Gamificación y pensamiento crítico: Estrategias digitales para la enseñanza de Historia y Geografía

This study analyzes the impact of gamification as a digital strategy for developing critical thinking skills among first- and second-year technical high school students in a school in Milagro, Ecuador. A quasi-experimental design was used with two groups (experimental and control), applying instruments such as a critical thinking test, a student perception questionnaire, and a rubric for evaluating gamified projects. The results reveal significant improvements in critical skills such as inference, deduction, interpretation, and argument evaluation within the experimental group, along with highly positive perceptions of gamification regarding motivation, engagement, perceived usefulness, and enjoyment. Additionally, the gamified projects demonstrated high performance levels in historical analysis, geographical interpretation, creativity, and collaboration. These findings support the integration of gamified dynamics as effective strategies for strengthening critical and meaningful learning in social sciences within technical education.