Kesulitan Belajar Pemrograman dan Strategi Pembelajaran untuk Meningkatkan Pemahaman Mahasiswa: Tinjauan Literatur

Programming is a key competency in computer science education, but the process of learning it often poses a challenge for students, particularly in courses on basic programming, algorithms, and object-oriented programming. This article aims to summarize the types of difficulties students face when learning programming in higher education as well as the learning strategies reported in previous research. The study was conducted through a directed narrative literature review of journal articles discussing programming difficulties, active learning, blended learning, debugging, formative assessment, learning analytics, pair programming, and artificial intelligence support. Sources were selected based on their relevance to the higher education context, the availability of metadata and abstracts on publishers’ websites, and their relevance to the study’s focus. The synthesis indicates that students’ difficulties are not only related to programming language syntax but also to conceptual understanding, the formation of mental models regarding program execution, problem-solving, coding, and the management of self-directed learning processes. Strategies that may be helpful include gradual and repetitive practice, rapid feedback, formative assessment, active problem-based learning, collaboration, and monitoring of learning progress. AI-based tools can provide assistance and feedback, but they must be used critically because AI outputs are not always correct and can undermine independent thinking if used without guidance this study concludes that programming instruction should combine conceptual explanations, structured practice, reflection on errors, and learning support tailored to students’ needs.