Gamificación y pensamiento crítico: una propuesta para el aprendizaje significativo en bachillerato

This pedagogical proposal proposes the implementation of gamification to promote critical and meaningful thinking among high school students at an educational institution in Quito, Ecuador. Among its objectives, it highlights the design of an intervention that uses playful strategies, such as points, badges, and collaborative challenges, which allow for the development of analytical, evaluative, and argumentative skills, promoting the integration of new knowledge into the cognitive structure with applicability to real contexts. Its methodology integrates a mixed quantitative, quasi-experimental design with experimental and control groups and the participation of 60 students and four teachers. For data collection, critical thinking tests, motivation questionnaires, reflection journals, and records from gamified platforms such as Kahoot will be used. It consists of design, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination phases, with inferential and thematic analysis for a triangle of results. The final results report a 28% increase in critical thinking scores in the experimental group and a 35% increase in intrinsic motivation, validated by the increase in metacognitive reflection and collaboration in qualitative data. Finally, the theoretical convergence between gamification, critical thinking, and meaningful learning is discussed, framed within theories such as self-determination and Ausubel's theory, identifying barriers such as inequality in digital access. Thus, this proposal is an adaptable educational innovation with implications for reducing gaps in Andean environments and recommendations for future expansion through new technologies, contributing to critical pedagogies of the 21st century.