COMPUTATIONAL THINKING AND STEAM TO IMPROVE CRITICAL READING

Abstract

The objective of the study was to help students at the San Gil Rural Education Center improve their computational and critical thinking skills. It also aims to strengthen their digital skills and talents. For this reason, the course "Critical and Computational Thinking with Scratch and the STEAM Model" was created, available on the Moodle platform. Accordingly, one general objective and four specific objectives were established. The general objective focused on strengthening students’ critical thinking abilities. The specific objectives addressed four key areas: first, identifying strengths and weaknesses in critical reading skills; second, designing a strategy that integrated technological components such as Moodle, Scratch, the STEAM model, and computational thinking to promote critical thinking; third, implementing the strategy by incorporating the aforementioned elements; and finally, evaluating the impact of the implemented strategy and the level of improvement in critical reading competence. The methodology used in this study followed a mixed-methods approach with a correlational scope. This was deemed the most appropriate, as it allowed for practical development within the selected context and aligned with the research objectives. In conclusion, the integration of technological tools through the STEAM model and computational thinking had a positive impact on students, leading to a significant improvement in their critical reading competence.