Tool, tutor, or crutch?: A grounded theory of cognitive scaffolding and offloading in AI-assisted programming education

The integration of generative AI into programming education has produced a widely reported tension between performance and learning. We distinguish immediate task performance from genuine learning: durable, transferable conceptual understanding and evaluative skill, and examine how AI support shapes learning processes, not merely outcomes. While many studies document improved speed, accuracy, and affect with AI support, questions remain about the quality of underlying learning. We use a construc