Pre-Recorded 'Vivas' for Assessing Code Understanding Amidst AI-Assisted Programming

Abstract

The ever-increasing spread of AI-assistance tools into programming workflow presents a pedagogical challenge: assessing whether students possess genuine understanding of code they may not have written themselves. This paper proposes integrating video 'vivas' into programming assessments as a mechanism for validating code comprehension. In this approach, students submit code and recorded explanations in which they discuss their design choices and the logical flow of their code. Although this mechanism cannot fully eliminate misconduct, it reduces the feasibility of submitting AI-generated solutions without engaging with the code. We discuss implementation considerations, marking rubric development aspects, and consider the broader implications of this approach.