INQUIRY-BASED SCIENCE APPROACH IN KINDERGARTEN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Many studies have used the potential of computer games to promote students’ attitudes toward learning and increase their learning performance. A few studies have transformed scientific content into computer games or developed games with scientific content. In this paper, we employed students’ common misconceptions of chemistry regarding the properties of liquid to develop a computer game. Daily life situations and everyday phenomena related to the chemical understanding of the properties of liquid were also taken into account. Afterward, we applied a process-oriented, inquiry-based active learning approach to implement the game in a Thai high school chemistry course. We studied the implementation of a game-transformed inquiry-based learning class by comparing it to a conventional inquiry-based learning class. The results of this study include aspects of students’ conceptual understanding of chemistry and their motivation to learn chemistry. We found that students in both the game-transformed inquiry-based learning class and conventional inquiry-based learning class had a significantly increased conceptual understanding of chemistry. There was also a significant difference between the gains of both classes between the pre- and post-conceptual understanding scores. Moreover, the post-conceptual understanding scores of students in the two classes were significantly different. These findings support the notion that students can better comprehend chemistry concepts through a computer game, especially when integrated with the process-oriented, inquiry-based learning approach. The findings of this study also highlight the game-transformed inquiry-based learning approach’s support of students’ motivation to learn chemistry.

This study intended to investigate the effectiveness of experiential and inquiry-based learning approaches in secondary schools around Bugiri District in Eastern Uganda with a focus on whether inquiry-based teaching techniques were being used to support student learning based on evidenced experiential education as well as challenges encountered when utilizing these methods. This narrative cross-sectional survey study employed a qualitative approach using interview responses attained from key informants. Findings indicate that through an inquiry-based approach, students are urged to study the subject, ask questions, and exchange ideas rather than have the teacher dictate what they should know. In inquiry-based learning, small-group discussions, guided learning, projects, and hands-on investigation take precedence over lessons. In addition, teachers are typically better at spotting errors in students’ work than they are in their own. It is crucial to ensure students’ learning by giving them high-quality information. Some children learn best by looking at visuals, others by listening and some by reading and writing. Teachers should promote “learning by doing” and also take the lead and create a forum where students can express their opinions and experiences.

A college professor, who is highly skeptical of change, but sensing a need for teaching in a more inspiring and engaging way, implements an inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach to teaching the history of mathematics. The first author (Matthews) worked with an experienced IBL colleague mentor (Hodge) on the course. Some student data was collected to document the effects of the class on the students. The approach taken for the course is described in detail including how the students of the course learned about and used IBL in key peer-to-peer teaching about historical mathematics (with a primary focus on the mathemat- ics). An innovative rubric is described to evaluate IBL teaching. Results indicate that the students were engaged in the course and inspired about mathematics, seemingly more than previous semesters. The results also imply that the stu- dents learned at least as much mathematics and history as in previous semester. Finally, the students, most of which were future high school teachers, began to seriously reflect on their own teaching and appreciated the IBL approach.

Background:The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of an activity set developed according to the inquiry-based learning approach in the unit “Particulate Structure of Matter” on students’ critical thinking skills in science and technology courses. The study was conducted with 90 sixth grade students attending four sixth grade classes of a secondary school.Material and methods:Within the framework of the study, in order to evaluate the effects of inquiry-based learning approach on the students’ critical thinking skills in science and technology courses, the guided activity set was developed by the researchers in line with the inquiry-based learning approach. In this study, pre-test and posttest control group experimental designs were used.Results:The findings of the study revealed that science and technology learning supported with the guided activities developed in line with the inquiry-based learning approach have significant effects on students’ critical thinking skills in science and technology courses.Conclusions:The critical thinking level of the experimental group students taught with the inquiry-based learning approach was found to be higher than that of the control group students taught with the traditional lecturing method.the critical thinking level of the experimental group students showed a positive increase in all the dimensions.

