«Computer Science Education: Some research lines on introductory programming learning»
António MendesUniversity of Coimbra, Portugal
Abstract
This presentation will give an overview about Computer Science Education Research, with a particular focus on the support of introductory programming learning. Within this specific field, the presentation will focus on two subareas, “understanding the student” and “tools to support learning”. A special emphasis will be given to the work developed at the University of Coimbra in the last years. Some open research lines that may be object of collaboration between interested researchers and research groups will also be presented.
Bio
He is Associated Professor with Habilitation at the Departament of Informatics Engineering, Faculty of Sciences and Technologies, University of Coimbra.
He has been responsible for several courses during the years, especially in the fields of introductory programming, both for Informatics Engineering and Design & Multimedia students.
He was also responsible for courses on Multimedia (BSc and MSc levels) and Technologies and Learning (PhD level). He collaborated in the creation of the Master in European Heritage, Digital Media and Information Society (EuroMachs). He is co-author of the book “Fundamentos de Programação em Java”. He his author or co-author of several pedagogical materials to support different courses.
He was responsible for the University of Coimbra participation in several international projects, some of them in the field of Computer Science Education and other on Distance Learning. Coordinated, between 2001 and 2003, the Rede Iberoamericana de Informática Educativa (RIBIE), supported by the CYTED Programme – Ciencia y Tecnologia para el Desarollo. This network integrated representatives of 21 portuguese and Spanish speaking countries in Europe and Latin-America.
