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Revista Iberoamericana de la Educación, Vol - 8 No. 4, October - December 2024
e-ISSN: 2737-632x
Pgs 12-23
* Master's Degree in Education,
mention in Educational Technology
and Innovation, Ministry of
Education.
miossiotti.arias@educacion.gob.ec
https://orcid.org/0000 - 0002 - 1849 -
9554
* Mater Universitario en Formación
Internacional Especializada del
Profesorado, Especialidad en Lengua
y Literatura, Ministry of Education
maritza.santos@educacion.gob.ec
https://orcid.org/0009 - 0003 - 6433 -
9900
* Bachelor of Science in Basic
Education, Ministry of Education
jessenia.quintana@educacion.gob.ec
https://orcid.org/0009 - 0008 - 8556 -
0555
* Master's Degree in Educational
Management, mention in
Organization, Direction and
Innovation of Educational Centers,
Ministry of Education.
jaquelinequintana1991@hotmail.es
https://orcid.org/0009 - 0006 - 0237 -
6134
Received: June, 2024
Approved: September, 2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31876/
ie.v8i12.278
http://www.revista-
iberoamericana.org/index.
php/es
How to cite:
Arias, J., Santos, M.,
Quintana, J., Quintana, F.
(2024) Digital educational
resources in the development
of mathematical logical
thinking in Middle Basic
Education students. Revista
Iberoamericana De
educación, 8 (4).
Digital educational resources in the
development of mathematical logical
thinking in middle school students
Recursos educativos digitales en el desarrollo del pensamiento lógico
matemático en estudiantes de Educación Básica Media
Recursos educativos digitais no desenvolvimento do raciocínio lógico
matemático em alunos do Ensino Básico Secundário
Jessica Miossiotti Arias Tigrero*
Maritza Leonor Santos Santos*
Jessenia Estefanía Quintana Espinoza*
Florinda Jaqueline Quintana Espinoza*
Abstract
This article "Digital Educational Resources in the development of
mathematical logical thinking in high school students" arises from
the scientific problem: how do digital educational resources
contribute in the development of mathematical logical thinking? The
main objective is to analyze the importance of the contribution of
digital educational resources in the development of mathematical
logical thinking in high school students of the following educational
institutions: Mariscal Sucre, Coronel Olmedo Alfaro and José María
Velasco Ibarra. The research is descriptive with a mixed approach;
for the development of the research techniques and instruments were
used, where interviews and surveys were recorded, in addition, the
difficulties presented by students in the development of mathematical
logical thinking were detected, therefore, as an alternative solution to
the problem, the guide of digital educational resources for
strengthening skills in the subject of mathematics is presented.
Key words: Digital educational resources, development of
mathematical logical thinking, middle school education.
Resumen
El presente artículo “Recursos Educativos Digitales en el desarrollo
del pensamiento lógico matemático en estudiantes de básica media”
surge del problema científico: ¿cómo contribuyen los recursos
educativos digitales en el desarrollo del pensamiento lógico
matemático?, presenta como objetivo principal analizar la
importancia de la contribución de los recursos educativos digitales en
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Digital educational resources in the development of mathematical logical thinking in Middle Basic
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el desarrollo del pensamiento lógico matemático en estudiantes de
básica de las instituciones educativas: Mariscal Sucre, Coronel
Olmedo Alfaro y José María Velasco Ibarra. La investigación es de
tipo descriptiva con un enfoque mixto; para el desarrollo de la
investigación se utilizó las técnicas e instrumentos, donde se
registraron las entrevistas y encuestas, además se detectaron las
dificultades que presentan los estudiantes en el desarrollo del
pensamiento lógico matemático, por tanto, como alternativa de
solución a la problemática, se presenta la guía de recursos educativos
digitales para el fortalecimiento de las habilidades en la asignatura de
matemática.
Palabras clave: Recursos educativos digitales, desarrollo del
pensamiento lógico matemático, educación básica media.
