Educational Transformation Through Technological Innovation: Perceived Effects on Learning Among Life Sciences Students at the ULEAM Pedernales Extension

Abstract

Objective: This study evaluated students’ perceptions of technological and active teaching strategies and examined their association with learning outcomes among Life Sciences students at the ULEAM Pedernales Extension. Background: Technological and active learning strategies, including the flipped classroom, gamification, and experimental project-based learning, are increasingly used to improve student participation, motivation, and academic performance in higher education. However, evidence regarding their application in geographically and institutionally specific contexts in Ecuador remains limited. Methods: A quantitative, exploratory study was conducted among Life Sciences students at the ULEAM Pedernales Extension. From a population of 339 students, a sample of 180 was calculated using the finite-population formula at a 95% confidence level and a 5% margin of error. Data were collected through a 30-item Likert-type questionnaire addressing students’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of innovative and traditional teaching strategies. Descriptive statistics, contingency analysis, a Shapiro–Wilk normality test, and cluster analysis were used to examine response patterns and similarities among teaching strategies. Results: Sixty percent of the students selected “agree” or “strongly agree” regarding the contribution of technological innovation to learning. The reported score distribution departed significantly from normality. The cluster analysis grouped the flipped classroom, gamification, and experimental project-based learning relatively closely, whereas the traditional strategy formed a more distinct group. The flipped classroom produced the highest reported mean score of 9.00, while the traditional strategy produced the lowest mean score of 6.31. Conclusion: Active and technology-supported strategies were associated with more favourable student perceptions and higher reported academic performance than traditional teaching. Nevertheless, the findings should be interpreted as associations rather than definitive causal effects. Further validation using the original student-level dataset is required. Originality/value: The study provides context-specific evidence on the use of active and technology-supported teaching strategies in Life Sciences education at a regional Ecuadorian university extension.