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Dr Sasha Vassar

Dr Sasha Vassar

Senior Lecturer
Engineering
Computer Science and Engineering

Dr Sasha Vassar is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Computer Science and Engineering at UNSW, with expertise spanning Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Education (PhD, UNSW). Her work sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence and education, with a focus on applying cognitive load theory to improve pedagogy and learning design.

Her current research explores the integration of large language models into educational tools to enhance programming feedback and error explanation. This work received the 2024 Australian Financial Review Higher Education Award for Teaching and Learning Excellence. She has secured competitive grant funding to develop and evaluate pedagogical models for learning in AI-enabled educational environments.

Dr Vassar is the Research Lead for the Day of AI collaboration, where she leads research investigating AI literacy outcomes in school education. She is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an Early Career Academic member of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education.
E-mail
a.vassar@unsw.edu.au
Location
Level 5, School of Computer Science and Engineering
  • Book Chapters | 2025
    Marcus N; Vassar A, 2025, 'UX design guided by cognitive load theory', in Futureshock Happenings in Computer Science, pp. 99 - 117, http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9781032702797-6
    Book Chapters | 2025
    Vassar A, 2025, 'Exploring the integration of design thinking into the engineering discipline', in Futureshock Happenings in Computer Science, pp. 59 - 75, http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9781032702797-4
  • Journal articles | 2024
    Kee S; Valerie IC; Kennedy G; Findlay M; Churches T; Vassar A, 2024, 'Current Challenges in Digital Representation of Variation in Cancer Care', Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 318, pp. 60 - 65, http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/SHTI240892
  • Conference Papers | 2026
    Gonzaga JT; Vassar A; Jiang Y, 2026, 'CS Teaching Assistant Perceptions on LLM-Generated Faded Worked Examples for Feedback Training', in Proceedings of the 57th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V.1, ACM, pp. 407 - 413, presented at SIGCSE TS 2026:The 57th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3770762.3772582
    Conference Papers | 2026
    Lee Solano L; Koutcheme C; Leinonen J; Vassar A; Renzella J, 2026, 'Fine-Tuning Open-Source Models as a Viable Alternative to Proprietary LLMs for Explaining Compiler Messages', in Proceedings of the 57th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V.1, ACM, pp. 617 - 623, presented at SIGCSE TS 2026:The 57th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3770762.3772576
    Conference Papers | 2026
    Tang O; Renzella J; Vassar A, 2026, 'Microcontent in Action: How CS1 Students Use Lecture Snippets to Engage with Fundamental Programming Concepts', in Proceedings of the 57th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V.2, ACM, pp. 1543 - 1544, presented at SIGCSE TS 2026:The 57th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3770761.3777360
    Conference Papers | 2025
    Gonzaga JT; Jiang Y; Vassar A, 2025, 'Empowering CS1 Educators: Enhancing Automated Feedback Instruction with Cognitive Load Theory', in SIGCSE TS 2025 Proceedings of the 56th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, pp. 1461 - 1462, http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3641555.3705171
    Conference Papers | 2025
    Renzella J; Banks N; Vassar A, 2025, 'Building Global AI Literacy: Preparing Teachers for the Future of AI-Driven Classrooms', in Proceedings of the 56th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 2, ACM, pp. 1727 - 1727, presented at SIGCSE TS 2025: The 56th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3641555.3705101
    Conference Papers | 2025
    Renzella J; Vassar A; Solano LL; Taylor A, 2025, 'Compiler-Integrated, Conversational AI for Debugging CS1 Programs', in SIGCSE TS 2025 Proceedings of the 56th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, pp. 994 - 1000, http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3641554.3701827
    Conference Papers | 2024
    Darejeh A, 2024, 'Exploring the Cognitive Load Effects of Diverse Virtual Reality Interaction Methods in Interactive Educational Platforms', Seattle, USA, presented at 23rd IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR) 2024, Seattle, USA, 21 October 2024
    Conference Papers | 2024
    Lee Solano L; Renzella J; Vassar A, 2024, 'DCC Sidekick: Helping Novices Solve Programming Errors Through a Conversational Explanation Interface', in SIGCSE 2024 Proceedings of the 55th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, pp. 1714 - 1715, http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3626253.3635483
    Conference Papers | 2024
    Taylor A; Vassar A; Renzella J; Pearce H, 2024, 'dcc - Help: Transforming the Role of the Compiler by Generating Context-Aware Error Explanations with Large Language Models', in SIGCSE 2024 Proceedings of the 55th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, pp. 1314 - 1320, http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3626252.3630822
    Conference Papers | 2024
    Vassar A; Renzella J; Ross E; Taylor A, 2024, 'Fine-Tuning Large Language Models for Better Programming Error Explanations', in ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3699538.3699581
    Conference Papers | 2023
    Taylor A; Renzella J; Vassar A, 2023, 'Foundations First: Improving C's Viability in Introductory Programming Courses with the Debugging C Compiler', in SIGCSE 2023 Proceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, pp. 346 - 352, http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3545945.3569768
    Preprints | 2023
    Taylor A; Vassar A; Renzella J; Pearce H, 2023, Dcc --help: Generating Context-Aware Compiler Error Explanations with Large Language Models, http://arxiv.org/abs/2308.11873v2
    Conference Papers | 2015
    Vassar A; Prusty G; Marcus N, 2015, 'The Adaptive Virtual Workshop: improving engineering education with the use of online adaptive tutorials', in Research in Engineering Education Symposium (REES2015), Dublin, presented at Research in Engineering Education Symposium (REES2015), Dublin, 13 July 2015 - 15 July 2015, http://dx.doi.org/10.26190/unsworks/25765
    Conference Papers | 2014
    Vassar A; Prusty G; Burton L; Doh J-H; Ford R; James M; Marcus N; Mashiri F; Meyer J; Ojeda R; Uddin M; White T, 2014, 'The Adaptive Virtual Workshop: Maintaining student engagement through an on-line adaptive resource for engineering design education', in Proceedings of the AAEE2014 Conference Wellington, New Zealand, Wellington, presented at Australasian Association for Engineering Education, Wellington, 08 December 2014 - 10 December 2014
    Conference Papers | 2014
    Vassar A; Prusty G; Ford R; Marcus N, 2014, 'The Virtual Design Workshop: AN ONLINE ADAPTIVE RESOURCE FOR TEACHING DESIGN IN ENGINEERING', in Helfert M; Zvacek S; Restivo M; Uhomoibhi J (eds.), Copyright © 2014 SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Barcelona, pp. 452 - 458, presented at 6th International Conference on Computer Supported Education, Barcelona, 01 April 2014 - 03 April 2014

  • Australian Economic Accelerator Ignite Program - $480,000
  • 2025 NVIDIA Academic Grant - Cloud GPU hours
  • Google Award for Inclusion Research Program - $100,000
  • UNSW EFFECT Grant - $30,000
  • UNSW EF Grant - $30,000

2025 UNSW Teaching Excellence Awards for Innovation to Teaching

2025 UNSW Teaching Excellence Awards for Contribution to Student Learning

2024 Australian Financial Review Higher Education Award (Teaching and Learning Excellence): DCC and AI Enhancements Project

2022 UNSW Teaching Excellence Award (Outstanding contribution to Student Wellbeing) 

 

 

My Research Supervision

I currently supervise a number MPhil and PhD students in the areas of Pedagogical Generative AI, and Educational Technology.

My Teaching

COMP1511 - Programming Fundamentals

COMP4431 - Game Design Workshop