Design of innovative activities for the development of critical thinking in the area of Language and Literature in ninth-grade students of Upper Basic Education

Abstract

Introduction: This article analyzes the state of critical thinking among ninth-grade students at the “Manuel Benjamín Carrión” Educational Unit in the Yangana parish and proposes innovative activities to strengthen this skill within the Language and Literature curriculum. Using a mixed-methods approach with a descriptive scope and sequential design, a diagnostic test, an observation guide, and a teacher survey were administered. This allowed for the identification of significant limitations in the interpretation of ideas, information evaluation, and argumentation, as well as low participation in active learning methodologies. Based on these results, a proposal was designed consisting of five innovative activities contextualized to the rural environment, integrating strategies such as Problem-Based Learning, debates, creative rewriting, information analysis, and multimodal projects. The proposal was validated by five specialists, who awarded scores above 88% for pedagogical relevance, methodological coherence, clarity of instructions, contextual applicability, and level of innovation. The findings highlight the need to strengthen active teaching practices in Language and Literature and confirm that methodological innovation is a relevant and effective way to enhance critical thinking in rural contexts.