Evaluating the Implementation and Effectiveness of Inquiry-based Learning to Teaching Paper-based GIS in Secondary Schools
Thulasizwe Fredrick Mkhize 
, Zanele Heavy-Girl Dube-Xaba & Thabile Aretha Zondi
Issue: Vol.5 No.11 Issue Article 6 pp.1697-1710
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245116 | Published online 5th September, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This study evaluated the implementation and effectiveness of inquiry-based learning in teaching paper-based geographic information systems (PBGIS) in South African secondary schools. PBGIS refers to teaching GIS through maps without using digital applications such as Quantum GIS and ArcGIS. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has not provided geography teachers with clear guidelines for teaching PBGIS. Although DBE has provided geography teachers with sufficient PBGIS content, PBGIS pedagogical approaches are still fragmented. National Senior Certificate diagnostic reports indicate poor performance of learners on questions related to GIS in the examinations. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge is the conceptual framework used to understand the implementation and effectiveness of Inquiry-based Learning (IBL) in teaching PBGIS in secondary schools. This interpretive paradigm study underpinned the qualitative research design. The findings show that geography teachers implement IBL to engage learners in PBGIS research projects and mapwork activities that use scenarios to solve problems. Teachers believe using IBL is effective because it assists learners in becoming critical thinkers and developing skills to question their curiosity to construct knowledge through research projects. The study recommends that geography teachers use IBL to teach PBGIS in ways that stimulate learners’ critical thinking and help them learn to collaborate with others during the inquiry process. The study’s contribution may assist the DBE, teachers, learners, lecturers, and students with insights towards understanding the implementation and effectiveness of IBL in teaching PBGIS in secondary schools.
Keywords: Inquiry-based Learning (IBL), Paper-based GIS (PBGIS), Secondary Schools, TPACK.
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Mr. Thulasizwe Fredrick Mkhize is a lecturer in the Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, QwaQwa, South Africa. Doctor of Philosophy (Geography), UKZN, in progress. His teaching and research are at the intersection of geography education, geographic information systems in education, educational technology, teacher education, and the learning sciences. He is a Southern African Geography Teachers’ Association (SAGTA) member. Email: MkhizeTF@ufs.ac.za
Dr. Zanele Dube-Xaba, is a Senior Lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (School of Education-Tourism). Research focus: Rural and Domestic tourism; Tourism Education, Curriculum Development and Implementation; Teaching, Learning and Assessment in higher education and secondary school education with specific focus on engaging pedagogical approaches. Email: Dubez@ukzn.ac.za
Dr. Thabile Zondi is a lecturer in Geography and joined the School of Education, University of KwaZulu Natal, Edgewood, South Africa, in 2017. Her current research includes geography education, pedagogy and assessment, GIS, theology, environmental sustainability, and student movements. Her research and scholarship have been recognised by an award from the University Support Development Programme (USDP), where she was also awarded an opportunity to participate as a visiting scholar in the South African Doctoral Mentorship Programme at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. She has served on the school’s teaching and learning committee for two years and is currently the Social Science cluster language champion. Email: ZondiT2@ukzn.ac.za
Mkhize, Thulasizwe Fredrick, Zanele Heavy-Girl Dube-Xaba & Thabile Aretha Zondi. “Evaluating the Implementation and Effectiveness of Inquiry-based Learning to Teaching Paper-based GIS in Secondary Schools,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.11 (2024): 1697-1710. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245116
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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