Resumo
Este artigo “Recursos Educacionais Digitais no desenvolvimento do
pensamento lógico matemático em alunos do ensino médio” surge
do problema científico: como os recursos educacionais digitais
contribuem para o desenvolvimento do pensamento lógico
matemático? O objetivo principal é analisar a importância da
contribuição dos recursos educacionais digitais no desenvolvimento
do pensamento lógico matemático em alunos do ensino fundamental
das seguintes instituições de ensino: Mariscal Sucre, Coronel
Olmedo Alfaro e José María Velasco Ibarra. A pesquisa é descritiva
com uma abordagem mista; para o desenvolvimento das técnicas e
instrumentos de pesquisa foram utilizados, onde entrevistas e
pesquisas foram gravadas, além disso, as dificuldades que os alunos
têm no desenvolvimento do pensamento lógico matemático foram
detectadas, portanto, como uma solução alternativa para o problema,
o guia de recursos educacionais digitais para fortalecer as
habilidades na disciplina de matemática é apresentado.
Palavras-chave: Recursos educativos digitais, desenvolvimento do
raciocínio lógico matemático, ensino secundário.
INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, Digital Educational Resources (RED) have become
essential tools in the educational process, facilitating teachers and
students a creative, innovative and participatory learning, as well as
strengthening mathematical skills that allow problem solving more
easily.
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The development of mathematical logical thinking allows students to
be competent and solve problems of everyday life, being
mathematics one of the most important subjects of the common core,
which should be considered essential in the development of learning,
allowing the student to develop more efficiently in the construction
of knowledge in this way enhance their skills.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), education is a fundamental human right
that is firmly linked to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948). However, millions of children are still deprived of
educational opportunities due to a variety of factors. UNESCO
assigns responsibility to each state to fulfill its obligations to quality
education through educational processes that optimize meaningful
learning for all, through a universal, collective commitment of
political will to inclusive and equitable education.
According to the United Nations (UN) (2017) in its report on the
levels of competencies in the area of mathematics qualifies the
statistical data as a learning crisis worldwide in which it is evident
that 9 out of 10 students between 9 and 14 years of age, have
insufficient knowledge in the subject.
For this study, mathematical logical thinking is proposed as the tool
that leads to reasoning and interpretation of problems in the area,
through data processing, deduction and practice for solving
numerical difficulties, through methods and techniques that allow
developing the different skills of the contents of the area of
mathematics and that students are able to demonstrate the skills
acquired in their learning process in all areas of thought.
In Latin America, the difficulties in the development of mathematics
are focused on the shortcomings of certain strategies and
methodologies that teachers use, so the reform of school mathematics
curricula is projected to support the cultural and social progress of
Latin America and the Caribbean, educational reforms consist of
changing the conception of mathematics and logical thinking skills
according to CIAEM report (Ruiz, 2014).
According to the previous paragraph, curricular innovations are a
perspective that challenges the educational system to achieve a
change, that adapts and adjusts to the new technological era with the
application and management of digital educational resources that will
contribute in the mathematical logical development, to achieve
significant learning that will allow the student to have access to new
tools and thus strengthen their educational process.
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Mathematical skills should be achieved at a basic level of
competence, which includes carrying out arithmetic procedures
through the interpretation and recognition of situations or problems
that promote logical reasoning. In Ecuador according to the results of
the Instituto Nacional e Evaluación (INEVAL), through the last PISA
International test, the country has the lowest scores in the area of
mathematics with 29% in acquired skills, that is, they do not achieve
the learning levels, this problematic leads to a reflection on the
educational model and the need for reform (INEVAL, 2018).
In the educational institutions of the rural communities of Canton
Santa Elena, the students of the middle school level, present
difficulties in solving problems of mathematical logical reasoning,
which have been evidenced by diagnostic tests, in the process of
developing an activity in classes and in the last report cards of the
students of the middle school sub-level,Its causes are also due to the
limited access to digital educational resources for both students and
teachers, this causes educators to teach their classes in a traditional
way, with printed educational resources generating in students little
interest and lack of motivation in the teaching-learning process.
Among the main causes it can be established that the educational
institutions in which the research was carried out are located in rural
areas of difficult access, in addition to the limited assignment of
teachers in the area of mathematics, who do not develop appropriate
strategies in the construction of knowledge, generating that students
are served with a deficit of specialized teachers and inexperienced in
handling RED, resulting in shortcomings in the teaching-learning
process, specifically in the logical mathematical thinking of the
students.
