Abstract:

In this paper we propose a methodology to teaching introductory computers programming in Secondary Education. In this level, most students have problems to understand and specify in a formal way the exercises and lab assignments that are usually specified in natural language. Moreover, most students are novice programmers and for this reason they have difficulties with creating their algorithms for different kinds of problems. As a consequence of these difficulties, we propose a general methodology to allow students to learn necessary skills or abilities of abstraction in the formalization and resolution of problems. These skills are very important for the success in other related subjects in Secondary Education such as Mathematics or Physics.

In the proposed methodology we explore the combination of teaching of structured programming with object-oriented programming in order to take advantage of the benefits of both paradigms, including the design of activities and mechanisms to improve the skills of formalizing the natural language used in problem specifications. In the implementation of the methodology we use gamification techniques to motivate and reinforce learning.

In the paper we describe and analyze the results of the application of the methodology in small groups of students in Secondary Education courses such as "Video Game Workshop", “Introductory Computer Science", and "Information and Communication Technologies”. A total of 61 students participated in the activities described in the paper. As a main result of these activities, we obtained an improvement in the motivation and learning of the basics of computer programming in Secondary Education, having a positive impact on the teaching-learning process in this context. In the results we provide opinions that we collected from students after completing the course and, finally, we draw our conclusions and summarize the possibilities of adapting the methodology to other subjects and levels of education.

Keywords:

Computer programming, gamification, programming teaching, secondary education, student skills.