PROBLEM ORIENTED PROGRAMMING: AN APPROACH TO TEACH PROGRAMMING TO BEGINNER STUDENTS

Abstract

Traditionally, introductory programming
courses have their scope focused on language syntax and
program coding, postponing the development of problem
specification skills to the forward disciplines of the
curriculum. This strategy goes against the canonical process
of problem solving, in which, firstly, the problem is specified
and later on solved. This paper presents an approach to
teach programming, denominated “Problem Oriented
Programming” that enables beginning students to work with
ill-defined problems and to practice software engineering
activities, such as requirements elicitation and specification.
The proposed approach is based on the principles of the
inverted curriculum, problem-based learning and good
practices on software development. It works accordingly to
the necessities of software industry regarding programming
professionals: ability to deal with ill-defined and complex
problems, to establish communication strategies with clients
and to be autonomous in the knowledge construction
process. The proposed approach is being applied in the
Federal University of Campina Grande.

Index Terms ⎯ Computer Science Education, Programming Learning, Problem Specification, Requirements Elicitation.