ARGUMENTATION-BASED INQUIRY IN POST-PANDEMIC SCIENCE EDUCATION: EFFECTS ON SCIENCE LEARNING COMPETENCE, MOTIVATION, AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
ARGUMENTATION-BASED INQUIRY IN POST-PANDEMIC SCIENCE EDUCATION: EFFECTS ON SCIENCE LEARNING COMPETENCE, MOTIVATION, AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

Summary/Abstract: The emerging educational challenges following the Covid-19 pandemic have highlighted the need for teaching methods that actively engage students in scientific inquiry and support meaningful learning. Although Argumentation-Based Inquiry (ABI) has shown promise in science education, evidence regarding its effectiveness in addressing post pandemic learning needs remains limited. This study aimed to examine the effects of the ABI teaching in a seventh-grade science course on students’ science learning competence, motivation toward science, and academic achievement. The study followed a quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test control group design. The participants were 44 seventh-grade lower secondary school students assigned to experimental and control groups. Data were collected using 'Competence Scale for Learning Science', 'Motivation Scale in Science Education' and 'Interaction of Light with Matter Academic Achievement Test'. The data were analysed using parametric and non-parametric statistical methods. The findings revealed that students in the ABI group showed significant within-group improvements in science learning competence, motivation, and academic achievement from pre-test to post-test. ANCOVA results, after controlling for pre-test scores, showed a significant group effect on academic achievement and the communication dimension of science learning competence. Neither gender nor number of siblings was associated with significant factors. Correlation analyses showed significant positive relationships between science learning competence and both motivation and academic achievement, whereas motivation and academic achievement were not significantly correlated. The findings suggest that ABI has the potential to support students' science learning processes, particularly scientific communication and academic achievement; however, further research with larger samples is needed to confirm its broader effects.

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