GitHub Copilot in Computing Education: A Field Study Dataset

Description
This dataset was generated from a field study conducted to evaluate the integration of the AI pair programmer, GitHub Copilot, into project-based computer science and software engineering curriculums. The primary aim was to assess how undergraduate students perceive and utilize AI-assisted coding tools during a realistic development task, and to measure the tool's impact on their productivity, learning, and final project quality.
Methodology
Participants: 114 senior undergraduate students from Software Engineering and Computer Science programs in Three Universities in Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Task: Participants were tasked with building a static personal portfolio website using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Intervention: GitHub Copilot was used as the primary AI-assisted coding tool within the Visual Studio Code IDE.
Design: The study followed a structured, project-based learning protocol. Students participated in a guided competition to complete the task, adhering to a predefined set of functional and non-functional requirements.
Data Collection: Three streams of data were collected:
Perceptual Survey: A post-task survey using a 5-point Likert scale measured five constructs adapted from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM).
Objective Performance Metrics: Actual project completion time (in hours) and a final project score assessed via a detailed rubric.
Qualitative Feedback: An open-ended question prompted students to describe a critical engagement with an incorrect or suboptimal AI suggestion.

Dataset Description

Column Name; Description; Data Type Allowed Values / Range
No: Unique participant identifier Integer 1-114
Gender: Participant gender String (Nominal) m (Male), f (Female)
Perceived Ease of Use: TAM construct: Ease of using GitHub Copilot Ordinal (Integer) 1 (Strongly Disagree) - 5 (Strongly Agree)
Perceived Code Quality: TAM construct: Belief that Copilot improved output code quality Ordinal (Integer) 1-5
Perceived Time Efficiency: TAM construct: Belief that Copilot saved time Ordinal (Integer) 1-5
Support in Learning Construct: Belief that Copilot aided in learning new concepts Ordinal (Integer) 1-5
Willingness to Recommend: TAM construct: Intention to adopt/recommend the tool Ordinal (Integer) 1-5
Actual Completion time Total project duration in hours: Continuous (Float) 8-15 hours
Final Project Score-Functionality: Rubric sub-score for functional requirements. Continuous (Float) 0-10
Final Project Score-Readability: Rubric sub-score for code structure & readability. Continuous (Float) 0-10
Final Project Score-UI: Rubric sub-score for design & user interface. Continuous (Float) 0-10
Final Project Score-Responsiveness: Rubric sub-score for responsive design. Continuous (Float) 0-10
Final Project Score-Total Overall project score (average of sub-scores): Continuous (Float) 0-10
Critical Engagement: Qualitative response describing a critical interaction with Copilot String (Text) Free-text response