Using the Methodology Problem-Based Learning to Teaching Programming to Freshman Students João Paulo Aires, Simone Bello Kaminski Aires, Maria João Varanda Pereira*, and Luis Manuel Alves Abstract—This work registers the initial results of a teaching strategy implemented with students entering the Algorithms discipline with a higher degree in Computing. This discipline offered to first-year students records cases of dropout and evasion. Thus, it is necessary to implement teaching strategies to provide engagement, interest, and motivation with the subjects worked on. The main objective is apply an active methodology problem-based learning in programming teaching. In this work participated 177 students in the years 2019-2 (47), 2020-1/2020-2 (83), and 2021-2 (47), enrolled in the first period of the course. The methodology adopted for the development of this study consisted of: use of questionnaires to measure prior knowledge about computing concepts; group discussion of the answers recorded in the questionnaire; development of an APP for smartphone; use of the PBL (Problem-based learning) methodology as a learning strategy. It is an activity related to the active teaching and learning methodology of problem-based learning that is being developed on the first day of class in groups of up to five students. The strategy consisted of two actions: 1) answering a questionnaire associating everyday computing elements; and 2) even though the programming concepts were not presented, the groups were challenged to develop a smartphone application. Each group received a questionnaire containing 19 questions divided into four blocks. What can be seen from the completion of this work was the enthusiasm, motivation, and engagement of the students, who, even though they were newcomers, organized themselves into groups and researched the necessary strategies to complete the challenge. When measuring the knowledge obtained through the application of a questionnaire relating to the content (with the participation of 62% of students), it was found that 81% of the participants obtained the necessary grade for approval of that content. Following the strategy of an active methodology of learning and teaching that favors the protagonism and autonomy of the student, we concluded that strategy was benefic for to the students, and the teacher acted as a guide in the teaching process, directing what should be researched to find the solution and serving as a tutor in the resolution of the problem presented. Preliminarily, part of this study was presented at the 2nd International Computer Programming Education Conference. Index Terms—Teaching programming, active methodologies, I. INTRODUCTION Currently, through differentiated teaching methodologies, the educational environment has made progress in students’ success [1]. Additionally, Aires and Pilatti highlight the Manuscript received June 8, 2022; revised September 20, 2022; accepted October 17, 2022. João Paulo Aires and Simone Bello Kaminski Aires are with the Federal University Technology of Parana (UTFPR), Ponta Grossa-PR, Brazil. Maria João Varanda Pereira and Luís Manuel Alves are with the Research Centre in Digitalization and Intelligent Robotics (CeDRI), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, Portugal. *Correspondence: mjoao@ipb.pt (M.J.V.P.) essential elements, from basic education to postgraduate studies, to make this progress possible: 1) people who are enthusiastic about transforming educational processes; 2) school/university management combined with the interests of the community [1]. Several studies point out that the lack of motivation of students, which causes them to drop out or fail in undergraduate courses, is associated with factors inside and outside of the classroom [2, 3]. Among them, the following stand out: the teacher’s teaching and learning methodology; students’ immaturity when entering higher education; and the student’s prior knowledge, which can favor a significant learning outcome [4]. Specifically in computing teaching the authors of [5] report that students usually have learning difficulties “as they need to develop computational skills and thinking” (p. 1). Garcia and Oliveira et al. [6] point out that Computer Science disciplines are characterized by having high failure rates, “as they require logical reasoning and mathematical knowledge”. Additionally highlights that the area has been experiencing constant challenges (and, consequently, problems) [7]. In this scenario, there are teachers investing a lot of time for the content and little time for practical and stimulating activities, generating students who are unmotivated and frustrated with the discipline. This makes “the classroom much more of an environment to be avoided than desired” (p. 233). So, for learning to occur effectively, it is essential that the discipline, whenever possible, implement differentiated teaching methods in order to make the student a protagonist of learning and promote the absorption of the content in an appropriate way [8]. In this way, with the objective of promoting the engagement and motivation of students and consequently expanding the use of the content, it was proposed applying a teaching and learning methodology based on problems. This methodology was used on the first day of class in the Algorithms discipline in an undergraduate course in Computing. It is important to note that, to carry out the activity, no prior knowledge about programming was necessary. Thus, one of the purposes of the study was the application of a differentiated teaching methodology, to make students reflect on basic/elementary concepts of computing, such as operating systems, memory, processing, storage, data types, input, and output, among others. Such knowledge is present in everyday life, especially on smartphones. It is noteworthy that, despite being an experiment carried out in the first week of the discipline, the activity promoted motivation and integration among the students in the class from the first day of class, through the creation of study groups to promote discussion about the problem presented by the teacher. The problem proposed in the work activity allowed it to be related International Journal of Information and Education Technology, Vol. 13, No. 3, March 2023 448 doi: 10.18178/ijiet.2023.13.3.1825 learning innovation, problem-based learning