iProg: Getting started with Programming: Pilot experiment in two elementary schools

Abstract

The results obtained by the elementary school students in subjects like math and Portuguese mother language have been worrisome during the last few years. There are several reasons for this, but opinions point to the student's inability to solve problems, difficulties in logical reasoning and lack of critical attitude. The Portuguese Ministry of Education proposed in 2015/2016, in extracurricular period, the Getting Started with Programming challenging in primary School activities, with the intention of promoting computational thinking competences in students. Two schools from Coimbra city opted to use Scratch software for the implementation of this project aiming to promote school success in subjects already mentioned. The project, based on the academic curriculum of 4th grade, intends to link the theoretical knowledge with the practical knowledge, promoting the characteristic values of the city of Coimbra. This project implementation resulted in different applications (computer games) created by students, covering the contents of the mentioned subjects, but concretizing these knowledge with the socio-cultural and environmental realities of the city of Coimbra. The following study demonstrates the results obtained in 5 classes in 2015–2016 and six classes in 2016–2017, according to student satisfaction and project evaluation.