Effects of using inquiry-based learning on science achievement for fifth-grade students

Educators and many advocates from the field of science have recognized the need for revising methods used for teaching science in schools in the United States in order to improve student performance on high-stakes testing. Student scores are not the only concern in science education. Many science education researchers are concerned by the lack of depth of understanding of scientific concepts that students have exhibited for many decades. Liu, Lee, and Linn (2010) stated the performance of 12th-grade students on science assessments declined from 1996 to 2005 when compared to international students. Miller, McNeal, and Herbert (2010) stated that students should assume the role of a scientist by developing concepts and gathering knowledge to support those concepts. According to Drake and Long (2009), in many classrooms across the United States, science instruction does not support the need for developing student scientists. Due to the pressure to make Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) through the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), administrators in many schools placed an emphasis on reading and mathematics skills in order to increase test scores in those areas. In many schools, the importance of science instruction was diminished because of the emphasis on reading and mathematics instruction. The Common Core Curriculum (CCC) was implemented in the 2012-2013 school year. The Common Core Curriculum also required science in high-stakes testing as a measure of AYP. What students gain as a result of the study of science through real-life problem-solving skills and understanding the world needs to increase as well as their scores on the end of the year tests. Varma, Volkmann, and Hanuscin (2009) observed that science should be taught and learned through inquiry. Activities in science classrooms should involve observations, questioning, reading books and other sources of information, investigating, gathering, analyzing, predicting, explaining, and communicating results. Memorizing facts will not increase skills in students of science, but the freedom to explore and investigate through inquiry-based learning (IBL) will.

One approach to promoting meaningful science learning is via greater student involvement via inquiry-based learning (IBL). New knowledge is acquired as students collect data, analyze data, and solve problems. Memorizing facts does not promote or develop problem-solving skills, but when students are allowed to investigate, reason, and organize knowledge; they are able to incorporate new knowledge into their understanding (Miller et al., 2010). Miller et al. (2010) further assert that IBL helps develop students’ understanding of the world around them through gathering knowledge. Students’ scientific understanding is supported through the expansion of habits of the mind and using problem solving skills. Using prior knowledge, students make connections with their new knowledge. IBL is seen as a system of learning that supports the development of students’ problem solving and critical thinking skills, which is important for them in everyday activities. Through IBL, students learn not only how to ask questions and figure out the answers, but they also learn what questions are important to ask. A learning environment that supports these kinds of cognitive skills enables students to assimilate these skills in other areas of learning.

In Georgia, both fifth and eighth grades are considered benchmark years. Data from fifth and eighth grades is used to document achievement in science at the state level. A goal of fifth-grade science instructors is to find and use strategies, such as IBL, that promote science habits of mind for use in future years beyond the fifth grade, and thus increase achievement.

According to the Science Assessment from the U.S. Department of Education (2011), eighth-grade science scores increased from 150 in 2009 to 152 in 2011, both of which were in the basic category of scores, which was below the proficient and advanced levels. The percentage of students performing at the proficient level was higher in 2011 than in 2009. There was no significant change at the advanced level. The gap in scores between White and Black students, and between White and Hispanic students narrowed from 2009 to 2011. There was not a significant difference in 2011 from 2009 in the gap between male and female students. Scores for students eligible for free or reduced lunch did not significantly change between 2009 and 2011. Georgia was one of 16 states where eighth-grade students scored higher in 2011 than in 2009. According to the results of these comparisons of test scores, there was a slight improvement in science achievement nationally (U.S. Department of Education, 2011).

The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (2011) reported that 77% of Georgia fifth-grade students met the state standards in science. Science scores for the research school were slightly higher for fifth grade (79%) than the state scores according to the State of Georgia K-12 Report Card (2010-2011). Substantial differences occurred among subgroups that met state standards on the science subtest of the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). White students scored 79% and Black students scored 60%. Females recorded a score of 82% and males recorded a score of 71%. Economically disadvantaged students in the research school scored 68% while economically disadvantaged students in the state, as a whole, scored 67%. Among the students in the research group, the sub-population of students with disabilities (SWD) consisted of less than 10 students. With the implementation of CCC in the 2012-2013 school year, teachers at the research school faced the challenge of using evidence-based strategies to improve student achievement in science.

In Georgia, schools develop an improvement plan. The research school’s 2012 School Improvement Plan (SIP) data indicate that the state targets in science are lower than the district and school outcomes. According to the research school’s SIP, Black students meet or exceed the state targets (68.9%) in science. The research school’s SIP supports an increase in the percentage of students exceeding on the science section of the CRCT from 36% to 41%. The goals are set in the area of science to increase student achievement and student engagement. The question thus arises as to whether IBL can provide the basis for improvements in science education at the level of fifth grade.

In order for the science goals of the research school’s SIP to be achieved, a revision in teaching methods needed to occur. In order to increase student engagement and the number of students’ scores in the exceeds category on the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT), IBL was implemented. Varma, Volkmann, and Hanuscin (2009) stated that the National Science Education Standards (NSES) noted “the first of five essential features of classroom inquiry is learners are engaged by questions that are scientifically oriented” (p. 1). Although traditional methods of lecturing and experimenting have proven effective, additional IBL methods were implemented to provide students with the opportunity to engage, discover, draw conclusions, and report findings with supporting information.

The reason for this research was to compare any differences between IBL methods versus traditional methods to teach science in fifth grade. To find these differences, the following research questions were asked:

Will the science achievement scores of fifth-grade students increase with the implementation of inquiry-based learning strategies as compared with traditional instructional strategies?
Will the attitudes of fifth-grade students increase with the implementation of inquiry-based learning strategies as compared with traditional instructional strategies?
Will the levels of engagement of fifth-grade students increase with the implementation of inquiry-based learning strategies as compared with traditional instructional strategies?