Teaching computer programming based on patterns with activities and collaborative games using concrete materials for high school students

The courses in computing, especially those focused on software development, require many skills of novice students of computer programming. Due to the fact that computer science is a new area for most of novice students, they demonstrate great difficulty in initial courses in this area. They do not have specific skills in computer programming. This work presents the results obtained from the application of a teaching method, for computer programming students of the integrated high school mode, that combines patterns-based programming and games. The games uses concrete materials and collaborative activities based on sports in non-formal spaces. The results show improvements in students´ motivation and in programming abilities. The method proposed in this work takes advantage of analogies between programming logic and games using concrete materials in order to develop programming skills.