Reflection paper

EFFECTS OF JIGSAW II ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

IN ENGLISH PREP CLASSES

Reference

Hüseyin Evcim and Ömer Faruk İpek (2013).Effects of Jigsaw II on Academic

Achievement in English Prep Classes.Social and Behavioural Sciences,70:1651-1659.

The objectives of this study was to as certain that the learner centred learning, that is

cooperative learning techniques is more effective than the traditional learning method. This is

because in traditional learning method, the learners with limited proficiency receive less

communication from their teacher and peers. The traditional method causes different skills

development for different people, which is why pupils can demonstrate different levels of

ability when it comes to learning.

The article claims that,cooperative learning technique generally refers to students

working together to achieve academic objectives and the instructional procedures that

structure the students' collaborative efforts. Jigsaw II is a cooperative learning model that

involves small groups of students(2 – 4 students) teaching each other the subject matter.

Eventually, the students become the "experts" with success dependent upon student

cooperation. Jigsaw II was used to see if it could produce superior academic achievement

compared to the traditional learning method which is more towards teacher-centered whole-

class instructional process.

Traditional learning methods have always been focussed on lecture-based methods in

which the learners become passive recipients of knowledge. But in recent years instructional

process was seen to have greater emphasis on cooperation-based learning. This interactive
learning-teaching method enables the students to work in cooperation in small groups (2 – 4

pupils) so as to attain their shared learning objectives to the maximum.

Unlike traditional instructional method, cooperative learning requires students to work

together in small, fixed groups on a structured task. In order to achieve the purpose of the

instruction, each member of the group must have accountability.When every member of the

group is accountable to learn all required material, all students would feel more comfortable

with their roles in the group. Mutual understanding and the trust among the group members

further enhance the effectiveness of the cooperative learning environment. This would enable

each student perform well in evaluation individually; and eventually contribute to the group’s

excellent performance. 48 students who were offered English-medium education were chosen

based on their midterm results and quiz results for the purpose of this study. These students

were divided into two groups: 1. Experiment Group; and, 2. Control Group. Each group is

consists of 24 people, and they share the same qualities in terms of department and male-

female numbers.The students’ first mid-term results were used as a tool to determine the

experimental group and control group as it was a standardized exam applied by the

department of foreign languages. The means of both groups were almost the same and they

were equal in terms of their exam results.At the end of the instructional process, the students

would be evaluated. They would have to sit for a final test, a 50-question-quiz; which is

designed by the researcher focusing on the points covered during the Jigsaw II.There were

two groups; experimental and control group were involved in this experiment.The reason for

the students in the Jigsaw II group had higher scores than those in the control group can be

attributed to the fact that students in the cooperative (Jigsaw II) group completely learn their

subject topics by fulfilling their individual responsibilities, make their friends understand the

topic, have effective interactions with their friends, and are all actively involved in the

learning process.
 In my opinion, The proficiency of the students in the target language is expected to be

a setback in this Jigsaw II technique. In order to contribute to the group the students should

possess the certain level of knowledge in the language. The factor is most likely would effect

the smooth flow of sharing information in the group. The element of dissatisfaction among

the group members might hamper the objective of the instruction process.The accountability

of each member of the group, preparing and contributing information to the group. If one

member of the group fail to prepare for the task which was given to their group, this will halt

the smooth flow of the discussion. There are chances where one or two members of the group

do not have the accountability. These kind of students will choose to ride on the back of other

group members; and, whenever a task is given to them.Next is the formation of the “expert

group”. The chances of getting an “expert sheet” for each and every group for they are the

ones who are going to ensure that the activity given is being carried out

accordingly.However, all these issues could be overcome by the careful planning of the

activity or task to be carried out.