Effects of Class Modality Switches in Teaching Introductory Programming to Humanities Students

Programming courses are increasingly attended around the world by students majoring in different fields, as learning a programming language is often a necessity for graduates of higher education. Social sciences students are among the groups of learners for whom introductory programming courses are offered. Whereas this group of learners might be highly motivated to learn how to write code for the first time, they are often pessimistic regarding their own abilities, and they start the course with a low level of self-confidence. This work in progress describes the author's experience with holding such a course geared towards humanities students. For the first few years, before the Covid-19 pandemic, the course was held in the traditional manner, i.e. in a classroom. In 2020, it had to suddenly be switched to an online format, until, finally, in 2023, it reverted to its face-to-face format. The paper describes the changes in class modality, the ways in which the teacher dealt with the sudden online format, as well as how the students perceived the level of difficulty and the level of enjoyment of taking part in the classes. Empirical observations, along with data gathered through questionnaires administered to students, highlight some of the challenges and the lessons learned during these switches in class modality.