TEACHING ALGORITHMIC AND CODING IN THE FIRST YEAR OF SCIENCE IN BUKAVU: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

This study aims to assess the state of the art and identify improvement perspectives of the teaching of algorithmics and coding in first-year science at Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2019, reforms were initiated to improve the quality of education, including the merger of the [Biologie-chimie and Mathsphysique] sections into a single scientific section and the adoption of a new educational program. However, no study has yet been conducted to evaluate the applicability of this new program. This study is based on a questionnaire survey, direct observations in the classroom, and an analysis of students' notebooks during the 2022-2023 school year. The quantitative analysis of data collected from teachers from 33 schools offering the scientific section in the city of Bukavu, processed in SPSS, showed that teachers are qualified, and that the reform is applied by the majority of teachers in the city. However, there are still many challenges to be addressed [lack of textbooks, or popularization space, non-contextualization of teaching situations, ...] to perfect this introduction of elements of algorithmics and coding in the Congolese educational system. The originality of this study is to establish a state of the art of the teaching of algorithmics & coding and to identify improvement perspectives.