Mathematical Thinking and Its Formative Impact in Higher Education: A Bibliometric and Narrative Review
Pensamiento matemático e incidencia formativa en la educación superior: una revisión bibliográfica y narrativa
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https://doi.org/10.69128/isr.v3i3.45Palabras clave:
mathematical thinking, higher education, problem solvingResumen
Mathematical thinking constitutes a complex cognitive capacity whose development extends beyond the acquisition of specific mathematical content. In the context of higher education, its formative impact encompasses cognitive, academic, professional, and research-related dimensions that significantly contribute to the quality of university education. However, the specialized literature indicates that university mathematics instruction continues to prioritize procedural reproduction over the development of reasoning, thereby limiting the formative potential of this discipline.
The aim of this article is to analyze the formative impact of mathematical thinking in higher education through a documentary review of its contributions to learning, problem-solving, critical thinking, and professional training. The methodology combines a bibliometric analysis conducted in Scopus using VOSviewer software with a narrative review of 75 documents selected from an initial corpus of 2,096 records, complemented by academic sources identified through Google Scholar.
The findings reveal that authors such as Schoenfeld, Lithner, Thompson, and Piaget constitute the central theoretical references in the field and that mathematical thinking integrates logical-deductive reasoning, heuristics, and metacognition as fundamental dimensions of university learning. Furthermore, persistent tensions are identified between traditional teaching models and the current educational demands of higher education. It is concluded that strengthening mathematical thinking requires curricular, methodological, and attitudinal transformations supported by up-to-date empirical evidence.
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Derechos de autor 2026 Noelia Céspedez Arce, Ángel Cáceres Janko, Judith Delia Chávez Mamani, Juan Benito Sacari Bejarano
Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial 4.0.
