflections generate discussion among the instructional team
• Prompts that ask specifically about assistance sources such as Piazza, office hours, and LLMs

Constraints¶

• Analysis of reflections for research purposes requires informed consent and IRB approval

Target Learners¶

• undergraduate programming students

Target Learning Goals¶

• metacognition and self-regulation around LLM use
• awareness of help-seeking strategies
• critical and effective LLM use over time

Affordances¶

• Dura Framework Llm Course Integration

Related Strategies¶

• Strategy Identification & Reflection
• Five-Stage Problem-Solving Model
• Connecting Struggles to Strategies
• Three-part reflective lesson on LLM use: hands-on problem solving with and without LLMs, instruction on LLM internals, and discussion of educational-impacts research

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Margaret Ellis, Nikitha Donekal Chandrashekar, Sehrish Basir Nizamani, Mohammed Farghally, Jake O'Brien, and Naren Ramakrishnan. (2026). Demystify, Use, Reflect, Assess (DURA): An Experience Report on LLM Integration in CS2. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.30908