Development of Living Documents and Experimentation with the Physical World as Strategies for the Retention and Attraction of Undergraduate Students in Programming Courses

Abstract

This article describes the pedagogical strategies planned within the Computer and Systems Engineering program attached to the Faculty of Engineering of the University - before the COVID-19 pandemic, to attract the attention of new students and improve the retention of active students. In attracting new students, promotional activity is created based on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiatives, which target schools through academic events and competitions. In retention, we redesigned digital classrooms from the personalized construction of didactic materials used in the fundamental courses of computer science in engineering programs. In the short term, it would be a collateral benefit for the continuity of operations in the time of the pandemic. With these measures, the program reduced inter-monthly dropouts by 7% and increased the number of students by 77% in a five-year window. © 2021 Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions. All rights reserved.