Students' Perception of Inquiry-Based Instruction, Active Learning and Formative Assessment in Higher Education

Malaysian Education is moving progressively from teacher-centered to student-centered learning to face 21st century global challenges. Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia has emphasized on a more comprehensive and effective structure of curriculum which focuses on active learning and student-centered approaches. Thus, this study was intended to investigate the perception of inquiry-based instruction, active learning and formative assessment practices in higher education based on gender. This study employed a quantitative method which adopted a survey questionnaire to gauge the response of students at the Faculty of Education attached to a public university in Malaysia. The researchers adopted and adapted survey questionnaires based on collective best practices in teaching, learning and assessment in higher education. A 5-Likert scale was used in the survey questionnaire. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed and about 80% were returned completely from 444 student respondents. The findings of the study indicated that active learning (AL), and formative assessment (FA), were statically significance based on gender. To summarize, this study showed that active learning has been practised moderately in higher education and the feedback from formative assessment should be strengthened by the instructors to help students in the learning process and realizing their knowledge potential through better engagement in the lesson. Hence, the findings indicated that the task of designing and implementing effective inquiry-based instruction, active learning, and formative assessment should be given due attention by instructors and the university with support from the Ministry of Higher Education.