Algorithms with points: an undergraduate thesis adapts a virtual environment to gamified programming teaching
Wilker Mesquita de Assunção defended at FCTE/UnB an undergraduate thesis adapting a virtual learning environment to teach algorithms using gamification techniques.
Brasília, 2016
Teaching algorithms is teaching rigor. The problem is that rigor without counterweight is exhausting; without engagement, students let go of the problem at the first obstacle. This imbalance is what Wilker Mesquita de Assunção’s undergraduate thesis, defended in 2016 at FCTE/UnB, attempts to correct — advised by Prof. Sergio Antônio Andrade de Freitas .
The work makes a methodological choice: rather than propose a new environment, it adapts an existing virtual learning environment, adding gamification techniques as a motivation layer. The idea is to leverage the pedagogical infrastructure already in place and build on top of it mechanics that stimulate persistence — points, badges, missions — without letting decoration replace content.
The theme stitches together Gamification and active learning and anticipates, in an academic setting, discussions the community would broaden in later years: how to calibrate game mechanics so that competition does not drain the pedagogical goal. The resulting environment is presented as a proof of concept for future experiments in introductory programming courses.
The full text — written in Portuguese — is available at the UnB Undergraduate Theses Digital Library.
About CEDIS: The Center for Studies, Development, and Innovation in Software (CEDIS), linked to the University of Brasília, researches and develops innovative software solutions with strong presence in Gamification .