Desafíos de Pensamiento Computacional. Taller para diagnosticar y potenciar habilidades en el ingreso universitario

Computational Thinking (CT) has established itself as a key strategy for problem-solving, particularly in fields related to Computer Science. In this context, a disciplinary workshop was developed for incoming students of the Department of Computer Science at the National University of San Luis, aimed at diagnosing the initial state of CT skills and assessing their evolution, anticipating their performance in the first semester courses. The development of Computational Thinking (CT) skills is crucial in introductory Computer Science courses. In 2023, as part of line 3 of the PROICO 03/2720 research project, a disciplinary workshop was proposed to the Department of Computer Science for incoming students to evaluate CT skills. The workshop was conducted virtually and organized into three stages: an initial challenge to assess baseline skills, a synchronous meeting to share results and analyze strategies, and a final challenge to measure progress made. The results indicated that 44% of the students answered between 4 and 5 questions correctly in the initial challenge, while this percentage increased to 54.29% in the final challenge, showing significant improvement. Evaluation and analysis skills were the most developed by the students, while the skill of Generalization presented greater challenges in both assessments. The results showed that 44% of the students obtained between 4 and 5 correct answers in the initial challenge, while in the final challenge, this percentage rose to 54.29%, indicating significant improvements in the assessed skills. The evaluation skill was the most dominant, while the Generalization skill faced greater difficulties in stages 1 and 3.