Research findings show that inquiry-based science education has positive effects in improving learning of both science content knowledge and scientific inquiry (SI) skills. As a result, various science curricula, including that of Namibia, recommend the use of an inquiry-based approach in science teaching. However, the implementation of an inquiry-based teaching approach remains a concern in Namibian science classrooms, particularly in poorly resourced schools. This paper reports the outcome of a small-scale interventionist research project which involved three experienced Life Science teachers. The teachers were exposed to an intervention that explicitly focused on supporting them with the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) needed to facilitate inquiry-based learning in their classrooms. An indigenous technology, the production of a traditional non-alcoholic beverage (oshikundu) was used in the intervention. The Topic-Specific PCK model by Mavhunga and Rollnick provided the analytical framework for this study. Additionally, the principles of classroom inquiry together with the model of inquiry-based science instruction predict–explain–explore–observe–explain were used to scaffold teachers towards the PCK for inquiry-based teaching. Findings from the study revealed that prior to the intervention workshop some science teachers had inadequate PCK for inquiry-based approach. Except for concern over time constraints, the study established that all five components of teachers’ PCK of an inquiry-based approach improved after the intervention. Furthermore, teachers recognised and recommended the use of the PEEOE model for inquiry-based science teaching. The process of making oshikundu was established as a suitable resource to conduct practical investigation in poorly resourced schools. This study thus recommends more interventions based on locally available indigenous technology to improve science teachers’ PCK for inquiry-based science teaching.

Demonstrating higher-order thinking skills is crucial for thriving in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment. In science education, inquiry-based learning has increasingly been recognized as a potent approach to stimulate students' higher-order thinking skills. While prior research has shown evidence of its positive impact on student achievement, no study has critically synthesized its effect on students' higher-order thinking skills in the context of science learning. Thus, this study conducted a meta-analysis following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol. The study extracted twenty-six (26) effect sizes from twenty (20) studies, involving 1,349 students exposed to both inquiry-based and conventional approaches. Using the Comprehensive Meta-analysis Software, effect size (Hedges g) was calculated to determine the magnitude of the effectiveness of inquiry-based approaches. The overall weighted effect size of g = 0.893 demonstrates that inquiry-based approaches have a significantly large and positive impact on students' higher-order thinking skills. Moderator analysis suggests that regardless of students' educational level, scientific discipline, or level of inquiry, the use of the inquiry-based approach in teaching scientific concepts maximizes students' higher-order thinking skills. Although various inquiry-based approaches were effective when combined with other instructional strategies for teaching scientific concepts, only a few studies integrated technology into the implementation of inquiry-based approaches in science. Given the positive findings of this meta-analysis, science teachers are further encouraged to adapt inquiry-based approaches to enhance their teaching practices and support students in strengthening their higher-order thinking skills.

This quasi-experimental study aimed to determine the effect of the physics Olympics on Grade 7 students’ performance, critical thinking, and science process skills. The participants were the Grade 7 regular class students of a rural public high school in Panay Island. The participants were divided into two groups; one group was exposed to an inquiry-based approach while the other was to an inquiry-based approach enhanced with Physics Olympics. It utilized validated researcher-made and adopted-modified instruments. The data underwent statistical and thematic analysis. The study found that both the inquiry-based approach and with Physics Olympics were effective in improving students' physics performance, critical thinking, and science process skills. Though both groups were categorized as approaching proficiency level in terms of physics performance and critical thinking skills, the mean gain among the students who were exposed to intervention was higher compared to that of the students who were exposed to the traditional approach. In terms of the science process skills, students who were exposed to the inquiry-based approach were at the approaching proficiency level while those who were exposed to the intervention were at the proficiency level. The two groups had no significant difference in their mean gain scores in physics performance and critical thinking skills after the intervention. However, their mean gain score in science process skills was statistically significant which emphasizes the edge of inquiry-based teaching enhanced with physics olympics over inquiry-based approach. It can be recommended that science teachers teaching basic education should integrate physics Olympics as a mode of enhancing inquiry-based teaching approaches.

