This study seeks to identify the challenges many adult Distance Education students face when learning program-ming. It reviews the literature on strategies intended to address these challenges, focusing on approaches that aim to stimulate the motivation of these students. This systematic mapping study aims to (1) identify the main challenges faced by students when learning programming in Distance Education, specifically those that may have a direct influence on their motivation to continue learning, and (2) investigate the specific characteristics of Distance Education environments that have a positive influence on students' motivation in learning programming, also addressing the pedagogical strategies that guided these investigations. To achieve these objectives, two research questions were used: (RQl) What are the main challenges faced by students when learning programming in Distance Education environments? and (RQ2) What specific characteristics of Distance Education environments can positively influence students' motivation in learning program-ming? This systematic mapping study followed the SEGRESS guidelines. The primary studies were obtained from databases by searching for keywords, focusing on papers published between 2018 and 2023. So, 18 papers were selected that highlighted challenges, such as difficulty in understanding and developing specific skills in the field of Programming, challenges related to the infrastructure available to study, social and emotional aspects, difficulties in defining and following learning strategies, and inefficient teaching support. The strategies adopted in these papers point to technological resources that include adaptive technologies, gamification, personalized feedback, tools that allow the adoption of autonomy and learning management strategies, support for collaboration between peers, social feedback and programming practices using remote laboratories, and flexible environments (text or graphics). This study presents students' challenges and highlights the importance of strategies that pro-mote student motivation and positively impact their performance and retention.

This research-to-practice full paper looks into how first-year students at a Portuguese higher education institution respond to a Basic Informatic Skills tool. This instrument is used to help the industry better understand the students' preparedness and the domain of critical skills for success in Information Technology (IT) specialized workers. As this instrument has a set of questions regarding mathematical knowledge, problem-solving ability, and logical reasoning, and we believe solid mathematical preparation is essential to succeeding in a computer engineering degree program and career, we applied it to determine how well-prepared students are in mathematics skills at the entrance of a computer engineering degree. The test measures six subscales to identify critical competencies in IT: verbal comprehension, numerical aptitude, attention and resistance to monotony, logical reasoning, coding analysis capacity, and diagrammatic reasoning. In general, the student's verbal, numerical, numbers series and code skills of the used instrument (Basic Informatic Skills) were reasonable. Only the attention scale was worse, and the diagram capacity was better. There were only slight gender differences in the average coding and diagrammatic reasoning abilities. Aside from a slight correlation with numerical skills, age did not significantly correlate with any skills. We also determined the correlation among the instrument's several scales and several mathematical subjects, but no correlations were found. This study promoted reflections on the background of students entering a higher computer engineering degree in relation to mathematically based skills considered fundamental for any engineering course. These aspects lead to considering the effort that must be made in the teaching provided to fill these gaps so that students can achieve academic success with a set of curricular units and ultimately prepare them for the marketplace.

This research-to-practice paper describes a study of motivational factors in introductory programming learning. Learning to program is challenging, as students need to develop multiple skills and competencies. Motivation drives students to confront complex challenges, persevere despite obstacles, and continuously strive for improvement. However, motivation is a complex interplay of internal and external factors. Analyzing the factors that can stimulate student motivation is essential for educators when planning and implementing learning activities and contexts. Therefore, we conducted a study to a) identify factors influencing the motivation of programming students and b) analyze the evolution of students' motivation during the different phases of a programming course. The study involved 137 students enrolled in a Programming I course at a Macao higher education institution. It used the motivation section of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), which comprises 31 statements grouped into six components (Intrinsic Goal Orientation (IGO), Extrinsic Goal Orientation (EGO), Value of Activity (VAT), Control of Learning (COL), Learning Self-Efficacy (LSE), and Test Anxiety (TAX)). These components can be organized into three factors (Value Components, Expectancy Components, and Affective Components). The students were asked to answer the questionnaire in three different moments: the initial phase of the course (3–4 weeks after its start), after knowing the results of the mid-term exam, and at the end of the course. For the analysis, only the answers of the 92 students who completed the questionnaire in the three phases were considered. We applied Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to identify the evolution of the different components and factors during the course. Based on this analysis, it is possible to highlight significant variations between the various phases of the study, especially concerning the factor of Value Components. In Phase 1, participants expressed a more positive perception of the importance of the course contents, as evidenced by the VAT component. In Phase 2, a change in focus was noticed, with the prioritization of obtaining a good grade, as reflected by the EGO component. Finally, in Phase 3, there was again a reorientation of value components, with students demonstrating appreciation for the course topic, as indicated again by the VAT component. Given these results, it is possible to conclude that changes occurred in the different phases of the study, suggesting an evolutionary dynamic in the interests of participants over time.

