Resumen:El presente artículo muestra los resultados de una investigación orientada a generar y evaluar una propuesta pedagógica que incida positivamente en el nivel de habilidades de pensador crítico de los estudiantes universitarios desde el área de física. Se detectó previamente la ausencia de este tipo de habilidades en los estudiantes de primeros semestres de ingeniería por lo que se propuso generar estrategias pedagógicas que aporten a la solución del asunto. Se diseña una intervención pedagógica basada en teorías sobre enseñanza de habilidades de pensamiento. Se aplica al curso designado como muestra, teniendo un grupo control, y se selecciona la forma más adecuada para medir el nivel de habilidades de pensamiento crítico. Se aplicaron los test al comienzo y al final de la intervención pedagógica, procesando los datos estadísticamente. Los resultados muestran variaciones significativas positivas en algunos de los aspectos evaluados. Palabras clave: educación; pensamiento crítico; habilidades; solución de problemas; intervención pedagógica Development of Basic Skills Critical Thinking in the Context of Teaching of University Physics Abstract:This article shows the results of an investigation oriented to generate and evaluate a pedagogical proposal that positively affects the level of skills as critical thinkers of college students from the area of physics. Detected the absence of such skills in students of first semesters of engineering, it was proposed to generate teaching strategies that contribute to the solution of this matter. An educational intervention based on theories of teaching thinking skills was designed. This was applied to a course designated as the experimental sample, having also a control group, and the most appropriate way for measuring the level of critical thinking skills was selected. Tests at the beginning and end of the educational intervention were applied, the data was statistically processed. The results show significant positive changes in some of the aspects evaluated.

The present article shows the results of a study aimed at evaluating the way in which physics students of first semesters use the thinking skills in problem solving. We speak of pre-knowledge in terms of prior theoretical knowledge of an area of ​​knowledge, in this case it is about identifying pre-knowledge in the case of thinking skills for students who have recently entered higher education. At present, the teaching of thinking skills is considered one of the main characteristics of education for the 21st century. An instrument of ten problems submitted to expert judgment was designed to be applied during the academic semester to the students of electrical physics of two Colombian universities during the years 2016 and 2018.   Are evaluated the categories of description, representation, identification of relationships, use of the mathematical model and  drawing conclusions for each of the problems. The results show statistically a very low starting point in the ability to use such skills, and is in turn a reflection element for the design of effective pedagogical strategies in solving problems in physics in higher education.