The Effect of Inquiry-based Learning Method on Students’ Academic Achievement in Science Course

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of inquiry-based learning method on students' academic achievement in sciences lesson. A total of 40 fifth grade students from two different classes were involved in the study. They were selected through purposive sampling method. The group which was assigned as experimental group was instructed through inquiry-based learning method whereas the other group was traditionally instructed. This experimental study lasted eight weeks. To determine the effectiveness of inquiry-based learning method over traditional instruction, an achievement test about sciences which consisted of 30 items was administered as pre-test and post-test to students both in the experimental and control groups. For the statistical analysis, Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used. The results showed that students who were instructed through inquiry-based learning were achieved higher score than the ones which were instructed through the traditional method.