Applying recommendation system for developing programming competencies in children from a non-weird context

The information society is part of current life, and algorithmic thinking and programming are relevant for everybody regardless of educational background. Today’s world needs professionals with computing competencies from WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic Societies) and non-WEIRD contexts. Traditional programming languages include syntax barriers that complicate their overall adoption and usefulness for people from a non-WEIRD context. To solve it, block-based programming languages like Scratch permit the development of programming competencies without syntax restrictions in online environments. This article presents empirical evidence of the positive impact of Scratch with the CARAMBA recommendation system for lessons and exercises proposals based on collaborative filtering of personalized learning from students’ experiences. Previous experiences demonstrated that students require assistance in successfully defining sub-competencies and exercises to develop programming competencies by applying Scratch. This work shows the application of Scratch and CARAMBA in a non-WEIRD school context for developing programming competencies. Obtained results show that developing exercises with Scratch and CARAMBA motivated students’ autonomy, and as well, the programming learning application increased exam scores in all the analyzed grades. Those results encourage us to continue using Scratch and CARAMBA for developing programming competencies in similar non-WEIRD contexts.