Lectura Maestra: Gamified Reading Strategy in Undergraduate Business Education

Abstract

Assigned readings are central to knowledge acquisition in higher education, yet students do not always complete or adequately comprehend them. This study examines Lectura Maestra, a gamified reading strategy developed at Tecnologico de Monterrey for undergraduate business education. The intervention combined five mandatory book-chapter readings, weekly Kahoot challenges, a narrative metaphor inspired by The Queen's Gambit, an individual leaderboard, badge progression, and bonus points linked to cumulative performance. The study was designed as an exploratory comparative classroom study using non-equivalent intact cohorts. Seven course groups taught between 2024 and 2026 documented the instructional development from a final-exam-only approach, to two reading quizzes plus a final exam, and finally to Lectura Maestra. Groups 1-5 were used as descriptive developmental context. The principal statistical comparison involved two different second-semester cohorts enrolled in consecutive modules of the same curricular unit in 2026. Group 6 completed Ideation with Lectura Maestra (n=27), whereas Group 7 completed Prototyping with a final-exam-only approach (n=26). Because the cohorts studied different modules and were not randomly assigned, the comparison was interpreted as exploratory rather than causal. Final examination scores were calculated exclusively from correct answers and excluded the speed-weighted points and bonus points used during the gamified rounds. The Lectura Maestra cohort achieved a higher mean final exam score than the comparison cohort (77.37 versus 67.12), a difference of 10.25 points. Welch's t-test identified a statistically significant difference, t(37.73)=2.67, p=0.011, with a moderate-to-large effect size (Cohen's d=0.74). However, the different subject content and intact-cohort design prevent attributing the difference exclusively to gamification. The findings provide exploratory evidence that a structured gamified reading design may support stronger reading-based academic performance. Lectura Maestra offers a practical model for organizing repeated reading accountability, visible progression, and assessment-linked incentives in undergraduate business education. Further research should replicate the intervention with equivalent course content, multiple instructors, and complementary qualitative and longitudinal measures.