Teaching tourism in geography through an inquiry-based approach (IBA)

An Inquiry-based approach (IBA) is a teaching approach that promotes
students' active learning and inquiry. This study examined the effectiveness
of IBA as a tool for teaching Geography and explored the students'
perceptions when they were taught using IBA. The investigation was carried
out in one secondary school in Brunei Darussalam. A total of twenty students
aged between 15 to 16 years old were selected as participants. This research
adopted a qualitative approach using an action research. Data was collected
from lesson observations, focus group interview, and achievement tests. The
findings showed that there were remarkable improvements in the students'
achievement tests. IBA successfully had helped students to develop some
personal and inter-personal skills and encouraged them to become
independent learners. However, there were some issues identified in this
study. Obtaining information for their research was a challenge for many
students, as they had limited access to computers and the Internet outside the
school. The findings also revealed that the role of the teacher as the
facilitator in IBA could be a challenge to the teacher herself.