Enhancing the learning of programming using Scratcha recommender-systems-based approach in non WEIRD communities

Abstract

In today’s world, there is a growing need for professionals with computer skills in general, and programming in particular. This is so, both in WEIRD contexts and in contexts that are not. WEIRD is an acronym from English (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic Societies) and is used to refer to certain sectors of societies that are ”Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic. The Ecuadorian State makes a high investment in the training of engineering career professionals offered by public universities. In Ecuador, these careers are highly demanded. However, a high student dropout is verified because of basic courses such as Fundamentals of programming in the first levels, with the consequent deficiencies in the performance of the careers. Additionally, the low qualification of students in computer skills indicates that they have not developed their computational thinking skills. In general terms, this situation contributes to the loss of competitiveness of non-WEIRD countries. For this reason, a pedagogical tool was introduced in teaching that allowed motivating programming learning, reducing dropout and improving academic performance in introductory programming courses at the university level. We present empirical evidence of the positive impact of Scratch on the Fundamentals of Programming courses. The use of this pedagogical tool allowed students to develop the concepts of programming logic and the use of basic control structures. Students who used Scratch scored better, reduced the number of suspensions and dropouts, and students were encouraged to enjoy the subject. On the other hand, when developing the exercises with Scratch in combination with the CARAMBA recommendation system, students were motivated to autonomous learning. The use of CARAMBA showed a positive correlation with the chances of success in the course. Specifically, > 52% success, whose result is 8% higher than the use of Scratch alone (without recommendations) and 21% higher than traditional education (without Scratch). The Scratch + CARAMBA tools were scaled to a school environment in non-WEIR contexts for programming learning. The post-application evaluation of the instrument indicated increases in exam scores in all grades analyzed. It should be noted that there was an average increase of 32% in the afternoon sections compared to the morning sections. This work opens a line of future research by bringing a pedagogical tool to different educational environments. The results allow us to propose improvements in CARAMBA’s recommendations, especially regarding the variables of usability, interactivity, language and pedagogical aspects. CARAMBA functionality should incorporate educational data mining tools that allow learning models based on the profile of the students. Another aspect that we intend to address is the scalability of the system in order to adapt it to other study scenarios with more users and number of exercises.