Engagement-centered demonstrations in large enrollment introductory psychology classes: effects on understanding, retention, and student engagement

Background: Large enrollment introductory psychology courses often struggle with low student engagement, which can hinder learning outcomes. Active learning strategies, particularly demonstrations, have shown promise in other disciplines but are underutilized and under-evaluated in psychology. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of structured, interactive demonstrations on student engagement, short-term understanding, and long-term retention of key psychological concepts in a large introductory psychology course.Method: Ten demonstrations were developed and implemented across two sections of an introductory psychology course (n = 276). Each section experienced six of the demonstrations: three for topics unique to the section, two identical demonstrations for topics that both sections experienced, and one demonstration unique to each section covering a different aspect of the same class topic. Student understanding was assessed via in-class polling questions, and retention was measured using the same questions on the final exam. Engagement was evaluated using the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM.Results: Demonstrations were associated with higher student engagement but no difference in short-term understanding across both sections. Retention was boosted by demos in one section but not the other, suggesting that the effectiveness of demonstrations may depend on contextual factors such as student demographics, the topic, or the specific demonstration used. Conclusion: Structured demonstrations can increase student engagement in large psychology classes. The effect on long-term retention depended on the section, indicating potential effects of implementation context and student characteristics. The impact on short-term understanding was limited.Teaching Implications: Psychology instructors should consider incorporating interactive demonstrations into their teaching to foster engagement and deepen conceptual understanding though context-specific assessment of their effectiveness is warranted.