Aprendizagem de programação mediada por uma linguagem visual: possibilidade de desenvolvimento do pensamento computacional

Abstract

The present work sought to identify and analyze the forms of mediation made possible by Scratch in the process of teaching programming learning in High School. For this, it took as a guiding question: how does Scratch can mediate programming learning in High School with a view to the development of computational thinking from the Vygotskian theory? The theoretical framework was based on the socio-interactionist theory of Vygotsky (2007), in the concepts of computational thinking and computer programming, aspiring to the formation of citizens for the XXI century, supported by the three dimensions of the Brennan and Resnick framework (2012): computational concepts, practices, and perspectives. The methodological course was delineated by a case study. To create it, an introductory computar programming workshop was organized for first-year students of the Technical High School of a teaching institution in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The corpus consisted of students' reflection books, the programs created by the students to solve each task, the researcher's notes and the post-workshop questionnaire. The analysis of the corpus, in the search to understand and explain the context of the students, acting in the workshop and using Scratch, performed the following steps: tabulation of the data of the pre-workshop questionnaires; submission of programs created by students to solve each task to Dr. Scratch's analysis; analysis by the researcher of the programs created by the students based on the Brennan and Resnick framework; and, joint analysis of the students' notebooks, the researcher's notes and the post-workshop questionnaires, articulating with the results of the previous steps to construct the answer to the research question. The results show that the Scratch environment has the potential to mediate programming learning, providing a friendly, dynamic and motivating environment with m icroworld characteristics. They also indicate that the role of the teacher needs to be resized. Teacher needs to act as a mediator, as suggested by the Vygotskian theory, creating strategies and interventions that have the potential to lead the student to give meaning to the actions developed in the Scratch environment. We can also say, based on the study developed, that in this context, students can develop skills related to computational thinking and interact with autonomy.