Early training in programming: from high school to college

Informatics is recognized as a fundamental discipline in ed- ucation at all levels. Also, it is an indispensable subject for scientific and technical studies. Some abilities connected to informatics learning (com- putational thinking) has being considered to provide ”fundamental skills for everyone”. Programming or, more generally, the ability of solving problems with algorithmic methods is one of these skills. In Italy, many scientific degree courses offer in the first year at least an introductory course in programming. Digital skills and a basic attitude to computa- tional thinking are in general expected. In the present study, conducted at the University of Verona, in the context of the course Programming with laboratory of Applied Mathematics curriculum, we analyze the first period of lessons, when the fundamentals of programming are introduced. Most of the students come from secondary schools, in particular Liceo, a secondary school with emphasis science or humanities, where the role of informatics is in general not central. So an academic course in program- ming can be a difficult task for students. In this paper, we analyze how the ”cultural” background influences the learning of programming and the performance of students.