A Case Study of Inquiry- based Learning Implementation: Comparing Beginning and Experienced Teachers’ Use of the 4A’s Model of IBL in High School Biology
Keywords:
beginning teacher, case study, experienced teacher, inquiry-based learning, 4A’s modelAbstract
The study focused on the comparative performance of two beginning and two experienced teachers in their implementation of 4A’s (Activity, Analysis, Abstraction, Application) of the Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) model in teaching cell division and Mendelian genetics. The thematic analysis of interviews and observations has shown that the two beginning teachers and one experienced teacher were in line with the 4A's model, while the other experienced teacher was only engaged in Abstraction. The three teachers were able to effectively use constructivist Activities, integrate higher-order thinking in Analysis, and bridge the concepts to the real-world Applications. Nevertheless, considerable differences in the teachers' performance during the Abstraction phase were uncovered. Results reveal that teaching experience alone cannot be a guarantee for effective IBL. Recommendations are ongoing professional development on the entire IBL cycle, peer mentoring, and an IBL competence framework. Future research should have a bigger sample and also consider student performance data.
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