EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERVENTION PROGRAMME BASED ON INQUIRY BASED LEARNING APPROACH TO ENHANCE SCIENCE PROCESS SKILLS OF 8TH GRADE STUDENTS

The importance of inquiry has been firmly established and is increasingly pertinent in the current competitive, rapidly evolving, and intricate setting. The National Education Policy 2020 promotes the adoption of an Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) approach, which can enhance student and teacher engagement by catering to the diverse needs of learners in the classroom. According to the National Curriculum Framework 2005, ensuring the effectiveness of the curriculum involves actively involving students in learning the techniques and procedures that result in creating and confirming scientific knowledge. It also aims to encourage the innate curiosity and inventive thinking of students in the field of science. Hence, the cultivation of Science Process Skills is crucial for enhancing the learning of science. In the realm of science education based on inquiry, students participate in various activities and cognitive procedures akin to those employed by scientists for the creation of fresh insights. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of inquiry-based learning on students’ science process skills. A total of 66 eighth grade students from two different classes were selected as experimental group and control group. The experimental group was instructed through inquiry-based learning approach whereas the control group was instructed using conventional method. For determining the effectiveness of the inquiry-based learning approach compared to conventional method, students of experimental group and control group were administered a pre-test and post-test evaluating Basic Science Process Skills. In the statistical analysis, Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was utilized. The findings of the research revealed that students who received instruction via inquiry-based learning demonstrated improved Science Process Skills compared to those taught using the conventional method.