Interactive Pedagogical Strategies for Enhancing Student Engagement in Online Christian Higher Education

Abstract

Student engagement is a crucial concern in Online Christian Higher Education (OCHE), where learning is expected to be both academically rigorous and formational. While interactive pedagogical strategies are widely recognised as critical to effective online learning, existing engagement frameworks often remain religiously neutral and insufficiently attentive to the distinctive aims of Christian education. This conceptual paper examines how interactive pedagogical strategies can enhance student engagement in OCHE through the lens of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework. The paper conceptualises student engagement as a multidimensional construct encompassing behavioural, cognitive, emotional and spiritual engagement. The paper develops an integrated conceptual model that positions teaching, social, and cognitive presence as pedagogical conditions through which holistic engagement occurs. Selected interactive pedagogical strategies (including discussion-based learning, collaborative learning, case-based learning, and technology-mediated approaches) are analysed in relation to this model. The paper further discusses pedagogical implications for course design, instructional practice, curriculum coherence, and faculty development. By situating interactive pedagogy within both established online learning theory and Christian educational commitments, the paper contributes a theoretically grounded model to guide teaching practice and future research in online Christian higher education.