A Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Applying Concept Maps and Inquiry Teaching Strategies on the Achievement of Students in Science

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to summarize quantitatively the findings of a number of  studies related to the effectiveness of using concept mapping and inquiry teaching strategies on the achievement of students in science, at both the basic and secondary school levels.  In order to achieve the purpose, the meta-analysis method was applied to summarizing Masters' Theses and Doctoral Dissertations comducted in 1984 through 2004 at a number of Arab Universities.  As pertaining to the studies that aimed at detecting the effectiveness of  applying concept mapping strategy, the results revealed a mean effect size of 0.67, for the 21 studies.  With reference to the studies that aimed at finding out the effectiveness of applying the inquiry strategy, the results exhibited a mean effect size of 0.71, for the 31 studies.  Further analyses showed a high effectiveness of applying the inquiry strategy at the basic school level.  In light of the above results, the study recommends that the meta-analytic method  be applied to analyzing  studies that aim at investigating further instructional strategies in order to determine their effectiveness on students’ achievement in science, and to attain the  proposed goals in teaching and learning