Effectiveness of Digital Textbook (Kognity) on The Mathematical Thinking Skills of Grade 12 Students in Shanghai China

This study explores the impact of digital textbooks, specifically Kognity, on enhancing Mathematical Thinking Skills among Grade 12 students in Shanghai, China. Conducted within International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches – Higher Level class, the research involved 44 students who participated in a Calculus course. A quasi-experimental design was employed, with pretest and posttest assessments comparing the performance of a control group receiving traditional lecture-based instruction and a treatment group utilizing Kognity. The pretest results in the control group showed that 47.62% achieved a grade of 5, while the posttest revealed 47.62% earned a grade of 6. In contrast, the treatment group exhibited remarkable improvement: pretest results showed 30.43% attaining a grade of 6 or higher, compared to 100% in the posttest. Mean pretest scores and standard deviations for the control group were 40.79 and 14.90, respectively, increasing to 60.95 (SD = 11.98) in the posttest. Meanwhile, the treatment group’s mean pretest score of 49.57 (SD = 16.55) improved significantly to 83.77 (SD = 13.72) post-intervention. Statistical analysis revealed highly significant differences, with a calculated t-value of –12.12 (p < 0.001) within the treatment group and –22.82 (p < 0.001) between the groups. These results suggest that integrating Kognity not only enhances students’ problem-solving and abstract reasoning skills but also significantly outperforms traditional methods. However, limitations such as non-randomized sampling, contextual variables, and the absence of long-term retention data are acknowledged. Recommendations include further investigation using randomized trials and longitudinal studies to better understand the broader implications of digital learning tools on mathematics education.