Implementation of ICTs in a University Curriculum for the Development of Math and Critical Reading Skills During COVID-19 Pandemic

This research was developed to determine the effectiveness of using ICT as part of the curriculum of Colombian university students in the areas of mathematics and critical reading during the COVID-19 pandemic. The University Academic Accompaniment Plan (AAP) was aimed at freshmen students whose ICFES test results were below the national average. The study's approach was quantitative, where two semesters were analyzed 2020-I and 2020-II consisting in 189 and 146 surveyed students, respectively. The SPSS version 22 statistical program and the Academic Valuation Software were used, and results were parameterized by two tests a pre-test and post-test. Mann Whitney's U-test was applied to contrast the two semesters, to analyze the effectiveness of each semester, the T-Student test was used for related samples and the Wilcoxon test in cases where there was no normality; finally, an exploratory factorial and reliability analysis was carried out through the Cronbach's alpha statistic to determine how related the questionnaire questions were in terms of quality of service and methodologies. According to the results of this study, it was found that the AAP in the two semesters managed to be statistically effective and the methodologies implemented for the approach and development of skills through ICT in both semesters resulted to be statistically significative, reliable, and adequate. These findings lead to the conclusion that the AAP in mathematics and critical reading was effective for skills development, through the working process in remote access during the COVID-19 pandemic.