At this point of the problem, the need for innovation in education
should be emphasized, leaving aside traditionalism, resistance to
change, the spontaneous rejection of technological instruments in the
classroom by educators and focusing on an educational, didactic and
interactive process that develops digital skills in the development of
mathematical logical thinking.
How do digital educational resources contribute to the development
of mathematical logical thinking?
In the current educational context, the use of digital educational
resources has become essential tools for the different activities
performed by human beings to solve problems of daily life, creating
the development of a technological and innovative culture for both
students and teachers. This reality requires the development of
technological competencies in all members of the educational
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community that allows them to challenge and overcome the different
situations that can be generated in the educational field.
Through the research work, it will be possible to facilitate tools that
allow motivating students, as well as providing digital educational
resources to teachers, who through this contribution will be able to
adapt an educational process that provides ease of understanding to
their students to work and reinforce their knowledge, overcoming the
difficulties that have been presented by the complexity of the
development of mathematical logical thinking in educational
institutions.
The general objective of this research is: To analyze the importance
of the contribution of digital educational resources in the
development of mathematical logical thinking.
The specific objectives are:
- To substantiate the contribution of digital educational
resources in the development of mathematical logical
thinking.
- Diagnose the usefulness of digital educational resources for
the development of mathematical logical thinking.
- Develop a guide of digital resources for mathematical logical
thinking.
Digital educational resources (RED) are the technological tools used
by teachers inside and outside the classroom, and whose objective is
that students can through these resources, acquire new knowledge or
significant learning that raise their intellectual level and are
protagonists of the educational process; however, due to the lack of
internet access mainly in rural areas and the lack of training of some
teachers, this has not been able to be consolidated at the educational
level, as stated by Diaz (2018) in his work:
"An educational digital resource is any type of information that is
organized in a digital format, that is, it is organized to be used directly
on a computer by the teacher, the student or any member of the
educational community; unfortunately it has not been given the
proper use as a tool for learning despite being easily accessible, so it
is necessary to consciously reflect on its use in the classroom" (p. 45).
As mentioned by the author, the importance of RED facilitates the
teacher to organize the activities that are directed towards the
students, making use of tools that allow easy access to information
and reflection of content in the classroom.
According to Sulmont (2005), digital educational resources are
vehicles and inputs of content for the student in the process of
knowledge construction; in this sense, they are instruments of content
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mediatization. Therefore, their design requires a rigorous work on the
instructional and documentary level, i.e., digital educational
resources must have a clear structure, elements of information
classification and guidelines that facilitate the student to develop
search, relationship and critical skills on the content (p. 6).
Digital educational resources are characterized by being focused on
the improvement of educational processes so that teaching-learning
is more effective and allows to inquire more easily in the broad
knowledge, in addition to correctly guide students so that they can
take better advantage of the benefits offered by technology and avoid
risks or dangers due to its misuse.
The characteristics of the REDs are as follows:
Innovative. - One of the characteristics of digital educational
resources is that, thanks to the use of technology, they are innovative
and dynamic that, being known by teachers, can contribute to more
meaningful learning in all areas of knowledge, even with greater
emphasis, where there are greater learning problems so that
classrooms are transformed into true virtual learning environments.
They facilitate access to information. - Another characteristic of RED
is that it facilitates access to information that is of great importance
and relevance for all members of the educational community
(directors, teachers, parents and students), who are committed to
improving the learning process, each one from their respective
positions, acting with responsibility and conviction in favor of
education.
Open Educational Resources (OER) refers to free and freely
available interactive educational resources on the World Wide Web
(such as software, text, audio, video, and multimedia, among others),
which have autonomous approvals for the production, distribution
and use of such materials for the benefit of the worldwide educational
community; exclusively for use by experts and students of various
educational levels. Multimedia diversity. - Digital educational
resources have a diversity of elements that should be used in the
educational environment, since they favor the learning of students in
a visual and auditory way through images, videos and different types
of documents, as well as digital platforms and interactive programs
that allow a more dynamic learning and according to the demands of
today's society.