Learning programming is a multifaceted process shaped by diverse factors, including effectively utilizing self-regulation of learning (SRL) skills. However, students frequently require a certain level of support to effectively engage in SRL, prompting a question regarding the optimal means of providing such assistance. The current literature is limited in identifying which types of support are most effective, and it's also noted that some students do not benefit from its usage. The underlying causes remain underexplored, and a deeper understanding of this phenomenon can offer insights into improving the design of regulatory support. This research is situated within this scope and was guided by the following research questions: RQ1) How does the use of self-regulation of learning support differ among students with high and low-performance levels? RQ2) How do students use and evaluate the self-regulation of learning support? Fifty-four students enrolled in an online introductory programming course participated in this investigation. The findings indicate that higher-performance students made more extensive use of the provided regulatory support, implying the potential utilization of this resource as a learning aid. Simultaneously, it's noted that some students either avoided or utilized this support to a lesser extent, underscoring that the mere provision of resources is insufficient for their effective usage. A qualitative analysis revealed some factors that might have influenced this behavior.

Programming is a fundamental part of informatics engineering curriculum, but it is often problematic. Mathematical knowledge is very important for programming and there are studies evidencing some relationship between programming skills and experience in mathematics. In this exploratory study, developed in Coimbra Institute of Engineering, we observed an high rate of abstention from evaluations and, from students that performed evaluation, most of them have similar results on both curricular units. This relationship forces us to pay particular attention to the Differential and Integral Calculus curricular unit integrated in the curriculum of informatics engineering degrees, which also shows high failure rates. This justifies an intervention in terms of complementary actions, to allow the development of competencies in terms of logical reasoning and problem solving, competencies evidenced as necessary to learn programming.

More and more students are reaching higher education courses with deficiencies in terms of mathematical knowledge. These deficits are reflected in various curricular units. In this paper we report the studies that have been developed to solve the problems in Differential and Integral Calculus. Thus, a physical support centre and a virtual platform were created. Students attending the first one were submitted to a specific diagnostic test in order to detect their difficulties and thus to be able to develop appropriate and personalized activities in that centre, under the supervision of a mathematical specialist. At the physical space, students can develop similar activities, but autonomously and without supervision. In this platform, the contents are made available according to the students' learning preferences and their cognitive and affective level. Accessibility aspects were also implemented so that any student with any type of impairment could use the platform.

Self-regulation of learning (SRL) is considered a vital skill in education, empowering students to control their learning process across multiple subjects. However, students often lack SRL abilities, which might impact their academic performance. One strategy to mitigate this problem is supporting students to assist their regulatory processes. Despite positive results in other subjects, how this support influences programming learning still needs further evidence. This study aims to contribute to this field by examining how the provision of SRL support influences students' programming performance and code development. The following research questions were established: RQ1) How does the programming performance of the group that received SRL support compare to that of the control group without support? RQ2) Do students receiving SRL support commit fewer programming errors than the control group without support? RQ3) Do students receiving SRL support maintain a more consistent learning routine than the control group without support? RQ4) What is the relationship between SRL abilities, programming performance, error commitment, and learning routine? To achieve this objective, a single-blind randomized experiment was conducted, and students were grouped into two experimental conditions, one receiving SRL support and a control group without support. Forty-nine students enrolled in an online introductory programming course participated in this study. The findings revealed that students who received SRL support achieved superior course grades, highlighting the benefit of this type of intervention. At the same time, the influence of SRL support and SRL abilities on programming error commitment is still unclear. Possibilities for future research to expand knowledge about the influence of SRL on code develonment are discussed.

