Investigating the methods of creating interaction and improving students' engagement in the learning process in higher education: A systematic review

The purpose of this study is to identify ways of interaction as well as the characteristics of effective interaction, to which the realization of learning contingent upon. In this qualitative research, the method of systematic literature review (SLR) based on PRISMA guidelines and the phenomenological focus group were deployed to study previous researches and understand the experiences of experts, respectively. In the web of science database, articles related to the research purpose were searched from 2009 to 2019, and 252 articles in the field of education were obtained as a statistical population. Criteria for inclusion of articles in the systematic literature review were peer-reviewed articles in the field of higher education, in which 20 articles were analyzed. The members of the focus group were education specialists who were selected through purposive sampling using snowball method. The reliability of the extracted themes was achieved through researcher self-review and thematic agreement of three coders. Findings include 9 ways to create interaction (creating a learning environment based on a problem or problem, creating a space for personal interpretation and discussion, providing feedback, reward and encouragement based on intrinsic motivation, student participation in educational design and implementation, the use of multimedia tools, self-assessment, the use of collaborative learning techniques, peer evaluation, design and facilitation of group activities) and 13 characteristics of effective interaction in the learning process. Based on these findings, a dynamic and active learning environment can be created.