Claims

The relation between frequency of inquiry activities and science achievement is curvilinear, with the highest gains where inquiry combines with direct teacher-based instruction

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r2–r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2023 · checked against its sources 2026-10-21 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims

Reading the evidence codes

q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.

This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.

q2 i? PISA 2015 data show a curvilinear relation between inquiry activity frequency and science achievement, positive up to a certain level. → de Jong 2023 q2 i? The highest average score increase was associated with inquiry learning combined with direct, teacher-based instruction, called the sweet spot. → de Jong 2023 (2)

Evidence

de Jong 2023

de Jong, T., Lazonder, A. W., Chinn, C. A., Fischer, F., Gobert, J., Hmelo-Silver, C. H., Koedinger, K. R., Krajcik, J. S., Kyza, E. A., Linn, M. C., Pedaste, M., Scheiter, K., & Zacharia, Z. C. (2023). Let's talk evidence – The case for combining inquiry-based and direct instruction. Educational Research Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2023.100536

q2 · i? · review · r3

Correlational analyses of PISA 2015 self-report data reviewed here show the relation is "not linear but curvilinear"; the review notes the pattern was also found in TIMSS data and confirmed in a meta-analysis covering PISA and TIMSS data.

"the relation between the frequency of inquiry learning activities and science achievement scores is not linear but curvilinear, meaning that inquiry activities do have a positive relation with science performance up to a certain level"

de Jong 2023 (2)

de Jong, T., Lazonder, A. W., Chinn, C. A., Fischer, F., Gobert, J., Hmelo-Silver, C. H., Koedinger, K. R., Krajcik, J. S., Kyza, E. A., Linn, M. C., Pedaste, M., Scheiter, K., & Zacharia, Z. C. (2023). Let's talk evidence – The case for combining inquiry-based and direct instruction. Educational Research Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2023.100536

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports Chen et al. (2017) found from PISA 2015 data that "the highest average score increase was associated with inquiry learning in combination with forms of direct, teacher-based instruction," which they called the sweet spot of instruction.

"Chen et al. (2017), who found on the basis of PISA 2015 data that the highest average score increase was associated with inquiry learning in combination with forms of direct, teacher-based instruction."

Discussion

Page metadata
Field Value
type claim
id pisa-curvilinear-inquiry-achievement
title The relation between frequency of inquiry activities and science achievement is curvilinear, with the highest gains where inquiry combines with direct teacher-based instruction
description The relation between frequency of inquiry activities and science achievement is curvilinear, with the highest gains where inquiry combines with direct teacher-based instruction
status review
evidence_strength weak
newest_evidence 2023
source_checked 2026-10-21
generated by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-21
trust unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources 2 — de-jong-2023, de-jong-2023-2

Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.