This Research Full Paper presents a collection of evidences about the association between self-regulation variables and programming learning. Researchers have been investigating this thematic and despite the apparent benefits, it is necessary to summarize the published evidence and provide a new collection of them, which this study seeks to contribute. An observational investigation was performed in two countries with fifty-nine students, who had their SRL and programming learning metrics collected and correlated. Moreover, a systematic literature review was also conducted, and the existing evidence summarized. The results support an association between metacognitive and motivational regulatory strategies with programming learning but do not support for cognitive strategies. Our analysis shows a need for more studies to provide a solid body of knowledge on this thematic.

Programming students often show a reduced level of self-regulation of learning (SRL), which is known to impact their academic success. Interventions can be designed to assist in stimulating SRL, but achieving it is a challenging process for educational stakeholders. In this work, we propose a guideline that aims to support the construction of interventions to foster SRL competence in programming education. The guideline was built upon the collected evidence from a systematic literature review that identified features used to aid effective SRL interventions in the context of programming education. Fifteen studies were analyzed, and the results show the feasibility of several features to support programming learning and SRL development.

One of the reasons for failure in introductory programming subjects may be related to the study methods used by students. The teacher awareness of study attitudes and behaviours may help teachers to provide useful recommendations for their students and also to incorporate them into their strategic pedagogical activities in order to meet students’ study preferences. Therefore, in this study the main objective was to know more about the student’s study methods, namely how, when, how much and with which support materials they study. In this study we used two samples in which the results were slightly different. One of the samples seemed to be more self-regulated in the sense that it seeks more diversified methods and strategies when doubts and difficulties occur and studying more in function of their difficulties. Although it was not possible to obtain correlations in relation to the study methods used and the final results obtained in programming, we could recognize some study attitudes and behaviour trends in students that had better and worse results.

Social dimension plays a crucial role in the learning process. The use of technological resources to stimulate and mediate the interaction between students is known as Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). Despite being widely used in programming education, the summarization of the academic literature about this topic is scarce. To create that body of knowledge, a systematic literature review was performed. The findings provide an understanding of how collaboration is explored in introductory programming, resources used to stimulate them and challenges in the process. Opportunities for future research are discussed, especially related to motivation, self-efficacy and engagement in CSCL, and the exploitation of learning analytics.

A new and emergent field in an educational context is the use of Brain-Computer Interaction (BCI) technology to better understand and promote learning processes. In this context, the idea is to obtain information about the user and deduce his/her mental states (e.g. workload, attention, concentration) through user's electroencephalogram signals (EEG). In future researches, we are interested in understanding the performance of users in tasks involving high cognitive processes such as programming problem solving. The goal would be to find metrics and strategies that are adaptable to each user, looking to increase the success in programming learning. However, this work represents a set of initial works that provides an overview of how brain computer interaction can intersect with issues in the field of education, namely in design and in cognitive attention and concentration processes. The main goal of this study is to analyse several cognitive parameters (Attention, Concentration) of crucial importance for learning, while students do a programming problem solving oriented task activity. For a better characterization of the data, an analysis of the ERD/ERS complex was performed, thus analysing the event synchronization or desynchronization, in order to reflect the activation or inhibition of the cerebral activity during the game and consequently the absorption of information and the capacity of learning. Additionally, five EEG features were extracted, namely the powers of Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta and Gamma bands, as well as, the variability of these bands' energy.

Low performance of nontechnical engineering students in programming courses is a problem that remains unsolved. Over the years, many authors have tried to identify the multiple causes for that failure, but there is unanimity on the fact that motivation is a key factor for the acquisition of knowledge by students. To better understand motivation, a new evaluation strategy has been adopted in a second programming course of a nontechnical degree, consisting of 91 students. The goals of the study were to identify if those students felt more motivated to answer multiple-choice questions in comparison to development questions, and what type of question better allows for testing student knowledge acquisition. Possibilities around the motivational qualities of multiple-choice questions in programming courses will be discussed in light of the results. In conclusion, it seems clear that student performance varies according to the type of question. Our study points out that multiple-choice questions can be seen as a motivational factor for engineering students and it might also be a good way to test acquired programming concepts. Therefore, this type of question could be further explored in the evaluation points.

