Effect of Inquiry-Based Teaching Method on Senior Secondary School Students’ Achievement in Physics

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of inquiry-based learning (IBL) on the physics achievement of senior secondary II students in Wukari Metropolis, Taraba State. The study adopted a pre-test post-test non-equivalent control group design. Data were collected in order to answer four research questions and test four hypotheses. The sample comprised senior secondary II Physics students (male =55 and female =65 ) drawn from the population of Physics students in Wukari Metropolis. The purposive sampling technique was employed to select two (2) schools from the twenty (20) schools in Wukari Metropolis, and an intact arm of SS II from each of the sampled schools was used. The schools were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. The instruments used for data collection was A 20-items Physics Achievement Test (PAT) developed by the researcher. The resulting data were collated and analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and ANCOVA. The finding revealed that students taught with inquiry-based learning achieved better results than students taught using the traditional method. There is a significant difference between the mean Physics achievement scores (F(1,117)=50.354, p=0.000, two-tailed) of students taught with IBL and those taught using the traditional method. There is no significant difference in the mean Physics achievement scores of male and female students taught with inquiry based method (F(1,57)=0.296, p=0.589, two-tailed). Based on the sequels to the findings, it is concluded that using inquiry-based learning in teaching increases students' engagement and participation, thereby increasing achievement. It’s recommended that the Ministry of Education should mount periodic training sessions for teachers on the effective utilization of inquiry-based learning in teaching.