Open Educational Resources (OER) refers to free and freely
available interactive educational resources on the World Wide Web
(such as software, text, audio, video, and multimedia, among others),
which have autonomous approvals for the production, distribution
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and use of such materials for the benefit of the worldwide educational
community; exclusively for use by experts and students of various
educational levels. Multimedia diversity. - Digital educational
resources have a diversity of elements that should be used in the
educational environment, since they favor the learning of students in
a visual and auditory way through images, videos and different types
of documents, as well as digital platforms and interactive programs
that allow a more dynamic learning and according to the demands of
today's society.
Technology through digital educational resources seeks to make
educational processes more attractive to become a strength within the
social system, considering that education favors the development of
societies, and at the same time reflecting that without quality
education it is impossible to think of social progress. The REDs are
available to all those users with Internet connection, however, the
reality at provincial and national level is very different, since there
are several sectors where there is no access to the Internet. Among
the many advantages of the RED, are:
- Develops different skills
- Promotes creative learning
- Create virtual learning environments
- Encourages the spirit of research
Since mathematics is one of the strongest subjects for students, it is
necessary that teachers promote a more interactive learning based on
the use of digital educational resources easily accessible to students
and that contribute to improve the quality of education, in this way
this subject will no longer be considered as the most boring and
perhaps the most complex, where students hardly see a real
application in everyday life. This project seeks to strengthen
mathematical logical thinking in middle school students (fifth, sixth
and seventh grade) with digital educational resources, which are
detailed below:
- Valgetal
- I love math
- Math Rapid
- Buzzmath
- Math Jump
The importance of digital educational resources lies in the fact that
they are in line with the technological world, offering new
opportunities to teach and learn using audio and video, images,
games, among other elements including ICTs as a fundamental part
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of an innovative educational process that keeps students motivated
during their study hours by having access to a variety of platforms
that allow them to consolidate their knowledge.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This article was conducted in the Sugar Commune of the Province of
Santa Elena in three educational institutions which are: Unidad
Educativa Mariscal Sucre, U. E. Coronel Olmedo Alfaro and U. E.
Vicente Rocafuerte belonging to circuit 4-5 of District 24D01, the
educational institutions offer the following levels: initial,
preparatory, elementary, middle, high, superior, and high school the
research study conducted by the author focused on the activities
developed by teachers of the middle level in the school period (2020-
2021).
Different research works have directed their studies to discover the
importance of the use of open educational resources as an instrument
of reinforcement and interactivity of knowledge of students, with the
forced changes that have been adopted by educational institutions
trying to adapt to the new modalities of learning led by teachers with
digital tools echoing the virtuality, the educational institution in
question is also immersed in these changes whose teachers through
the study conducted have demonstrated different shortcomings in the
management of virtual tools.
The project diagnosed the information on the use of digital
educational resources that have been applied in the educational
institution as part of the teaching-learning process in the development
of mathematical logical thinking in students with instruments that
have allowed obtaining results that have directed to establish an
inclusive proposal for a more equitable work between teachers and
students.
The approach of the research is mixed qualitative and quantitative,
the instrument used is the interview directed to the authority and
teachers while a survey was applied to the students of the different
educational institutions that from their point of view contributed with
very valuable information of the variables digital educational
resources and development of mathematical logical thinking and of
the actions that have given in the management of virtual tools in the
development of the activities of the teachers.
The research is descriptive, it allowed to observe the events and facts
such as the difficulties that teachers have in making use of digital
educational resources in the subject of mathematics in the research
process, and then perform the corresponding analysis directing the
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researcher to characterize the processes that facilitated to evidence
the relevant features of the needs presented by the students in the
development of mathematical logical thinking, this could be verified
through the collection of information that was established with the
interview and surveys that facilitated to draw general conclusions
about all the processes that were investigated.
Through the descriptive research it was possible to summarize the
information obtained from the interviews with teachers and directors
and the survey to students, a general analysis was made and
establishing actions to be implemented as a response to the problem
that was raised in the research on the categories of digital educational
resources and development of mathematical logical thinking of the
educational institutions in question.
