New Norms: Enhancing Biology Achievement, Creativity, and Student Innovation Post-Covid-19 Through Virtual Science Inquiry-Based Learning and Augmented Reality Applications

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic opened a new chapter to digitalise learning strategies, especially in Biology education. Integration of an inquiry-based approach with technology, including Augmented Reality (AR), has become prevalent, allowing students to master the skills needed in 21st-century education. Hence, this study aims to identify the need to develop inquiry-based learning and the use of Augmented Reality (AR) applications in teaching activities and learning. This research uses quantitative and qualitative methods. A total of 303 Form 4 Biology students from 13 national secondary schools were selected for this study. The instruments used in this study included questionnaires to determine the level of difficulty in biology learning topics, diagnostic tests, semi-structured teacher interview protocols and questionnaires to analyse the level of student agreement with the module requirements. The data was then analysed through descriptive statistics, namely percentage and frequency, by SPSS software and thematic analysis. At the end of this preliminary study, it was found that the topic of Cellular Respiration was the main focus. The results of the diagnostic test showed that the student's level of understanding of the concept of Cellular Respiration was low. From the interviews conducted, three themes were identified. Thus, there is potential to improve the teaching and learning process in Biology through this research. The findings of this study indicated the need to develop a module based on inquiry-based Science education and the use of Augmented Reality (AR) in the teaching and learning process of Biology to contribute to the Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0).