Inquiry-based learning is an approach that allows students to draw connections between academic content and their own lives, which can be particularly important for culturally and linguistically diverse learners. The participants of this study were the 48 grade 9 students of Manticao National High School, Pagawan, Manticao, Misamis Oriental. The study sought to find out the effectiveness of Inquiry-based learning approach on the students’ performance in Physics. It aimed to find out the significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores of the students when exposed using Inquiry-based learning approach and Lecture method. The study used the true experimental research design, the randomized pretest-posttest control group design. This study utilized the percentage, independent t-test and paired t-test to analyze the results. Paired t-test revealed a significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores of the students when exposed using Inquiry-based learning approach than of the Lecture method as shown in the mean difference of -3.63 with t-value of -6.70 and p-valueof 0.0000003904 is less than the p-value of 0.05 level of significance and that leads to the rejection of the null hypothesis. This study concluded that an Inquiry-based learning approach can improve the students’ performance in Physics.

Student giftedness is a complex, developmentally dynamic and contextual phenomenon that teachers confront every day. In the classroom, teachers often meet students who have exceptional potential or achieve very high learning goals. The aim of this study is to illustrate the evaluation of inquiry-based learning activities in a specific context (Diversity in Science towards Social Inclusion learning modules) implemented in a non-formal educational setting for gifted students in relation to their level of individual interest and their autonomous and controlled motivation, comparing different groups of students. We investigate how these activities affect the students’ attitudes towards inquiry-based learning, their situational interest and their interest in science careers. A total of 264 Slovenian lower secondary school students participated in the study. The students participated in non-adapted and adapted activities based on the inquiry-based learning approach. The data were collected using pre- and post-activity questionnaires. Participation in the study, which took place in the period between the 2021/22 and the 2022/23 school years, was voluntary. The data was collected anonymously and used for research purposes only. The results show several statistically significant differences in how students’ level of individual interest, autonomous motivation and controlled motivation for learning chemistry affects their attitudes towards inquiry-based learning, their situational interest in Diversity in Science towards Social Inclusion activities and their interest in science careers. For the gifted and non-gifted students who participated in “Forensics Science” lab activities before and after the adaptations to the modules, the results related to their attitudes towards inquiry-based learning and situational interest are also reported. Thus, the results of the study provide useful insights for researchers in the field of chemistry education as well as for chemistry teachers in lower and upper secondary schools. The presented study is a good example of best practices that chemistry teachers can apply in teaching chemistry, thus enabling all students, not only the gifted ones, to learn chemistry using the inquiry-based learning approach.

Notwithstanding the advantages of incorporating Augmented Reality (AR) in education, AR’s concrete uses as compared to other technologies are not fully recognised. Moreover, many of the existing studies have neglected to examine the impact of pedagogy and its corresponding instructional models, whilst implementing AR in teaching and learning. In leveraging the affordances of AR, an inquiry-based learning framework, referred to as QIMS, was proposed in this study. A learning package was developed on the topic of plant reproduction for primary 5 students (aged 11–12) based on the QIMS framework. Using a quasi-experimental approach, this study evaluated three conditions (AR and QIMS; QIMS; Non-AR and Non-QIMS) for a series of science lessons in a primary school. 117 students took part in this study. The quantitative results showed that although there was no statistically significant difference in students’ academic performance when AR was used, students’ self-directed learning and creative thinking skills increased significantly after partaking in the QIMS inquiry-based lessons. The usage of AR and QIMS had a significant effect in increasing students’ critical thinking and knowledge creation efficacy skills. Moreover, in view of students’ academic outcomes, the integration of QIMS and AR proved to be more beneficial to low-progress students. Qualitative analysis of the interview data from teachers and students aids in accounting for the quantitative results and indicate productive implementation strategies. The findings of this study will guide the design of future AR interventions, by providing insights for both researchers and practitioners on how to integrate and implement AR with pedagogical approaches.

