Programa de intervención virtual para mejorar los procesos cognitivos en educación infantil

Abstract

The main objective of the research was to use a program of virtual interaction person-computer to develop the Executive Functions, working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control, with the purpose of observing its effects on the Basic Mathematical Skills in students of the third level of the second cycle of Early Childhood Education. The research was developed using a factorial design of repeated measurements with an inter-group factor (control group, paper and pencil group and technology group) and an intra-group factor (pre-test and post-test). The group paper and pencil (n=30) received the same educational intervention as the technology group (n=30), but without technological resources, so it acted as a control of the effect of the technology, and the control group (n=30) did not receive educational intervention, acting as control of the educational intervention. Before and after the educational intervention program, Executive Functions of the students were evaluated through two tasks. With Corsi Task was used to evaluate the working memory and with Task Flanker was used to evaluate the cognitive flexibility and the inhibitory control. In addition, were used to evaluate Basic Mathematical Skills of the students through the Test for the Diagnosis of Basic Competencies in Mathematics (TEDI-MATH). After the implementation of the program, the same instruments were used to assess the effects of the educational intervention on the variables under study. The results showed changes in the variables researched in favour of the technology group and the paper and pencil group. Finally, it should be noted that in addition to the impact that the results may have on the improvement of the cognitive processes researched and their influence on Basic Mathematical Skills, it is considered essential to bet on innovative educational technologies that demonstrate their real contribution to the improvement of the teaching-learning processes, as it is a guarantee that new generations will have better access to knowledge.