Leveraging Adaptive Assessment Techniques to Boost Student Participation and Learning

Abstract

This document summaries a research on the impact of various teaching strategies on academics’ perceptions of student engagement. We developed a survey instrument to measure the frequency of instructional methods—such as lecturing, teacher-led discussion, small‐group activities, and experiential learning— plus the perception of teachers regarding engagement on active‐learning practices, student–staff interactions, and enriching educational experiences. One‐way ANOVAs (and nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis tests where appropriate) were conducted to examine differences in both teaching‐method usage and engagement perceptions by university, faculty experience (≥10 years vs. <10 years), and academic discipline (formal sciences, humanities/social sciences, natural sciences, applied sciences). Results indicate that the adoption of active methodologies varies significantly by institution and discipline, but not by years of teaching experience. Moreover, perceived engagement also differs by university but is consistent across experience levels and disciplines. Importantly, institutions reporting greater use of interactive strategies (e.g., debates, small‐group work) tended to report higher engagement scores, suggesting a positive association between pedagogical interactivity and student participation. This study underscores the value of promoting active teaching practices to enhance student engagement across diverse higher‐education contexts.