The integration of naqli (revelation) and aqli (acquired) knowledge is mandatory in every subject at Kolej PERMATA Insan ( KPI ), including Quran education. However, no specific rule outlines integrating acquired knowledge with memorized Quranic verses in KPI . This study aims to develop a method for integrating memorized Quranic verses with acquired knowledge based on Pedaste inquiry-based learning approach. This study used a three-phase Design and Development Research ( DDR ) approach, Phase 1: Need Analysis, Phase 2: Development of the method, and Phase 3: Evaluation of the method. This paper discusses Phase 2, which is developing the method for integrating memorized Quranic verses with aqli knowledge. This phase uses the Fuzzy Delphi method ( FDM ) involving twelve (12) experts in Quranic exegesis. The FDM questionnaire was developed using the literature review and Focus Group Discussion ( FGD ) by seven (7) experts in the related field of study. The location of this study is limited to Kolej PERMATA Insan, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia ( USIM ). The process of developing a method integrating memorized Quranic verses with acquired knowledge was implemented in five phases, namely: (1) Orientation, (2) Conceptualization with two subphases: Questioning and Generation of Hypotheses, (3) Investigation with three subphases: Exploration, Experiment, and Data Interpretation, (4) Conclusion, and (5) Discussion with three subphases: Communication, Reflection 1, and Reflection 2. The current study successfully produces guidelines by combining the discipline of Quranic exegesis through the inquiry-based learning ( IBL ) approach by integrating verses in the Quran with acquired knowledge.

The aim of this study was to identify the resistance behaviors of 7th grade students exhibited during their Science and Technology course teaching-learning processes, and to remove the identified resistance behaviors through teaching-learning processes that were constructed based on the inquiry-based learning approach. In the quasi-experimentally designed study, data were collected from 95 students and 14 teachers using both qualitative (students' follow-up forms, observation, and interview forms) and quantitative (achievement test and personal information survey) methods. In the experimental process, courses given to the control group were taught using the traditional method, whereas those given to the experimental groups used an inquiry-based learning approach. When the data, which were collected in the spring term of the 2010-2011 academic year, were analyzed, 25 students were identified as having resistant behaviors such as not participating in the course, not being interested in the course, not taking care of their friends, seeking attention, not respecting the teacher, and providing suggestions to the teacher. The statistical data analysis showed that there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test mean scores of both the control and experiment groups; however, the mean scores of the experimental groups showed a greater increase than those of the control group. While the findings derived from the follow-up forms and the analysis of teacher interviews showed that the experimental process changed the resistance behaviors of students in a positive way, this change was not permanent at the end of the experimental process. As a result, it was found that students can have a variety of resistant behaviors and these behaviors can be affected positively by different teaching methods that are accepted as effective in that discipline.Keywords5E Learning Cycle, Elementary Education, Inquiry-based Learning Approach, Science and Technology Course, Student Resistance.The need for individuals literate in science and technology who will carry their societies into contemporary civilization has been understood by the international education community. The vision of a Science and Technology Course Program, which was first implemented in the second level of primary schools in the 2006-2007 instruction year in Turkey, was determined to be educating all students as science and technology literate individuals without regard to their individual differences. Educating individuals to be literate in science and technology is ensured by effective science and technology teaching. In the inquiry-based learning approach suggested by educational scientists, learners master learning units by obtaining data through asking questions and doing research in the knowledge construction process, using their creativity (Bass, Contant, & Carin, 2008; Burden & Byrd, 2003; Hassard & Dias, 2008; Haury, 1993; Hogan & Berkowitz, 2000; Howe, 2002; Karamustafaoglu & Yaman, 2006; Keys & Kennedy, 1999; Lawson, 2010; Lindberg, 1990; Llewellyn, 2002; Lloyd & Contreras, 1987; Marek & Cavallo, 1997; Martin, Sexton, Franklin, & Gerlovich, 2005; Narode, Heiman, Slomianko, & Lochhead, 1987; National Research Council, 2000). Inquiry-based learning, which is based on a constructive approach and the learning cycle model and is suitable for all education levels, also allows students to evaluate their own progress (Hammerman, 2006; Kanli, 2009; Llewellyn, 2002; Office of Science Education National Institutes of Health, 2006; Peters & Stout, 2006; Temizyurek, 2003; Wenning, 2005). Thus, effective teaching can only be assured when teaching approaches, methods, and techniques are applied considering the course structure (Kaptan & Korkmaz, 2001). In addition to this, affective problems that could have a negative impact on learners or teachers in the learning environment need to be resolved. …

