ENVIRONMENTAL MILESTONES: AN ACTION RESEARCH STUDY ON FOSTERING INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING IN PRIMARY CLASSES

Ms. Anita Khosla; Ms. Amrita Kumar; Ms. Parul Jairath

doi:10.69980/ams.v12i1.6730

Ms. Anita Khosla School Principal (GD Goenka School Dwarka)
Ms. Amrita Kumar Educator, GD Goenka School Dwarka
Ms. Parul Jairath Primary In charge, GD Goenka School Dwark

DOI: https://doi.org/10.69980/ams.v12i1.6730

Keywords: Inquiry-Based Learning, Environmental Education, Action Research, Primary Education, Research Skills, Environmental Awareness, Critical Thinking, Student Engagement

Abstract

In the 2024–2025 academic year, GD Goenka Government Public School in Dwarka, India launched the "Environmental Milestones" action research project. Targeted at students from nursery to Grade 5, the project addresses the pain point of rote, textbook-based learning(GD Goenka Public School, 2025). Every two weeks, the project releases environmental inquiry questions, such as why leaves curl and why oceans do not mix with one another, and supports these questions with diverse inquiry pathways (Ardoin & Bowers, 2016; Windschitl et al., 2009). Students are required to present their outcomes through formats including drawing, oral sharing, and other similar forms.

This study of an elementary school classroom intervention that embedded inquiry-based environmental challenges used three types of assessment tools to measure its outcomes (GD Goenka Public School, 2025; Kurniawan & Sari, 2025). It found that students’ confidence in conducting independent research increased by 70%, and multiple categories of their competencies improved simultaneously (Hwang & Chang, 2020; Muthmainnah & Kuswanto, 2022). This study therefore strongly supports integrating such curricula into elementary school settings to foster students’ curiosity, critical thinking, and ecological stewardship literacy(Ardoin et al., 2020; Sari & Öztürk, 2022).

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

1. Ardoin, N. M., Bowers, A. W., & Gaillard, E. (2020). Early childhood environmental education: A systematic review of the research in the early childhood years. Environmental Education Research, 26(11), 1585–1608. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2020.1784862
2. Centre for Environment Education. (n.d.). School based programmes - CEE East. https://www.ceeindia.org/school-based-programmes-cee-east
3. Department of Education, Australian Government. (n.d.). Inquiry-based learning. https://www.education.gov.au/australian-curriculum/national-stem-education-resources-toolkit/i-want-know-about-stem-education
4. Kurniawan, A., & Sari, Y. P. (2023). Preparing students as environmental advocates. Primary Education Interdisciplinary Journal, 2(2), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.37304/pijed.v2i2.114
5. Mofokeng, E. M., & Selesho, J. M. (2022). Learners' knowledge of environmental education in selected primary schools. Environmental Education Research. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9737615/
6. The Energy and Resources Institute. (2025). The Green School Project 2.0: Empowering education for a greener future. https://www.teriin.org/project/green-school-advancing-step-towards-sustainable-behaviour
7. Windschitl, M., Thompson, J., Braaten, M., & Stroupe, D. (2009). Case studies of two preservice teachers' inquiry-based teaching in elementary science. Journal of Elementary Science Education, 21(3), 11–28. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ849709.pdf
8. Ardoin, N. M., & Bowers, A. W. (2016). Stories of learning: Inquiry-based pathways of discovery through environmental narratives. Cogent Education, 3(1), Article 1202546. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2016.1202546
9. Cochins. (2025). Developing research skills in primary and middle school learners. https://cochins.org/developing-research-skills-in-primary-and-middle-school-learners
10. Global Environmental Education Partnership. (2024). Compulsory environmental education in India [Case study]. https://thegeep.org/sites/default/files/2024-07/Compulsory%20Environmental%20Education%20in%20India.pdf
11. Hwang, G.-J., & Chang, S.-C. (2020). Promoting elementary pupils' learning motivation in environmental education using mobile inquiry-oriented ambience-aware fieldwork. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(7), Article 2415. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072415
12. IshCMC. (2026). How to promote research skills for students. https://www.ishcmc.com/news-and-blog/research-skills-for-students/
13. Kurniawan, D., & Sari, Y. P. (2025). Effect of adaptive inquiry-based learning model and group investigation on environmental education. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 15(8), 2361–2370. https://www.ijiet.org/vol15/IJIET-V15N8-2361.pdf
14. Muthmainnah, N., &Kuswanto, H. (2022). Inquiry-based environmental literacy to improve students' literacy skills. Semantic Scholar. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/993c/087e6adf16db9c78666f210b2faae543b221.pdf
15. Sarı, E., & Öztürk, N. (2022). A case study of research skills of primary school students. e-NAD Journal, 1(1), 1–15. https://enadonline.com/index.php/enad/article/download/1672/916/9837
16. Stern, M. J., Powell, R. B., & Ardoin, N. M. (2013). Interest. Research in Science Education, 43(5), 2095–2118. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1008611.pdf
17. Windschitl, M., & Thompson, J. (2013). Environmental education through inquiry and technology. Journal of Science Education and Technology. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1022987.pdf