Introductory Programming Courses: Teachers Conceptions about the Object to be Taught
Ana M. Piccin, Graciela Dora Susana Hadad · 2021
Specialized literature shows evidence that students in introductory courses fail to develop basic programming skills, a circumstance that may contribute, to some extent, to the high early dropout rates in computing degree programs. Efforts to improve the introductory teaching of programming appear unsuccessful. It has been suggested that, in practice, teachers are guided by their opinions and personal theories, leaving aside proven teaching strategies. This paper presents a phenomenographic study, which offers a description of what computer science teachers believe they should teach in introductory programming courses. The study was carried out through a survey and interviews with teachers belonging to universities in a populous metropolitan city. Teachers' beliefs about their students, the discipline of programming, and the knowledge to be taught, were identified and organized. The object to be taught was constructed as a collective conception providing the essence of what teachers think they should teach. The components of the object to be taught, as expressed by the interviewed teachers, were contrasted against the curricula of computing degree programs. This triggered the outline of recommendations for educational management in terms of curricula design, content management, teacher training, and teaching practice. Due to the rigorous method followed in this study, its replication in different regions and with larger samples is easily feasible and highly recommended.