ABSTRACTThe time we live in is characterised by social and cultural changes, but teaching in physical education (PE) does not necessary match these changes. Consequently, the present project explored how second-order reflection (SoR) as a tradition-challenging and developing form of reflection can be stimulated by an inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach in physical education teacher education to transform current pedagogy to align with social and cultural changes. SoR fosters development and learning by inter-professional collaboration and inter-professional dialogue and is an extended form of higher-order thinking (HoT) including critical thinking and problem-solving. The project explored how an IBL approach stimulated a group of pre-service teachers (n = 32) developing their professional practice by using SoR. Data were generated through video observations and audio recordings of the pre-service teachers’ discussions, reflections and actions during the IBL unit. Furthermore, written reflections regarding the challenges were collected. All data were inductively analysed in order to identify and extract common themes and patterns in relation to SoR. The analyses of the data revealed that during the IBL approach the pre-service teachers used both reflection at first and second-order level. Reflections in the form of technical and practical considerations were common, while examples of SoR were seen especially in the phases of IBL where the pre-service teachers used new theoretical knowledge and experiences from other contexts than PE. Consequently, the findings supported that IBL enhanced the second-order reflective skills of some of the pre-service teachers. However, with further use of guiding and facilitation of the IBL process or keeping the pre-service teachers to their challenges, hypotheses and plans, the methodology has even more potential to enhance the second-order critical reflection of the participants; thereby developing their coming practice to be more reflective, engaging and probably motivational.

Numerous studies emphasise the contribution of inquiry-based learning approaches to positive learning outcomes for students; however, in this study, we explore how a scientific methods assignment may qualify as a profession-oriented, inquiry-based learning approach in teacher education. The paper presents analysis of student teachers’ reports on a scientific methods assignment completed during their fifth school placement. The student teachers were each required to conduct a focus group interview with a group of pupils. The overall aim of the assignment was to integrate aspects of inquiry-based learning and a profession-oriented approach. Our analysis demonstrates that the scientific methods assignment qualifies in some ways as a profession-oriented, inquiry-based learning assignment. However, several aspects of the assignment need to be improved and further developed to optimise its potential. The paper is concluded with some suggestions for further developments.

Background Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is a student-centred pedagogical approach that promotes critical thinking, creativity, and active engagement. IBL encourages students to explore, question, and construct their own understanding, making it an effective method for enhancing educational experiences. This systematic review aims to assess the impact of IBL on educational outcomes and identify best practices for its implementation across different disciplines and educational levels. Methods The review involved a comprehensive analysis of peer-reviewed articles focusing on IBL across various educational settings. The selected studies encompassed a wide range of disciplines, educational levels, and geographic contexts. Criteria for inclusion involved examining the impact of IBL on students’ critical thinking, motivation, academic achievement, and overall learning experiences. Results Findings indicate that IBL positively impacts students’ critical thinking skills, motivation, and academic performance. Effective integration of IBL into curricula requires several key strategies: comprehensive teacher training, the creation of supportive learning environments, and the use of technology to facilitate inquiry-based activities. However, challenges were noted, such as the need for substantial instructional support and varying levels of student readiness for self-directed learning. Conclusions This systematic review confirms the benefits of IBL in enhancing educational outcomes and provides a synthesized overview of effective practices for its implementation. While IBL fosters critical thinking, creativity, and academic achievement, its success relies on adequate teacher training, supportive environments, and technological integration. Addressing the challenges related to instructional support and student readiness is crucial for optimizing IBL. The findings offer valuable insights for educators, researchers, and policymakers to enhance educational practices and outcomes through inquiry-based approaches.