Recycled materials as educational resources for the development of logical-mathematical thinking in primary education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62451/rep.v4i3.203Keywords:
Education, teaching resources, recycling, mathematics instruction, manipulative materialsAbstract
This article analyzes the pedagogical impact of using recycled materials as didactic and manipulative tools in teaching mathematics to first-grade elementary students. The integration of these resources facilitates the transition from concrete to abstract thinking, allowing students to visualize and understand fundamental concepts such as number sense, object classification, patterns, and place value. The research followed a quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental design, as a pre-test was administered before the activities involving the manipulation of recycled materials and a post-test was conducted afterward for evaluation. The areas assessed included counting, problem-solving, as well as sequencing and classification. The results obtained during the implementation showed a significant increase in the level of achievement in mathematical competencies compared to the initial assessment. By observing the direct manipulation of the materials, we also noted an increase in students’ interest and participation in the activities.
References
Alegre, H., Domínguez, E., Landaluce, N., & Pípolo, S. (2018). Materiales didácticos en la enseñanza de la matemática. En N. Sgreccia (Ed.), Procesos de acompañamiento en la formación inicial y continua de profesores en matemática (pp. 153–174). FahrenHouse.
Alsina, C., Burgués, C., & Fortuny, J. M. (1988). Materiales para construir la geometría. Editorial Síntesis. https://www.sintesis.com/libro/materiales-para-construir-la-geometria
Gómez Ordoñez, G. M., & Jaramillo Salinas, G. S. (2022). Uso de material concreto en la enseñanza-aprendizaje de las matemáticas en el subnivel elemental [Trabajo de titulación, Universidad de Cuenca]. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cuenca. https://dspace.ucuenca.edu.ec/
León Apolinario, C. S. (2021). Uso de materiales reciclables como estrategia didáctica en el aprendizaje en el área de lógico matemático en estudiantes del primer grado de primaria de la Institución Educativa N.º 20334-Huaura-2021 [Tesis de maestría, Universidad Nacional José Faustino Sánchez Carrión].
Leon-Gonzalez, J. L., & Barcia-Martinez, R. (2025). Didactics of Geometry for Elementary Schools. Sophia Editions.
Mariaca Peña, E. (2019). Material didáctico y reciclable y el aprendizaje en el área de Matemática en los estudiantes del segundo grado de secundaria en la Institución Educativa Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre [Tesis de maestría, Universidad Nacional de Educación Enrique Guzmán y Valle].
México. Cámara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Unión. (1917). Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Diario Oficial de la Federación. https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/ref/cpeum.htm
México. Secretaría de Educación Pública. (2019). Ley General de Educación. (2019). Diario Oficial de la Federación. https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/ref/lge/LGE_orig_30sep19.pdf
México. Secretaría de Educación Pública. (2022). Plan de estudio para la educación preescolar, primaria y secundaria. SEP. https://educacionbasica.sep.gob.mx/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Plan-de-Estudio-ISBN-ELECTRONICO.pdf
México. Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. (2020). Informe de labores. https://dsiappsdev.semarnat.gob.mx/datos/portal/transparencia/2020/Medio_Ambiente_Segundo_Informe_de_Labores.pdf
Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura. (1980). La educación ambiental: Las grandes orientaciones de la Conferencia de Tbilisi. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000038550_spa
Organización de las Naciones Unidas. (1972). Informe de la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Medio Humano. https://www.dipublico.org/conferencias/mediohumano/A-CONF.48-14-REV.1.pdf
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Linet Malinally Téllez-Hernández, Yessica González-Cristobal

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in Episteme & Praxis agree to the following terms:
1. Copyright
Authors retain unrestricted copyright to their work. Authors grant the journal the right of first publication. To this end, they assign the journal non-exclusive exploitation rights (reproduction, distribution, public communication, and transformation). Authors may enter into additional agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal, provided that acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal is given.
© The authors.
2. License
The articles are published in the journal under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). The terms can be found at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en
This license allows:
- Sharing: Copying and redistributing the material in any medium or format.
- Adapting: Remixing, transforming, and building upon the material.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if any changes were made. You may do this in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses or sponsors your use.
- NonCommercial: You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- ShareAlike: If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your creation under the same license as the original work.
There are no additional restrictions. You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.







