Do jigsaw classrooms improve learning outcomes? Five experiments and an internal meta-analysis.

Abstract

This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.promote learning, empirical research testing its effect on learning remains relatively scarce. The goal of the present research is to test the hypothesis that a jigsaw intervention would yield a meaningful effect size (d = .40) on learning outcomes, in 5 randomized experiments conducted among sixth-graders. The jigsaw intervention was compared to an "individualistic" (N Exp 1 = 252; N Exp 2 = 313) or a "teaching as usual" (N Exp 3A = 110; N Exp 3B = 74; N Exp 3C = 101) approach on the same pedagogical content. Across the 5 experiments, we did not find empirical support for this hypothesis. Internal meta-analytic estimates (ES = .00, 95% CI [À.10, .09]) showed that, overall, the jigsaw intervention did not produce the expected positive effects on learning. The reasons why jigsaw classrooms may not always prove beneficial for learning are discussed. Educational Impact and Implications StatementAlthough the "jigsaw classroom" is a relatively popular cooperative method (Aronson & Patnoe, 2011) which has often been presented as an efficient way to promote learning, empirical research testing its effect on learning remains relatively scarce and debated (Roseth et al., 2019). Poor evidence can be misleading for teachers. Across 5 randomized experiments conducted on French sixth-graders, the present research showed that the "jigsaw classroom" did not yield any significant gain in learning outcomes compared to "individualistic" or "teaching as usual" conditions of learning. The reasons why the jigsaw intervention did not produce the expected positive effects on learning are discussed.

The effects of the Jigsaw method on students’ physical activity in physical education: The role of student sex and habituation

“…Moreover, the skills developed in PE contribute to the promotion of long-term participation in PA (Curran and Standage, 2017; Kirk, 2010). As students’ learning and achievement depend on their PA engagement (Fredricks et al, 2004; Saugy et al, 2020), exploring the impact of the Jigsaw method on MVPA and its potential influencing factors can provide insights into the varying effects of both of these educational outcomes (Cochon Drouet et al, 2022; Slavin, 1990; Stanczak et al, 2022). Some previous studies have investigated the moderators that can increase or decrease students’ MVPA, including teacher behavior (Escriva-Boulley et al, 2018; Van Doren et al, 2021), the number of players (Roure et al, 2022), pedagogical strategies (Roure et al, 2022; Wang and Wang, 2018), and teaching models (i.e.…”

“…Sport Education), the establishment of routines is important to allow more efficient work (Guijarro et al, 2019; Hastie and Trost, 2002). Nevertheless, the implementation of such strategies or methods is demanding for both teachers and students (Stanczak et al, 2022). It takes time to understand the functioning of the Jigsaw method and to adapt to it (Aronson and Patnoe, 2011); thus, time is also required for the potential impact on student engagement to become manifest.…”

“…The purpose of the present study was to (1) explore the effect of Jigsaw on students’ MVPA in secondary school PE classes and (2) examine the roles of student sex and habituation through one sequence and across several sequences. Based on theoretical and empirical studies (Aronson and Patnoe, 2011; Stanczak et al, 2022), the first hypothesis was that students in the Jigsaw condition would experience a smaller decline in MVPA compared to students in the control condition. The control condition is based on the practice style of Mosston and Ashworth (2008), which is widely employed in the context of PE.…”

“…Jigsaw (Aronson, 1978) is a popular method of cooperative learning that is easy for teachers to understand (Roseth et al, 2019). The effects of Jigsaw on students’ learning have been widely studied, but findings have been inconsistent (Cochon Drouet et al, 2022; Stanczak et al, 2022). More precisely, in their meta-analysis of the effects of Jigsaw on students’ achievement, Stanczak (2020) showed a positive and large effect size, g = 0.88, 95% CI [0.51, 1.25]; however, the overall results were characterized by a very large dispersion and significant heterogeneity, Q (df = 19) = 265.86, p < .00l; I 2 = 92.85%.…”

Does a cooperative training design influence pre-service teachers’ perceived quality of life?

“…Jigsaw has become one of the classic peer-learning designs in education to such an extent that it has recently been introduced in university-based educator preparation programs. Nevertheless, Jigsaw does not always provide the expected positive learning outcomes, and empirical research that examined its effect on learning remains relatively scarce and debated (Stanczak et al, 2022). This statement stresses this importance of focusing on the teachers' competencies to implement CL in classrooms.…”