This article examines the development of 9th-grade students’ analytical skills while performing qualitative identification tasks in chemistry classes based on the five components of the Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) strategy: Orientation, Conceptualise, Investigation, Conclusion, and Discussion.

In the Orientation component, the question-and-answer method was applied; in Conceptualise, questions prompting hypotheses for identifying unknown substances were used; the Investigation component applied the guided inquiry method; and in the Discussion component, the Plus/Minus/Intriguing method was used. These approaches aimed to develop students’ ability to design experimental plans to identify unknown substances in practical work, select the necessary reagents from tables, and correctly analyze the composition of identified substances.

Research Objective:
The study investigates the impact of the five IBL components on students’ development of skills to make observations, design and implement experimental plans in practice, and perform accurate analyses of substance composition through evidence-based reasoning in chemical experiments.

Relevance:
Due to students’ low proficiency in making correct observations, drawing conclusions, and analyzing the composition of identified substances in their own experiments, there is a need to develop their skills in monitoring experiments and analyzing practical work. This research is aimed at fostering and improving higher-order thinking skills such as predicting, analyzing, and concluding, thereby making a significant contribution to the international scientific-pedagogical discourse on developing these skills.

Research Questions:

1. How do the five components of the IBL strategy influence students’ development of analytical skills while performing qualitative identification tasks?
2. Which methods can be used to measure the development of students’ analytical skills in performing qualitative identification tasks?

Literature Review

During the literature review for this study, analysis and comparison methods were applied.

Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) is a teaching approach that emphasizes not only applying acquired knowledge to solve given problems and conducting investigations but also analyzing the situation to make appropriate decisions (Lee, 2014).

A question-based teaching model is one of the instructional approaches encompassing thinking processes and actions (Kidman & Casinader, 2017). Question-based teaching allows students to engage more in independent inquiry (Chu et al., 2017). This teaching method, grounded in constructivism, prioritizes student activity in seeking and discovering knowledge during learning. Teachers guide students toward scientific questions or problems that arise during lessons, thereby inviting students to explore, connect their existing knowledge and ideas, formulate scientific explanations, and apply, use, and evaluate learned concepts (Simamora et al., 2020).

Implementing question-based teaching in the classroom requires preparation in two main areas: defining learning objectives and identifying scientific questions or problems to be addressed in learning (Arends, 2012). Additionally, before starting question-based teaching, teachers must consider students’ prior knowledge levels (Odegaard et al., 2015).

The main four elements of question-based teaching are:

1. Questioning
2. Inquiry
3. Assessment
4. Analysis (Ai et al., 2008)

There are many interpretations of questioning in teaching and learning, and different levels of questions may exist in these contexts. In their article The Many Levels of Inquiry, Heather Banchi and Randy Bell (2008) clearly identify four levels of questions. Banchi and Bell explain that teachers should start with lower-level questions and gradually move to open questions to effectively develop students’ inquiry skills. Open-question inquiry is successful only when students are motivated by their intrinsic interests and have the skills to conduct their own scientific investigations.

The study employed surveying, observation, comparison, investigation, analysis, and evaluation. The research involved three groups of 9th-grade students, totaling 38 students. Two groups (25 students) served as the experimental groups, while 13 students formed a control group. A preliminary survey was conducted to identify the difficulties students encounter during practical lessons. According to the survey results, 67.2% of students reported difficulties in analyzing and drawing conclusions from the data obtained in their experiments, while 32.8% indicated no difficulty. Furthermore, 74.4% of students faced challenges in qualitative identification of unknown substances and analyzing their composition. Based on these results, the need to develop students’ analytical and conclusion-drawing skills was confirmed. The researcher discussed teaching methods with teachers, reviewed relevant literature, and selected the IBL strategy. Additionally, effective methods for each of the five components of the IBL strategy were analyzed: Orientation Component: The Question-and-Answer method using a video tutorial arranged from simple to complex helped enhance students’ ability to receive and process information. Students’ responses to guiding questions were evaluated on a 5-point scale, and two-thirds of the class received the maximum score of 5 points. Conceptualise Component: Students were given hypothesis-forming questions to identify unknown substances. This helped them memorize the reagents for identifying unknown cations and anions, improving retention. Assessment was carried out using verbal praise, aiming to enhance students’ ability to use qualitative analysis tables and correctly apply chemical keywords and terminology. Investigation Component: Using the Guided Inquiry method, students conducted qualitative identification of unknown substances independently, performed experiments, and improved their investigative and analytical skills, while finding concrete evidence. During the first trial in pairs, errors occurred, so it was decided that individual experiments were more effective. Individual work allowed students to identify unknown substances independently and strengthen their analytical and research skills. Students assessed their performance using evaluation sheets with “Experienced Analyst” criteria. Discussion Component: Reflection was conducted using the Plus/Minus/Intriguing method. Among 25 students: o Plus: 18 students noted that the qualitative table was helpful for identifying substances. o Minus: 6 students reported difficulties when attempting to identify three unknown cations simultaneously with one reagent. o Intriguing: 22 students expressed interest in studying the flame colors of cations and other metals. Discussions enhanced students’ deep understanding of the topic and helped them identify areas for improvement. Performing chemical experiments was particularly effective for kinesthetic and visual learners, while analyzing experiment results benefited auditory learners.

The use of the IBL strategy, the “Question-and-Answer,” “Guided Inquiry,” and “Plus/Minus/Intriguing” methods, tasks designed according to the “deepening” principle of differentiated instruction, individual and pair work formats, as well as self-assessment and peer-assessment, contributed to students’ success in the teaching and learning process. The application of these methods within the components of the “Inquiry-Based Learning” strategy enabled an analysis of the effective and ineffective aspects of the methods used, identification of students’ strengths and weaknesses, and consideration of effective approaches for improving learning outcomes. In the “Question-and-Answer” method, students were able to identify the learning objectives with the help of guiding questions. However, in the conceptualise component, students encountered difficulties in using appropriate key words and terms when responding to hypothesis-formulating questions based on a demonstration. This highlighted the need to further develop students’ scientific language skills. In the investigation component, during individual work, a Level A student identified three unknown substances using only one reagent and proposed the most efficient approach. In the conclusion component, Level A, B, and C students were paired according to their levels. Through “student–student” interaction, peer checking and peer teaching were effectively implemented. In the control group, 64% of 25 students achieved high scores in the summative assessment, while 36% scored above average. In the non-control group, 38.5% of 13 students achieved high scores. It was observed that students were able to correctly apply theoretical knowledge, design experimental plans, and showed improvement in prediction, analysis, and comparison skills. Students independently conducted research and, where possible, designed experimental plans. Valuable feedback was received from both students and parents, noting that students’ independence and self-confidence had increased. Worksheets designed for students in accordance with the five components of the IBL strategy, along with sample tasks, were shared with school teachers.

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