A layered strategy for integrating generative AI into practice-led computer programming education

Recent developments in generative AI (GAI) have made skills in AI-assisted programming essential for graduates. In order to accommodate these changes we have developed a layered strategy to integrate GAI into undergraduate computer programming education while maintaining foundational coding competencies. This paper reflects on our strategy development process via Kolb’s experiential learning reflective framework, drawing on scaffolded learning and constructive alignment. We discuss challenges, stakeholder feedback, and iterative refinements to our framework to offer an insight into the challenging process of integrating GAI into learning and teaching strategy. This contributes a validated, scaffolded framework for GAI integration that balances efficiency with critical skill retention, offering a model for computing education and beyond. This article was published open access under a CC BY licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .