EDUCATIONAL GAMIFICATION TO STRENGTHEN THE PATH OF COMPUTATIONAL THINKING IN BASIC AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

Abstract

It is of paramount importance to reconsider the skills children need to understand and influence their environment within an education system that is perpetually caught between tradition and the need for immediate reform. Computational intelligence is not merely a digital skill; it can be used to evaluate, generate, and solve problems in a wide range of areas, including academia and everyday life. This essay examines the potential of gamification, the deliberate incorporation of game-like strategies into educational contexts, in order to assist students in developing these skills from the beginning of their education. The methodology focuses on the ability of challenges, narratives, and immediate feedback to enhance participation and foster skills such as abstraction, pattern recognition, and decision-making, rather than incorporating external games into the curriculum. This concept offers the possibility of including individuals who are usually excluded by conventional methods in Colombia, where significant educational inequalities persist. It is argued that gamification enhances students' computational thinking and transforms classrooms into more contemporary, attractive, and inclusive spaces when implemented with effective pedagogical strategies and high cultural sensitivity. This is based on a meticulous examination of contemporary research and its practical applications. Play is not limited to being a simple recreational activity; it has the capacity to become a transformative, creative, and meaningful approach to instructing individuals on how to interact with and understand their environment.