مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - EFFECT OF INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING APPROACH ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND SCIENCE PROCESS SKILLS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

Abstract :

This study has been performed on inquiry-based learning approach which is accepted as higly important today. The aim of this research is to reveal whether there are any changes in academic success and science process skills of pre-service primary school teachers in Science and Technology Laboratory course by using inquiry-based learning approach. The study was implemented with participation of 50 primary school teaching students studying at Mustafa Kemal University in 2010-2011 education year. Pre-test and post-test control group design was used as a method in the study. There have not been made any special efforts to equal experimental and control groups randomly. The experimental group students were taught with inquiry-based learning, while the control group students were taught with traditional laboratory method.As data collection tool was an achievement test developed by the researcher on “element exchange in cell” to evaluate their success. “Science process skills test” developed by Okey vd. (1982) and adapted to Turkish with translation by Geban et all. was also used. The result of the study shows that academic success and science process skills of the experimental group students have increased more when compared to the control group.