The authors Arias, Villasís, & Miranda (2016) define the following
"The study population is a set of cases, defined, limited and
accessible, which will form the reference for the choice of the
sample, and which meets a series of predetermined criteria". (p. 202)
Therefore, the population taken into consideration in the selected
educational institutions were teachers and students corresponding to
the intermediate level (5th, 6th, and 7th) of General Basic Education
who were part of the object of study in the research.
RESULTS
The results obtained from the application of the data collection
instruments applied to teachers, students and directors of the
educational institutions Mariscal Sucre Vicente Rocafuerte and
Coronel Olmedo Alfaro have been transferred to the analysis and
interpretation of results that are represented on the answers obtained
from the participants whose proportions allowed to know widely the
assessment of the answers obtained in the research.
The surveys were evaluated through the tabulation of data with which
the information collected from the students was consolidated, as well
as the interview was categorized and analyzed with the atlas tic tool,
the results of which facilitated the affirmation of the research
problems.
The information gathered was processed by means of the
corresponding analysis of the answers of the interviews and surveys
obtained from the participants, as well as the respective validation of
experts who, from their experience, contributed and approved the
validity of the instruments applied in the research, whose established
parameter was:
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- (S) Sufficiency: The items that evaluate the same component are
sufficient to obtain the measurement of this component.
- (Cl) Clarity: The item is easily understood, i.e., its syntax and
semantics are adequate.
- (Co) Coherence: The item has a logical relationship with the
component it is supposed to inquire about.
- (R) Relevance: The item is essential or important, i.e. it must be
included.
In the student survey, the results obtained showed that 16% of the
participants were close to the category that teachers do manage
digital educational resources, 31% indicated that they do not know,
and 53% of the responses from the interviews were close to the
category that teachers do not manage these resources. This shows that
most of the participants do not handle digital educational resources;
only a small percentage of the interviewees indicated that teachers do
master these resources for learning. This valuable information makes
us understand that it is important the implementation of oriented
activities for teachers in a training that provides resources that can be
used with students, facilitating a more didactic and participatory
access to different tools or platforms that provide actions for the use
of digital educational resources in the classroom.
In the student survey, the responses were classified into categories
grouped as follows: 83% consider that teachers should develop
students' mathematical logical thinking, while 17% mentioned that
they should do so occasionally. Analyzing the answers it can be
clearly observed that almost all the interviewees mention that it is
very important to develop these mathematical activities with
students, so it is important that teachers emphasize activities oriented
to the development of mathematical logical thinking agreeing with
Nieves & Torres (2013) cited by Panchón, Parada, & Chaparro
(2016) emphasized the importance of the development of logical
thinking in students, mainly at early ages, because it is built from
different activities, highlighting the interaction with the environment.
(...) (p. 224)
The results obtained from the survey of teachers, students and
interviews with managers show that teachers have difficulties in the
use of digital tools such as RED, the lack of knowledge and training
in the use of these tools have not allowed them to be used adequately
in the educational process.
Teachers consider it very important to use digital educational
resources as part of learning for the development of mathematical
logical thinking, but indicate that they do not have enough knowledge
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to apply in the classroom with students, in addition, they mention that
they do not have tools or guides that urge them to prepare adequately
on the subject.
Students state that teachers do not make use of technological tools in
learning, or if they do use them, they do so rarely, which shows that
there are many difficulties in preparation and knowledge in the
management of the different technological resources that currently
offer great facilities to develop learning.
CONCLUSIONS
The contribution generated by digital educational resources in the
learning process has been very significant in the activities that
teachers and students have been carrying out as part of the
development of mathematical logical thinking, strengthening
mathematical skills and making use of technological resources as an
innovative and creative tool.
The review of the different bibliographic sources has supported the
importance of Digital Educational Resources and their contribution
to the development of students' mathematical logical thinking by
strengthening students' mathematical skills.
The diagnosis established in the educational institutions Mariscal
Sucre, Coronel Olmedo Alfaro and José María Velasco Ibarra in the
rural sector through the application of different data collection
instruments has allowed us to know the difficulties that teachers have
in the management of Digital Educational Resources that develop the
mathematical skills of students.
Therefore, it is suggested to develop a didactic guide of activities
aimed at teachers to train the management of digital educational
resources and through these tools can make use for activities aimed
at the development of mathematical logic thinking of students in
educational institutions.
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