The effect of game-based learning on primary school students' inquiry skills in the life sciences course

This study was conducted to examine the effect of game-based learning on the inquiry skills of primary school students in the Life Studies course. The research was carried out during the spring semester of the 2024–2025 academic year. It was designed according to a quasi-experimental pre-test post-test control group design. The participants consisted of 58 third-grade students in Şahinbey district of Gaziantep province, who had similar socioeconomic backgrounds and Turkish speaking and comprehension skills. The research process, including the administration of data collection tools, lasted for a total of ten weeks. While the lessons in the experimental group were conducted using game-based learning methods in the Life Studies course, the control group followed the existing Life Studies Curriculum (2019). Before and after the research, the "Inquiry Skills Scale (ISS)" was used as a data collection tool to determine students' inquiry skills. The data obtained from the study were analyzed using IBM SPSS 27.0 package program. To evaluate group differences by controlling for baseline levels, Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was applied. The results of the analysis revealed a significant difference in favor of the experimental group in terms of post-test scores when pre-test scores of the Inquiry Skills Scale were controlled for. Similarly, when the pre-test scores of the Inquiry Skills Scale sub-dimensions—inquiring about environmental life, daily life, and natural life—were controlled for, significant differences were found in favor of the experimental group in post-test scores. In line with these findings, it can be stated that the implementation of game-based learning in the Life Studies course makes a significant contribution to the development of students' inquiry skills. Keywords: Game-based learning model, inquiry skills, life sciences education, primary school