Sembrando pensamiento crítico: Estrategias desde la huerta escolar para desarrollar la dimensión interpretación en niños de 6 a 8 años en el colegio Diego Montaña Cuéllar

Abstract

This research was conducted within the context of primary basic education and aimed to strengthen the interpretative dimension of critical thinking in children aged 6 to 8 at Colegio Diego Montaña Cuéllar. The identified problem showed that students experienced difficulties understanding situations in their environment, following instructions, establishing cause-and-effect relationships, and constructing explanations about everyday experiences, which significantly affected their learning processes and understanding of reality. These limitations were associated with traditional teaching practices focused on memorization and content transmission, restricting the development of critical skills from an early age. To address this need, the research proposed the school garden as a contextualized pedagogical strategy based on the principles of critical pedagogy developed by Paulo Freire, recognizing students as active participants who learn through experience, dialogue, and reflection on their context. Methodologically, the study followed a qualitative approach and the classroom action research method, organized into the phases of diagnosis, planning, action, and reflection. First-grade students selected through intentional sampling participated in the study, and instruments such as field journals, pedagogical workshops, and surveys were used for data collection. The results demonstrated significant progress in students’ observation skills, interpretation of situations, formulation of simple explanations, and transfer of learning to different contexts. In addition, the study highlighted the strengthening of environmental awareness and experiential learning through the implementation of the school garden strategy.