Financial Diagnosis Competition: Gamification in Higher Education

Abstract

This study presents an educational research project in the course Financial Diagnosis, integrating gamification, collaborative learning, and peer assessment through an academic tournament inspired by sports competitions. The goal is to promote active participation, collective knowledge building, and the development of transversal competencies.

The methodology developed in this study has been named the Finance Diagnostic Competition (FDC). In this format, student teams compete through oral presentations related to progressively sequenced course content. Each tournament phase corresponds to a thematic unit and is advanced based on the quality of the presentations, which are evaluated by the students themselves using a peer-assessment system weighted by the instructor. The project involved 59 students, organized into 12 groups. The design incorporates mechanisms for feedback, progressive difficulty, and structural adjustments to ensure fairness and inclusion.

The results show a high level of student engagement, improved practical understanding of the content, and a positive perception of the experience as a tool for meaningful learning. The main implication of the project is that the proposed model can be replicated in other courses within the economic–financial field.