Método para ensino avançado de programação de computadores para a Educação Básica

Abstract

Computing devices are used every day in many essential services, resulting in a growing dependence on digital technologies. Despite this, in 2023, the UNESCO report highlighted a significant gap, in which only 4% of adults aged 15 or over can write a computer program. This data shows that understanding of programming is still limited compared to the digital scenario. Thus, advanced competitive programming, a mental sport for creating algorithms, can be used as a form of teaching and learning for elementary school students. This work aims to analyze the impact of competitive programming training based on the Uberlândia Olympic Training (TOU) on the development of programming skills in official competitions of the Brazilian Computer Society (SBC), such as the Brazilian Computer Science Olympiad and the OBI Women’s Competition (CF-OBI). The dissemination and recruitment of classes took place in public schools in Uberlândia, with classes adapted using the method developed in this research and ongoing support. The results were analyzed based on the results from OBI2024 and complemented by an opinion poll using the Focus Group method. The results show that 62 students started the training for OBI, 44 finished, and 29 participated in the competition, resulting in a significant increase in the number of participants, with the participation of the female group and students who qualified for the following stages of the competition. Regarding the CF-OBI class, the results were promising, with an increase in the participation of female students and an award in the SBC national ranking at CF-OBI in 2024. This research highlighted the importance of competitive programming to spark the interest of basic education students in the technology area and develop essential skills for the 21st century. And the findings of this research can help scale up programming teaching for basic education throughout Brazil.