Abstract:
The study investigated the effect of guided inquiry method on students’ achievement and interest in basic science. Inquiry learning is a form of active learning where progress is assessed by how well students develop experimental and analytical skills rather than how much knowledge they possess. Guided inquiry allows students to discover specific information by themselves before they make generalization. Six research questions and six null hypotheses guided the study. Quasi-experimental design was adopted for the study, specifically, non-equivalent control group design. The study was carried out in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State. The sample for the study comprised of 80 JSS II students from two intact classes in two secondary schools in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu state, drawn using multi stage sampling techniques. The experimental group were taught using guided inquiry method, while the control group was taught using conventional lecture method. The treatments lasted for four weeks. Two instruments were used for data collection in the study namely; Basic science Achievement Test (BSAT) and Basic Science Interest Inventory Scale (BSIIS). Data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The results revealed that guided inquiry instructional method was superior to conventional instructional method in facilitating students’ achievement and interest in basic science. There was no significant difference in the mean scores of male and female students in basic science after the treatment, although male students performed slightly better than their female counterpart. On the test of interaction, it was revealed that mode of instruction (method) and gender had a significant ordinal interaction effect on students’ achievement and interest in basic science. Inquiry method was more effective than the conventional method. Based on the findings of the study, the educational implications of the findings were highlighted and the following recommendations were proffered among others: that science teachers, and science teacher educators should adopt guided inquiry instructional method when teaching in oder to enhance students’ achievement and interest in basic science. Finally the limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies were made.
