Desafios e oportunidades advindas da experiência da pandemia COVID-19 numa disciplina de programação para iniciantes

Abstract

This research aimed to understand the opportunities, challenges, and lessons arising from the COVID-19 pandemic experience in teaching programming to beginners. The strategy involved following a group of students starting their Computer Science course at a large community university in Porto Alegre (RS) and experiencing the transition from in-person to emergency remote teaching during the pandemic. The study observed how activities and pedagogical practices were adapted and developed to foster Computational Thinking, using a methodological approach that integrated virtual spaces and specific digital resources within the pandemic context. After the return to face-to-face classes, we sent a survey of students who began their course during the pandemic to understand how they perceived this experience. The research adopted a phenomenological paradigm with a qualitative, exploratory approach regarding its objectives. It relied on a case study and collected data through observations and online forms to gather students' opinions. The data analysis used the ATD (Textual Discursive Analysis) method. The results highlight the opportunities and possibilities that emerged from this adaptation, the observed constraints related to technological infrastructure, the lack of remote study habits, and evaluation issues. According to the students' opinions, the legacy of this experience includes positive perspectives on their programming learning process. In the remote context, they could explore quality content made available in the Virtual Learning Environment, organize their studies with a sense of respect for their learning time, experience effective programming practices through group work with peers, and feel supported during the semester amid the pandemic. Evaluating the experience lived during the 2021/1 academic term in 2023, the students realized the significance of remote modalities in specific contexts and how they felt that practical assignments offered more benefits for their learning than traditional exams and assessments. Consequently, this study establishes opportunities for future research related to methodologies and pedagogical strategies applied to programming education, particularly concerning the selection of exercises and problem-solving connected to students' everyday issues, enabling creative programming work.