Examining the Effectiveness of Inquiry-based Learning on Grade 5 Students’ Performance in Higher-order Thinking Questions in Social Studies

Abstract

This classroom action research examined whether inquiry-based learning improved Grade 5A students’ performance on higher-order thinking questions in Social Studies. The participants were 34 students (16 boys and 18 girls) at Phuentsholing Primary School. Baseline evidence showed comparatively stronger performance on remembering and understanding questions than on tasks requiring application, analysis, evaluation and creation. A six-week intervention was implemented through six 50-minute lessons structured around the 5E instructional model: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate. Students took part in questioning, group investigation, discussion, comparison, debate, problem-solving and project activities. An achievement test based on Bloom’s taxonomy was administered before and after the intervention. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and a paired-samples t-test. The overall mean score increased from 10.20 on the pre-test to 16.30 on the post-test, giving a reported mean difference of 6.10; the difference was statistically significant at p < 0.001. The largest gains occurred in application, analysis, evaluation and creation, whereas remembering and understanding remained comparatively stable. Classroom observations also indicated greater participation, curiosity and willingness to explain ideas. Within this single-class context, inquiry-based learning was associated with improved performance on higher-order Social Studies questions. Studies using comparison groups, larger samples and longer interventions are required to assess the robustness and generalisability of these findings.