What is the Instructional Move That Closes Gaps and Raises Achievement?
Why Active Learning Matters Now
Active learning shifts classrooms from places where students sit and receive information to environments where they actively think, talk, solve problems, and apply ideas. When implemented well, this approach consistently improves achievement, increases engagement, and narrows long-standing equity gaps. At the same time, it asks schools to rethink core instructional practices: how teachers plan lessons, how learning is assessed, and how classrooms are designed to support student interaction.
What We Mean by Active Learning
Ei360: The Active Learning Advantage
Active learning refers to instructional practices that require students to do the cognitive work of learning during class time. This includes strategies such as structured discussion, collaborative problem solving, case analysis, polling, project-based tasks, and hands-on application of concepts.
Instead of relying primarily on lecture, teachers intentionally design opportunities for students to retrieve prior knowledge, explain their thinking, apply concepts in new contexts, and learn with and from peers. These approaches are often supported by technology, but the core shift is pedagogical: students become active participants in making meaning.
What the Evidence Shows About Achievement
The evidence base for active learning is substantial. A landmark meta-analysis spanning more than 200 undergraduate STEM courses found that students in active learning environments outperformed their peers in traditional lecture settings by nearly half a standard deviation, which is equivalent to roughly a 6% increase in exam performance. Even more striking, students in lecture-based (sit-and-get) courses were 1.5 to nearly 2x more likely to fail.
Subsequent meta-analyses across humanities and social science disciplines report similar results, concluding that active instruction reliably improves assessment outcomes and conceptual understanding. Across fields, the message is the same: when students actively engage with content, learning improves.
Equity and Inclusion Implications
Active learning is not only an instructional improvement strategy; it is also a powerful equity lever. Large-scale analyses using student-level data show that active learning significantly reduces achievement gaps between historically underrepresented students. On average, gaps narrowed by 33% on exams and 45% in course passing rates, with even greater reductions in high-intensity active learning environments.
These outcomes suggest that well-designed active learning creates more inclusive classrooms by offering multiple ways for students to engage, demonstrate understanding, and support one another. For schools focused on equity, access, and opportunity, active learning is increasingly viewed as a core instructional commitment rather than an optional enhancement.
Engagement, Motivation, and the Role of Technology
Research also links active learning to higher student engagement, deeper critical thinking, and stronger long-term retention of learning. Case studies show meaningful gains; for example, mathematics pass rates increasing from the low 60s to above 80% following the adoption of active learning structures.
More recently, AI-enhanced learning platforms have begun to amplify these effects. Emerging evidence suggests that technology-supported active learning environments can dramatically increase student talk time, provide real-time feedback, and support adaptive questioning, which is leading to stronger engagement and improved assessment outcomes. This convergence of pedagogy and technology signals a new phase of active learning implementation, one that requires thoughtful leadership and guardrails.
System-Level Considerations for School Leaders
Implementing active learning at scale requires more than individual teacher effort. It calls for system-level alignment: instructional expectations, classroom design, professional learning, and evaluation systems must all support student-centered learning.
At the same time, leaders must acknowledge real challenges. Educators often cite time constraints, large class sizes, and misalignment with traditional assessment systems as barriers. There are also legitimate concerns about the rapid expansion of commercial and AI-driven tools without sufficient long-term evidence related to motivation, privacy, and equity. This is where leadership matters most. Active learning succeeds when schools adopt it deliberately, grounded in research, supported by professional learning, and aligned with clear instructional priorities.
References (APA style)
Engageli. (2025). Active learning statistics: Benefits for education & training in 2025.
Engageli. (2025). 20 statistics on AI in education to guide your learning.
Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M., Smith, M. K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8410–8415.
Indiana University Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. (2018). Active learning: Evidence-based teaching.
Kozanitis, A., & Nenciovici, L. (2022). Meta-analysis of active learning in humanities and social sciences (summary reported by UCLA Teaching & Learning Center).
MIT Teaching + Learning Lab. (2024). How active learning can improve inequities in STEM.
Montana State University case study summarized in Engageli (2025) active learning statistics report.
Northeastern University Graduate Programs. (2025). Active learning in higher education: Benefits and examples.
Theobald, E. J., et al. (2020). Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in STEM (findings summarized by University of Washington and MIT TLL).
UCLA Teaching & Learning Center. (2025). Active learning.
University of Washington. (2020). Underrepresented college students benefit more from “active learning” in STEM.
Various authors. (2025). Articles and editorial content in Active Learning in Higher Education.
Yale/Cornell and related centers for teaching innovation. (2019). Active learning teaching guides.