Abstract:

During the first years of degree courses, engineers learn to design algorithms and implement them in a programming language in their field. One of the skills that students must acquire in programs that qualify for the construction of algorithms, where software writing is a key and intense part, is the ability to develop reasoning skills in computing, as defined by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) LEARNING (2018).

Computational Reasoning involves focusing only on the important details while ignoring irrelevant information (abstraction), then identifying a complex problem and breaking it into smaller pieces that are easier to manage (decomposition). Each of these smaller problems can be analysed individually in greater depth, identifying similar problems that have been solved before (pattern recognition). Finally, steps can be created to solve each of the subproblems found (algorithms). These skills are equally important and dependent on each other, however, without a defined sequence during the elaboration of computable and viable solutions. According to BBC LEARNING (2018), the elements that Computational Reasoning tends to meet are called the “Four Pillars of Computational Reasoning”, namely: Decomposition, Recognition of Patterns, Abstraction and Algorithms.

In this context, the author shares a study comparing the student's results before Covid-19 and during Covid-19 in Computer Algorithms and Programming (CAP) course of an engineering degree Portuguese program. They aimed to analyse whether it is possible to promote CAP subjects using a distance and online learning approach without losing program quality standards, accredited by several international bodies, such as the accreditation of the American Council of Engineering and Technology (ABET). Thus, the continuous improvement of the course and, consequently, of the program was the great motivation for this study. Due to Covid-19, the forced adaptation of the traditional pedagogical model to the distance or semi-distance format, came to boost and create the conditions to this study, in a real environment, its applicability and its consequences.

The student's result is defined by the global performance average (GPA) of all the assessment tests for that semester, which at CAP is obtained in two ways: first by carrying out group work and a written exam of subjects theoretical and practical. This will provide insight into the implications of an emergency semi-remote teaching period and increase knowledge about the influences of online education on student success in higher education. The results show that the introduction of courses in the semi-remote format can have similar results to the traditional classroom format in return for the additional effort that must be considered in the management, synchronization of work in the same class and in the service to students that it entails.

Keywords:

Online teaching, distance learning, blended learning, pandemic.