Logo image
Back
Multi-year evaluation of a smart inquiry-based science learning application in middle school education
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Multi-year evaluation of a smart inquiry-based science learning application in middle school education

Sameena Javaid, Sohaib Ahmed, Hiba Sania, Adnan Ahmad, Faizan Ahmad, Harun Elkiran and Jawad Rasheed
Frontiers in education (Lausanne), Vol.11, 1865946
2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2026.1865946
pdf
Published1.53 MBDownloadView
Open Access CC BY V4.0

Abstract

Education & Educational Research Social Sciences
With the advancement of technologies, the use of smart learning applications has been prevalent in school education, specifically in science inquiry learning. Many studies have reported the importance, significance, and learning techniques using Inquiry-based learning, but very few studies have evaluated the multi-year analyses of smart learning applications on students' evaluations along with their impact at institutional levels. Inquiry-based learning, a student-centered pedagogical approach in which students engage in questions, problems, or scenarios with minimal direct instruction, has become recognized for its significance and effectiveness in developing critical thinking, problem-solving, and independent learning skills. This paper presents a three-year multi-cohort quasi-experimental evaluation of a smart inquiry-based mobile application named MDISTIL (Mobile-Based Digital Storytelling for Inquiry Learning) implemented with different Grade-8 student cohorts between 2023 and 2025. The aim of the study is to design and evaluate the repeated implementation of a smart science inquiry-based learning application with 240 Grade-8 students across three consecutive years. Mobile Science Inquiry (MSI) framework is used to evaluate the quantitative and qualitative data using paired-sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance ANOVA, and an evaluation of a questionnaire measuring the usability of the application. Results show that the average pre-test scores were 10.75 for girls and 9.51 for boys, while the corresponding post-test scores were 12.35 and 11.74, respectively. Across the three annual cohorts, participating students demonstrated consistent improvements in post-test scores following MDISTIL-supported inquiry activities. The descriptive results indicate that both boys and girls demonstrated improvements in post-test scores following participation in the MDISTIL-supported inquiry activities. While differences in mean scores were observed between genders, the study design and available analyses do not permit firm conclusions regarding gender effects or gender-by-intervention interactions. Teacher observations suggested that students displayed varying levels of familiarity and confidence when initially handling mobile devices, while many students demonstrated strong engagement during the final presentation activities. Further, the qualitative evaluation indicates that students were satisfied with the usability of the application. Overall, this study highlights positive learning and usability patterns associated with the repeated implementation of a smart inquiry-based learning application and provides practical insights for educators and learning system designers.

Details

Metrics

2 Record Views
Logo image