The Development of Basic Science Process Skills Using the Inquiry-Based Learning Approach Integrated With Science Games for Fifth Grade Students.

Abstract

Background and Aims: Science and technology are essential tools for preparing youth to live in a global society, requiring the development of core skills such as high-level thinking and problem-solving. However, Fifth Grade students at Banhuaiphaknam School lacked basic science process skills due to lecture-based teaching, resulting in a low average science achievement of 65.00% and From a test of basic science process skills of fifth grade students in the first semester of the 2025 academic year. Banhuaiphaknam School, Chaiyaphum Province, using a 40-item test, it was found that the students' average scores for basic science process skills, ranked from highest to lowest, were as follows: observation ( =4.56), measurement ( =4.22), calculation ( =4.11), classification ( =4.00), prediction ( =3.11), drawing conclusions from data ( =3.11), manipulating and interpreting data ( =3.00), and finding relationships between space and space and space and time ( =2.89). Therefore, the researcher wanted to develop the four basic science process skills with the lowest average scores for the students, namely: skills in finding relationships between space and space and space and time, skills in manipulating and interpreting data, skills in drawing conclusions from data, and skills in prediction. This serves as an important tool to help students gain a concrete and lasting understanding of the concepts of force and energy. The objectives of this study were: 1. To develop of basic science process skills using the inquiry-based learning approach integrated with science games for fifth grade students, aiming for the students' average basic science process skills scores to be at least 70 percent of the total score. 2. To study fifth grade students’ satisfaction with the inquiry-based learning approach integrated with science games.

Methodology: The target group was fifth grade students in the second semester of the 2025 academic year. Banhuaiphaknam School, Chaiyaphum Province with a total of nine students. The research instruments consisted of 3 types: 1. Research Implementation Instruments, included Learning Management Plans using the inquiry-based approach integrated with science games, focusing on the topic of "Force and Energy", 2. Reflective Practice Instruments which included 1) A behavior observation form and 2) An interview form and 3. Learning Achievement Evaluation Instrument : A basic science process skills test (administered as sub-tests at the end of each cycle) the data were analyzed using percentage, mean, and standard deviation.
Results: 1. Fifth grade students who learned using the Inquiry-Based Learning approach integrated with science games, the results regarding scientific process skills were as follows: in Cycle 1, 6 students passed the criteria, accounting for 66.67%; in Cycle 2, all students passed the criteria, accounting for 100%; and in Cycle 3, all students passed the criteria, accounting for 100%. Upon completion of all three cycles, every student achieved an average basic scientific process skill score of no less than 70% of the total score, representing 100% of the participants. 2. Overall, the satisfaction of fifth grade students towards the inquiry-based learning approach integrated with science games was at the highest level.

Conclusion: The development of basic science process skills using the inquiry-based learning approach integrated with science games effectively promotes students' learning, enabling them to construct knowledge themselves, and can be applied to enhance educational quality in other contexts.