Uso de herramientas tecnológicas y metodologías innovadoras como recurso didáctico dinamizador para la enseñanza de las matemáticas y las ciencias experimentales

Résumé

The confluence of multiple transformative advances in the field of information and communication technologies has opened the need for teachers to change their way of teaching, and to stop being the center of the learning process. For this, it is necessary to reflect on the critical aspects associated with the implementation of a new student-centric educational paradigm. However, achieving such transformation implies that teachers take into consideration several aspects of a diverse nature before diving into the transformation process. Regarding this topic, the role of teachers in the adoption of new methodologies, the self-perception of their transformative capacity, and the awareness of the need to innovate based on the subject they teach are still unknown topics. With this context in mind, this thesis focused on the analysis of the critical factors for the implementation of a student-centered educational paradigm shift with an emphasis on technology-driven innovation. To this end, the following objectives were set: i) to analyze the works that develop active methodologies in the teaching of STEM subjects during the basic education and high school stages, ii) to elaborate and validate a questionnaire that allows evaluating the perceptions that teachers have about the use of active methodologies and ICT tools as a form of teaching innovation in the teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects and iii) identify the factors that influence the adoption of active methodologies by teachers of STEM subjects in Ecuador. The methodological process included the methods and instruments required for the execution of systematic reviews, the design of an instrument for gathering information on the teaching work in STEM subjects, and the adjustment of the data collected to a general linear model. Our work was based on the mixed research paradigm and qualitative and quantitative research techniques and instruments were used with a non-experimental design. The systematic literature review technique was used for the quantitative component and the documentary analysis technique for the qualitative approach. As a result, a guide consisting of practical recommendations for STEM teachers on the successful implementation of active learning methodologies was generated. The resulting questionnaire was applied to a sample of 566 high school teachers from educational institutions located in 22 of the 24 provinces of Ecuador, 290 men and 276 women with an average age of 36 years, who taught mainly Mathematics, Physics, Natural Sciences, Biology, and Chemistry, between the upper basic courses and the three levels of Baccalaureate. The collected data were fitted to a Generalized Linear Model (GLM) with Poisson type error distribution and the log function was used as the link function. To verify the relationship between categorical variables, the chi-square test was performed once the statistical assumptions had been verified, and the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis K test was used to search for significant differences in ordinal variables. Among the relevant results of this research, it is evident that the use of active methodologies in different environments and learning contexts is directly related to attitudes, culture, and teachers’ interests. One of the most striking was to verify that the teacher's self-perception as an innovator had a significant impact on the level of technological innovation in the classroom. The incorporation of ICT advances in institutions by themselves does not guarantee the educational quality, but rather requires a comprehensive cultural change in harmony with teachers’ decisions.