What are effective instructional methods for teaching high school students using interactive, engaging approaches in the classroom?

Following an established REL Northeast & Islands research protocol, we conducted a search for recent research on effective instructional methods for teaching high school students. We focused on identifying resources that specifically addressed research on interactive, engaging pedagogy. The sources searched included ERIC and other federally funded databases and organizations, academic research databases, and general Internet search engines (For details, please see the methods section at the end of this memo.)

We have not evaluated the quality of references and the resources provided in this response and we offer them only for your reference. Because our search for references is based on the most commonly used resources of research, it is not comprehensive and other relevant references and resources may exist.

Research References

1. Akbar, E., Farooq, R. A., Tabassum, R. (2018). Effect of Fishbowl Activity on the Academic Achievements of Secondary School Students. Bulletin of Education and Research, 40(1), 11-18.
   https://eric.ed.gov/?q=&id=EJ1209697
   From the abstract: “This experimental study was intended to investigate the effect of collaborative learning technique; fishbowl on the academic success of students studying in a secondary school. A pre-test post-test equivalent group design was employed. The objectives of the study were; (i) to explore the effects of collaborative learning technique, fishbowl, on the academic achievement of the students in the subject of Pakistan Studies; (ii) to explore the differences between the scores of both the control and experimental groups on pre-test and post-test. For achieving these objectives, null hypotheses were formulated and tested. The 281284 secondary school students in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa constituted the population of this experimental study. Sixty eight 9th grade students of Government High School No.1, Nowshera Kalan were taken as a sample for the study. These students were divided into two groups - control and experimental - on the bases of pre-test scores. For this purpose, convenience sampling technique was applied. Students in the control group were instructed through conventional learning activities (lecture method) in the classroom, while students in the experimental group were given treatment of collaborative learning. Data were collected through pre-test, and post-test. The statistical techniques; mean, standard deviation, t-test and ANOVA were use in the data analysis process. The major findings were found as under; (1) Collaborative learning activity (fishbowl) improved the academic achievement of participants (2) the retention level of the students who learn collaboratively was better than those who learn through traditional learning methods.”
2. Chatila, H., Al Husseiny, F. (2017). Effect of Cooperative Learning Strategy on Students' Acquisition and Practice of Scientific Skills in Biology. Journal of Education in Science, Environment and Health, 3(1), 88-99.
   https://eric.ed.gov/?q=&id=EJ1125794
   From the abstract: “Recent research findings have shown that cooperative learning improves students' thinking skills as it allows them to communicate actively with each other (Johnson, Johnson and Smith, 2014). Therefore, cooperative learning has been proposed by many educators to be implemented in classrooms to produce lifelong learners and critical thinkers (Lunenburg, 2011). The current study investigates the effect of cooperative learning in Biology classroom, on students' learning and achievement of scientific skills. A convenient sample of 120 students from two grade levels, seven and ten, participated in the study in a private school in Beirut, where biology was taught to each class of the two different grades using two different teaching methods: cooperative learning (experimental group) and individualistic-direct learning (control group). Pre- and post- tests were administrated to both groups of each grade to compare students' achievement particularly in scientific skills items before and after intervention. Results of the study show that cooperative learning has a significant effect on students' achievement in learning and practicing scientific skills in grade ten, however no significant effect was shown in the acquisition of new scientific skills for grade seven students.”
3. Keyes, T. s. (2019) A Qualitative Inquiry: Factors That Promote Classroom Belonging and Engagement among High School Students. School Community Journal, 29(1), 171-200.
   https://eric.ed.gov/?q=&id=EJ1219861
   From the abstract: “The purpose of this study was to explore, using the voices of diverse high school students, the classroom factors that are important for promoting classroom belonging and engagement. Thirty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with tenth grade students about classroom belonging and behavioral engagement in their favorite and least favorite ninth grade classes. Using constructivist grounded theory, an analysis of the interviews points to several established instructional practices teachers utilized to help students perceive an increased sense of classroom belonging and engagement, with specific examples for how these teaching practices impacted high school students. Findings from this study revealed two teacher actions that built students' classroom belonging and behavioral engagement: (1) fostering relationships with and between students and (2) employing teaching practices that encouraged students to participate in the work for the class. These actions were accomplished when teachers worked to build teacher--student trust through honest feedback and listening to students, provided engaging and relevant lessons and activities, instilled classroom management practices that went beyond just dealing with disruptive behavior, created a seating arrangement to facilitate pair and group work, and supported students socially and academically.”
4. Satterfield, D. L. (2019). Is Democratic Learning Possible in a High-Stakes Classroom? Journal of Education and Learning, 8(6), 83-89.
   https://eric.ed.gov/?q=&id=EJ1232909
   From the abstract: “However well-intentioned, standardization and increased testing conflict with theories and research that supports authentic learning and collaboration. Implementing methods to empower and engage students can feel nearly impossible within a high-stake environment. This article discusses the findings of an action research study conducted to explore ways for teachers to engage students to become active participants in both teaching and learning. Students were encouraged to explore a democratic learning environment in which they worked collaboratively to develop lesson plans for social studies that adhered to state requirements. The findings showed a profound shift in perceptions of teaching and learning by students and teacher.”
5. Ãœce, M., Ates, I. (2016). Problem-Based Learning Method: Secondary Education 10th Grade Chemistry Course Mixtures Topic. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 4(12), 30- 35.
   https://eric.ed.gov/?q=s&id=EJ1118138
   From the abstract: “In this research; aim was determining student achievement by comparing problem-based learning method with teacher-centered traditional method of teaching 10th grade chemistry lesson mixtures topic. Pretest-posttest control group research design is implemented. Research sample includes; two classes of (total of 48 students) an Anatolian High School student in 2014-2015 academic year. Treatment took place for 16 hours. Experiment group treated with problem-based learning method, control group was treated with teacher-centered traditional method. Data was conducted with scientific achievement scale and t-test was used to analyse data. Findings showed that there was a significant difference between two groups in favour of students treated with problem-based teaching in terms of scientific achievements in mixtures topic.”

