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Supporting the success of learners in postsecondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education, particularly for students who come from historically minoritized groups, remains a key objective of policymakers, researchers, and practitioners. To do this, discipline-based education researchers have explored several pedagogical shifts in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses, such as using high-structure course designs that integrate active learning pedagogies. There is evidence that such shifts promote success, but additional research can clarify how well students adhere to these designs and whether adherence predicts achievement. To investigate these questions, we leveraged digital event data to trace students’ engagement with activities the instructor provided for every lesson of an introductory undergraduate biology course. We assessed engagement through two dimensions: completion, students’ completion of all the learning activities in a lesson, and sequential adherence, the completion of all activities in a lesson in the intended sequential order prescribed by instructors. Using these dimensions, we assessed the predictive effects of completion and sequential adherence on learners’ performance throughout the semester. For most performance outcomes, our findings indicated that the completion of activities positively predicted academic outcomes. Sequential adherence to instructor-recommended course activities was associated with additional benefits. We also found that learners’ characteristics including prior knowledge and first-generation status moderated the relationship between completions, adherence, and performance.
