Promoting critical thinking in Higher Education through innovative methodological approaches using artificial intelligence

Abstract

This study examined the impact of the combined use of innovative pedagogical methodologies and open-source artificial intelligence tools on strengthening critical thinking in higher education students. Approaches such as project-based learning, flipped classrooms, cooperative learning, and case analysis were implemented to foster logical reasoning, reasoned argumentation, and reflective decision-making. These methodologies were complemented by open-source AI technologies, such as Rasa, used to develop educational chatbots that offered personalized guidance; spaCy and NLTK, used in text analysis to identify argumentative structures; and Scikit-learn with TensorFlow, which enabled the design of adaptive recommendation systems based on student performance. Additionally, interactive environments such as Jupyter Notebook were used to optimize the learning experience and Moodle with artificial intelligence plugins to monitor academic progress in real time. The results showed a significant improvement in students' critical competencies, as well as an increase in their active participation and autonomy. The strategic integration of active methodologies with open-source artificial intelligence tools is an effective way to transform educational processes and promote deeper, more meaningful learning.