Three Best Practices for Engaging High School Students in Science
If you’ve ever stood in front of a classroom explaining cellular respiration while a student asks, “Is this going to be on the test?” you are not alone. High school science teachers live in the space between curiosity and compliance, and engagement can sometimes feel like a rare element on the periodic table.
The good news is that engaging students in science does not require viral videos, constant explosions, or turning the classroom into a low-budget escape room. Engagement grows from intentional instructional practices that help students feel curious, capable, and connected to the world around them.
Here are three best practices that consistently support student engagement in real, imperfect science classrooms.
1. Start with Phenomena, Not Definitions
Nothing drains energy from a classroom faster than opening a lesson with vocabulary lists and slides full of definitions. Students do not wake up wondering about “mitosis” or “Newton’s Second Law.” They do wonder why their phone sometimes survives a fall and sometimes shatters, or how energy drinks actually affect their bodies.
Starting with a phenomenon shifts the focus from memorization to sense-making. A phenomenon is something observable, puzzling, or just unexpected enough to spark curiosity and invite questions.
Rather than beginning a unit on chemical reactions with equations, teachers might show a video of sodium reacting with water. Instead of defining natural selection, they might present images of organisms with unusual adaptations and ask, “Why would this trait help the organism survive?” From there, students talk, question, and hypothesize. They are allowed to be wrong because they are actively figuring something out.
This approach is central to National Geographic Learning’s science programs. Each unit opens with a compelling phenomenon designed to draw students into the question first and guide them toward explaining how the real world works through investigation and discovery. Throughout the program, students also encounter National Geographic Explorers who share their own discoveries, reinforcing the idea that science is not static content but an active, human endeavor.
When students encounter phenomena first, they develop mental anchors for the science that follows. Vocabulary becomes meaningful because it helps explain something they already care about. Definitions turn into tools rather than hurdles. Students begin to see themselves not as passive recipients of information, but as scientists engaged in figuring out the world.
If students start saying, “Wait … how does that happen?” engagement is already taking root.
2. Make Thinking Visible (and a Little Messy)
Engagement does not always look like excitement. Sometimes it looks like students debating a model, revising an explanation, or pausing in thoughtful silence while interacting with a simulation. One of the most powerful ways to support engagement is to make student thinking visible and give learners space to wrestle with ideas together.
Collaborative learning plays a key role in this process. When students explain their reasoning to peers, they learn from one another and often see concepts from new perspectives. Science becomes something students figure out together, rather than something done in isolation.
Digital tools such as virtual labs, simulations, and interactive figures can support this kind of learning by providing hands-on experiences that extend beyond reading about science. In National Geographic Learning’s Biology digital experience, for example, students work collaboratively to explore the ocean floor and investigate organisms like sea pigs. The novelty alone captures attention, but the real value lies in how students use evidence to refine their explanations over time.
Phenomena-based learning in National Geographic Learning products is also structured around a Driving Question that emerges from student observations. That question helps students transform “What am I seeing?” into “What can I investigate?” As the unit progresses, students revisit and revise their ideas, using evidence from investigations, discussions, and data analysis to strengthen their understanding.
In any classroom, teachers can support this practice by creating opportunities for students to predict outcomes, sketch models, justify claims, and revise their thinking. Whiteboards, shared documents, and small-group discussions all help surface thinking that might otherwise remain hidden.
This process can feel messy, especially at first. But that productive messiness is where deep learning happens.
3. Connect Science to Students’ Lives (Without Forcing It)
Students are highly attuned to relevance. They know when a connection is authentic and when it feels forced. The goal is not to make every lesson “cool,” but to make it meaningful.
Engagement increases when students see science explaining the world they already experience. Climate change becomes more tangible through local weather patterns. Chemistry connects through cooking or sports drinks. Physics shows up in car safety and phone screens. Biology comes alive through discussions of sleep, stress, and nutrition.
Classroom vignette:
During a unit on human body systems, a teacher opens class by asking, “Why do you think teenagers often feel exhausted even when they get the same number of hours of sleep as adults?” Students immediately respond. One mentions staying up late on a phone. Another points to early school start times. A third wonders if caffeine plays a role. Suddenly, the lesson on circadian rhythms and homeostasis feels personal. Students lean in, compare experiences, and begin asking questions that mirror authentic scientific inquiry.
That is the moment when relevance and rigor intersect.
Teachers do not need to redesign an entire curriculum to create these moments. Often, it is a single, well-placed question: “Where have you seen this before?” or “How might this show up in everyday life?” When students are invited to bring their experiences into the classroom, science becomes a tool for understanding their world.
Final Thought: Engagement Is Built, Not Performed
Engaging science classrooms are not louder, flashier, or more exhausting. They are intentional. They invite curiosity, value student thinking, and connect learning to real-world phenomena.
Teachers do not need to implement every strategy at once. Even small shifts, starting with a phenomenon, centering a Driving Question, or making student thinking visible, can have a powerful impact.
Science is already fascinating. The goal is to create space for students to experience that wonder for themselves.
And if students still ask, “Is this going to be on the test?” a simple response works well:
“Understanding it will help on the test and in the real world.”
About the Author
Mindi Johnson was an elementary and middle school teacher before moving into administration, serving as a high school principal. During her time as an administrator, Mindi helped design online courses for her district and train teachers in online course implementation. At Cengage School, Mindi serves as a Content Specialist, working with schools and teachers to successfully implement our digital products, providing support to teachers and districts throughout their product adoption. Outside of work, Mindi is a mom to four grown children, a Meme to seven grandbabies, loves to travel, and tries to spend as much time under the water scuba diving and exploring as possible.
