The effectiveness of a guided inquiry-based, teachers’ professional development programme on Saudi students’ understanding of density

Despite a general consensus on the educational effectiveness of inquiry-based instruction, the enacted type of inquiry in science classrooms remains debatable in many countries including Saudi Arabia. This study compared guided-inquiry based teachers’ professional development to teacher-directed approach in supporting Saudi students to understand the topic of density. One hundred and seven, sixth-grade, Saudi students in six classes were randomly assigned, by school, to one of two conditions (guided or teacher-directed condition) while they studied the same unit on density in their science curriculum. The three teachers in the guided condition attended an intervention on using guided-inquiry activities to teaching a unit on density. The three teachers in the teacher-directed condition used their regular approach to teaching the same unit. Pre- and post-tests of the students’ understanding and explanation of density was adopted for the study. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and repeated analyses were performed to assess the students’ understanding and explanation of density. In comparison to the teacher directed condition, the students in the guided-inquiry condition demonstrated significant improvements in both conceptual understanding and their levels of explaining the concept of density