Examining the effects of the 5E instructional model on college students’ higher-order thinking skills, peer interaction and learning achievement

This study investigated college students' higher-order thinking skills, peer interaction, and learning achievement, as well as the association between these three variables within learning contexts using the 5E instructional model. A quasi-experimental study was conducted using a sample (n=57) of first-year college students in China. Participants were taught the same political science course by either a 5E instructional model or a traditional lecture-based instructional approach for four months. The results showed that the 5E instructional intervention cultivated higher levels of higher-order thinking skills and peer interaction among students and a significant, positive correlation was identified between these two variables. Students' learning achievement was not affected by the instructional intervention. These results indicate that 5E instruction offers some distinct benefits of promoting students' higher-order thinking skills and peer interaction. In future work, additional research is needed to clarify how the instructional model relates to understanding learning achievement.