Digital Pedagogical Strategies for the Development of Intertextual Critical Thinking in Reading Comprehension

Abstract

The teaching of reading comprehension at the school level faces significant challenges due to the lack of innovative pedagogical strategies that stimulate intertextual critical thinking in students. In this study, a digital tool based on Web 2.0 was designed and implemented to strengthen critical reading skills in fifth grade students of an educational institution in Montería, Colombia.
Based on a qualitative approach of action research, the study integrated participatory methodologies and the use of educational technologies for the development of reading comprehension skills. The intervention consisted of the application of didactic sequences organized on a digital platform, structured in four key moments: initial diagnosis, development of interactive strategies, implementation of the digital resource and evaluation of the pedagogical impact. The participants were 29 fifth-grade students, who interacted with digital modules focused on the intertextual analysis of various literary and academic genres. Surveys, classroom observations, and qualitative data analysis were used to assess the impact of the digital tool on students' critical analysis and argumentation skills.
The findings show that the use of digital pedagogical strategies increased students' interest, motivation, and argumentative capacity when facing diverse texts. In addition, a significant improvement was observed in the ability to establish intertextual relationships, identify implicit information and formulate critical judgments about the texts read. These results highlight the importance of integrating interactive digital tools in the teaching of reading comprehension, especially for the development of critical thinking in primary education.