This Research to Practice Full Paper presents a study proposal with the intent of knowing Scratch potential in Educational Sciences students' training. In this study, we analyse, through different phases, using Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model (KEM), the benefits of Scratch inclusion in Educational Sciences degree and in its students' future professional activities. In this work an action-investigation methodology is used. This investigation will allow to improve the education curriculum at different levels, in a technological way, with impact on the teaching and learning process, involving students and teachers of all levels. In higher education this software has been especially associated with programming and computing disciplines as a tool for motivating students or as a learning facilitator. This work presents not only an innovative approach of the Scratch utilization, the improvement of learning skills and competences of design regarding the production of educational materials, but also its use in a new area - the idea of a programmer-educator concept. This paper also presents a pre-study regarding the necessary skills to the use of Scratch and its use among first level students focusing in their satisfaction and motivation for this software use.

This Research to Practice Full Paper presents a study on the difficulties 46 Biomedical Engineering students show in a particular topic of the first programming course, the loop topic. Students' results in programming courses are often very disappointing and to improve these results it is fundamental to understand the type of difficulties students feel when they are leaning how to program. Most of the researches are too generic and do not report on specific programming topics and we consider important to be more specific. To achieve this purpose we organized a test, using the revised Bloom's Taxonomy, where all of the questions were about the programming loop topic. We did a statistical analysis based on the grades students obtained on each question of the test and we concluded that the approach we followed has clear pedagogical advantages to weaker students, making them more confident and motivated and allows teachers to use adequate strategies to each of the identified students' difficulties. The authors propose, in the next future, a set of visual methodologies to be used with the students, which they expect can contribute to delineate a more motivating teaching strategy in overcoming students' difficulties.

This Research to Practice Full Paper presents a study on student's motivation towards learning to program. Motivation is a key factor in learning. Hence, stimulating student motivation strategies should be present in any pedagogical approach. This is particularly true in courses where a very active student attitude is fundamental. Introductory programming courses in higher education are a good example, which are known to be difficult for many students. To be successful students need to be motivated, as effort and commitment are necessary to overcome the difficulties many of them experience. In our study we analyzed several motivational aspects separately and then we correlated that information with the marks students obtained in introductory programming courses. We used two questionnaires. The Course Interest Survey (CIS) and the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS). We could find some interesting correlations that confirm the importance of different motivational aspects to learning. We found other issues that demand more investigation, in order to create the best context to promote student motivation and learning.

The difficulties faced by students and teachers in learning and teaching introductory programming has been a research issue over the years. Demotivation is common in many novice programming students, who are not able to cope with the natural difficulties associated to programming learning. It is up to the teacher to find strategies to help students and keep them motivated during the course. The objective of our research was to know more about the pedagogical and motivational strategies used by teachers in the author's institutions to promote programming student's motivation and learning. Some time ago we interviewed a few Portuguese teachers with diversified experiences in programming teaching. Recently we had the opportunity to do the same kind of research with Professors from Macao (China). The problems identified, the teachers' motivation to teach programming, the educational and motivational strategies and the student-teacher relationship were specifically addressed. This paper describes the research done, stressing the Macanese teacher's views and relating them with the views previously expressed by their Portuguese colleagues.

Issues related to the failure of mathematics in the teaching of engineering and the negative impact that these difficulties have in various courses in engineering degrees is a problem to which we have devoted our attention and investigation. Most students when entering higher education have insufficient preparation in mathematics. It is further aggravated because of the different areas of knowledge from their background when entering degrees in Engineering. The Mathematics in Engineering Support Center (CeAMatE) is a space intended to monitor students who attend the course of “Differential and Integral Calculus”. It allows the construction of an academic course that promotes the development of students' independent study skills, with the joint responsibility of building their own educational paths. It also facilitates the construction of learning and acquisition of new knowledge through the availability of various activities and resources aimed at overcoming students' difficulties. It also incorporates an e-learning component, adapting to the learning styles and cognitive levels of students. The understanding of the educational pathways made by students who attended CeAMatE and the corresponding academic achievement in “Differential and Integral Calculus” course is a goal of this study. This analysis will permit a better development of a set of suitable mathematical strategies/activities.

