  Programming skills are rapidly becoming essential for many educational paths
and career opportunities. Yet, for many international students, the traditional
approach to teaching introductory programming courses can be a significant
challenge due to the complexities of the language, the lack of prior
programming knowledge, and the language and cultural barriers. This study
explores how large language models and gamification can scaffold coding
learning and increase Chinese students sense of belonging in introductory
programming courses. In this project, a gamification intelligent tutoring
system was developed to adapt to Chinese international students learning needs
and provides scaffolding to support their success in introductory computer
programming courses.