Additional Organizations to Consult

Aurora Institute. https://www.inacol.org
From the website: “The Aurora Institute (formerly iNACOL) is a nonprofit organization with the mission to drive the transformation of education systems and accelerate the advancement of breakthrough policies and practices to ensure high-quality learning for all.”

Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/
From the website: “Edutopia is a trusted source shining a spotlight on what works in education. We show people how they can adopt or adapt best practices, and we tell stories of innovation and continuous learning in the real world.”

National Education Association. https://www.nea.org/
From the website: “Research Spotlight on Best Practices in Education: An NEA Venue for Best Pedagogical Practices. Periodically, NEA highlights professional research on one educational topic. You'll find a brief article on the research, with links to related materials. And a place to make comments or offer suggestions.”

Methods

Keywords and Search Strings

The following keywords and search strings were used to search the reference databases and other sources:

High school pedagogy

Engaging pedagogy high school

Learner engagement

Student centered learning

Proficiency based

Project Based

Differentiated instruction

Authentic learning

Lecture

Cooperative learning

Teaching methods

Student engagement

Databases and Resources

We searched ERIC for relevant resources. ERIC is a free online library of over 1.6 million citations of education research sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences. Additionally, we searched Google.

Reference Search and Selection Criteria

When we were searching and reviewing resources, we considered the following criteria:

Date of the publication: References and resources published for last 5 years, from 2015 to present, were included in the search and review.

Search Priorities of Reference Sources: Search priority is given to study reports, briefs, and other documents that are published and/or reviewed by IES and other federal or federally funded organizations, academic databases, including WWC, ERIC, and NCEE.

Methodology: The following methodological priorities/considerations were given in the review and selection of the references: (a) study types – randomized control trials, quasi experiments, surveys, descriptive data analyses, literature reviews, policy briefs, etc., generally in this order; (b) target population, samples (representativeness of the target population, sample size, volunteered or randomly selected, etc.), study duration, etc.; (c) limitations, generalizability of the findings and conclusions, etc.