High failure and dropout rates are common in higher education institutions with introductory programming courses. Some researchers advocate that sometimes teachers don't use correct methods of assessment and that many students pass in programming without knowing how to program. In this paper authors describe the assessment methodology applied to a first year, first semester, Biomedical Engineering programming course (2015/2016). Students' programming skills were tested by playing a game in the first class, then they were assessed with three tests and a final exam, each with topics the authors considered fundamental for the students to master. A correlation analyses between the different types of tests and exam questions is done, to evaluate the most suitable, for assessing programming knowledge, showing that it is possible to use different question types as a pedagogical strategy, to assess student difficulty levels and programming skills, that help students acquire abstract, reasoning and algorithm thinking in an acceptable level. Also, it is shown that different forms of questions are equivalent to assess equal knowledge and that it is possible to predict the ability of a student to program at an early stage.

The difficulties faced by students and teachers in learning and teaching introductory programming has been a research issue over the years. Programming learning demands effort and motivation. However, demotivation is common in many novice-programming students, who are not able to cope with the natural difficulties associated to programming learning. Since many students lack intrinsic motivation it is up to the teacher to find strategies to help students and keep them motivated during the course. The objective of our research was to know more about the pedagogical and motivational strategies used by teachers in the author's institutions to promote programming student's motivation. So we interviewed teachers with diversified experiences in teaching the first programming course.

Initial programming learning is known to be difficult to many students. To improve this situation it is necessary to support students learning effectively. This means that learning activities should be adapted to each student learning pace and specific needs. This is difficult considering that classes often have a large number of students. The definition of individual learning paths adaptable according to the student performance might help to improve the situation. To support the definition of learning paths it is useful to have a large set of exercises, organized according to a taxonomy that includes different dimensions and parameters relevant to the choice of appropriate exercises at any moment. To present this taxonomy is the main objective of this paper.

High failure rates are common in many programming courses worldwide. Many causes for the learning problems have already been identified and different solutions have been proposed. However, the situation remains mostly unchanged. So, new pedagogical approaches are necessary, looking to create learning contexts that motivate students, increase their involvement with course activities, and maximize their learning possibilities. In this paper we present the changes made in the structure of a non-majors introductory programming course, and discuss the results obtained. We also present the results obtained in the first implementation of the new course structure.

Learning difficulties in introductory programming courses are well known to teachers and students. Although several types of causes for those difficulties can be pointed out, in this work we focused on student related issues, namely their study methods and attitudes towards learning to program. We found a strong correlation between students' results and their personal perceptions of competence during the course. This result raises the need for teachers to consider this issue when devising the pedagogical approaches to use in introductory programming courses.

Many students feel difficulties in programming learning and, consequently, the failure rates in introductory programming courses are frequently high. Some students do not have the necessary commitment, while others do not show a natural ability for programming, which means they need more time to master the necessary knowledge and develop appropriate problem solving skills. Often, class pace is very intensive and many students are simply not able to follow all contents and activities. In order to help students with their studies it would be helpful if they could review classes so that they could clear doubts or take additional notes. Students that miss class for some reason could also take advantage of such possibility. In this paper we present a new system that we developed to record and replay lessons. The system is able to record the voice of the teacher, but also the main visual points of a class: the computer in focus in the class, the blackboard and the classroom environment. This system gives students the opportunity to review any part of a particular class, clear doubts that may have remained, review examples or exercises that may contribute to their programming learning.

Novice students often find it difficult to learn programming. Consequently this leads to high failure and high dropout rates. We must ask ourselves if these problems are caused by specific programming issues or if there are other courses that struggle with the same problem. This paper presents a study that involved Computer Science freshmen. The study tried to evaluate the connection of academic results between the first programming course and other first year courses. Subsequently the idea was to encourage teachers to dialogue about teaching and learning strategies concerning courses where the students' results are related, in order to share problems and solutions. Students were also submitted to a learning style test, in order to identify the influence of its dimensions in the obtained results.

In this paper we describe the main approach used in our institutions' basic programming courses. The difficulties we experienced in these courses led us to develop tools that, in our view, help students. We created and use animation-based algorithm tools, program simulation tools and problem solving collaboration support tools. The integration of these tools, plus the addition of some other new approaches, gives us a powerful environment that provides a higher level of support to our students.