In an era marked by rapid technological advancements and evolving educational needs, students require a learning paradigm that fosters intrinsic motivation and cultivates critical thinking and creativity. This approach should equip learners with both disciplinary expertise and essential cross-cutting competencies. The traditional teacher-centered model—where knowledge is primarily delivered through lectures, and students engage with course material mainly through homework assignments outside the classroom—has become increasingly ineffective in meeting the needs of today's learners. In contrast, competency-based learning offers a dynamic, student-centered alternative that actively involves students in their educational journey. Competency-based learning encourages deeper engagement by emphasizing skill development alongside knowledge acquisition and ensures that students acquire the practical competencies necessary for success in an increasingly complex world. This paradigm allows instructors to introduce a variety of challenges throughout the semester, guiding students through foundational and advanced concepts. The primary objective of this paper is to examine the shift from traditional knowledge transfer models to competency-based learning within the context of the computer science curriculum. Additionally, it seeks to assess the impact of this transition on student learning outcomes, particularly concerning the development of technical skills and critical thinking abilities. Through this exploration, the paper aims to highlight the potential benefits and challenges of adopting a competency-based approach in higher education, offering insights into how this model can enhance student preparedness for the demands of the modern workforce.

In undergraduate courses, there is a wide diversity of approaches to teaching various subjects, ranging from the more traditional methods to the utilization of digital media. Students' learning styles and motivational triggers for learning vary from one group to another. It is essential to understand the types of students in order to formulate a strategy that motivates and inspires them to learn effectively. Computer Science students should develop problem-solving skills. To acquire this competency, students must develop algorithmic thinking and not merely understand the syntax of a programming language. The most direct and effective way to obtain this competency is through practice. Students should be motivated by a learning strategy that takes advantage of their potential and enables them to engage in learning through appropriate activities. Gamification is a learning strategy that employs games within the educational environment to enhance student learning, reinforce knowledge, improve skills, or reward specific actions, among other objectives. The gamification strategy aims to motivate students, develop a better commitment in them, and foster the spirit of self-improvement. Under this context, Competitive Programming enablesstudents to engage in problem-solving using advanced programming algorithms, enhancing their skills in amotivational environment. During competitions, they face real problems, realizing the applications of what they have learned, having the possibility to deepen their knowledge because they have to solve a problem in the most efficient way. The specific objective of this study is to use competitive programming as a gamification strategy in computer science groups to enhance problem-solving skills. The study demonstrates a substantial increase in students' motivation and learning. It illustrates that this learning strategy encourages students to learn more effectively in Computer Science courses.

The kind of students that currently arrive in the classroom in this technological age require a learning model that promotes their motivation for learning and thus boosts their creative thinking skills to develop disciplinary and cross-cutting competencies in their courses. It is of utmost importance to provide the students with comprehensive training and improve their competitiveness in their professional field by enhancing the skills of future generations to develop both the transversal and disciplinary competencies required that will allow them to become professionals who face challenges and opportunities in their future lives. Disciplinary competencies are the minimum necessary set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in their disciplinary field for students to perform successfully in different contexts. Traditionally, the evaluation of knowledge is used to evaluate the student's competencies in a course, and it does not usually reflect the degree of achievement of the student's competencies since these evaluations are based on specific topics and not on the acquisition of the competencies that the course should generate. The objective of this study is to design the evaluation criteria for the disciplinary competencies of Computer Science in students, as well as to measure their impact concerning the different subjects of their academic plan.

Average students are satisfied with the learning obtained through the activities indicated in the course program. It is necessary to innovate in the educational process so that students find more meaning in their learning process, incorporating the experience of similar situations in the workplace, motivating a constant improvement and stimulating the development of creative thinking for the solution of problems.Research suggests that when teachers challenge students with problems according to reality, it increases confidence and motivation for learning in them.In the present work, we share the experience of incorporating a “challenge” in the Analysis and Design of Algorithms course, where through the simulation of a job interview of a software development company, students are motivated to work “an extra time”.

Students' current learning styles require consideration in the models that support and promote students' motivation for learning and develop their creative thinking skills. Programming teachers use several strategies to achieve student learning. One of the most promising is teamwork, as it encourages learning about code development and increasing student motivation and confidence.In addition, it is important to support students with adequate tutoring that allows them to find solutions to the problems they face.Research suggests that teamwork for programming courses is an excellent strategy to acquire programming skills since it facilitates knowledge sharing in an effective way among students; nevertheless, teamwork does not guarantee individual learning, so professors must verify individual learning abilities as well.During this study, we exposed the students to solved problems with programming in collaborative exercises. These kinds of activities had the possibility of being divided into small subproblems. Each of these subproblems was solved individually by the team members. After all the parts are correctly solved, they are putting together to solve the global problem, this methodology confirming individual learning in all the collaborative activities in programming courses.

Solve problems through a programming language is a competence that computer science students must dominate. To achieve this competence is essential that, in addition to studying the syntax of a programming language, the students develop their algorithmic thinking; one of the ways to obtain this and probably the most important is through practice. Professors should provide the students with a learning environment that allows them to takes advantage of their potential and motivate them to put into practice what they are learning at the right time with inspiring and challenging exercises that encourage solving them. It is also highly desirable to generate in the students the certitude that they are coding correctly and their solutions solve the exercise they are facing, feeling assured that their work is correct and complete, increasing their interest in learning more. This is when students need to be mentored with timely feedback. It is required that the feedback provided promotes reflection and motivation in the student to create new strategies to improve the solution to the problems that arise. The purpose of this document is to demonstrate that the use of the practice-based learning strategy together with adequate mentoring at the correct time strengthens the competence of student problem-solving.

Learning styles and environments cannot remain the same. Universities are working in designing and implementing strategies for taking advantage of young people’s customs, as a way to encourage them to acquire all the knowledge and skills required to achieve necessary experience to develop in the professional field. Although traditional classrooms have offered many advantages for years, for some aspects, they have ceased to be functional; hence the need to incorporate methodologies that will allow to reach different types of students. This document describes the use of a methodology based on knowledge networks, which will guide the student while studying. This methodology has allowed students to review their courses, self-assess to know if they have acquired the competences or to detect which topic they should reinforce. The professor has the opportunity to put his knowledge and explanations available to the student, as well to monitor the progress of his students in specific parts of their particular knowledge. For the implementation of this methodology, a technological platform was built so that students have the support at the time they need it. The methodology implemented in the platform provides a safe environment that strengthens the student’s initiative to continue learning.