The Effect of Web-Assisted Guided Inquiry Approach on Students’ Systems Thinking Skills

Abstract In parallel with technological developments, learning-teaching environments have changed and students are active and responsible for their own learning throughout the process. It is believed that the design of enriched teaching materials based on web-assisted and inquiry-based learning approaches will be important in terms of learning-teaching environments. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of web-assisted guided inquiry approach in science education on students’ systems thinking skills. An embedded mixed methods design was used in this study. First, materials were developed for the systems in our body unit and three teachers used these materials in their classrooms. A total of 155 sixth grade students participated in the study. In the experimental group the lessons were taught according to the web-assisted guided inquiry approach, while in the control group the lessons were taught according to the science curriculum. The systems thinking skills test was used as a quantitative data collection tool and observations, student journals, and interviews were used as qualitative data collection tools. As a result of the research, it was found that there was a significant difference in the systems thinking skills of the students in the experimental group compared to the control group [ F (1,152) = 12.23, p < 0.05]. It can be said that the change in systems thinking skills was due to establishing a relationship between concepts, looking at events holistically and understanding how the system can change with the disappearance or addition of a variable in the system.