Using the Jigsaw Method to Teach Abdominal Anatomy

Abstract

This study evaluates a cooperative learning approach for teaching anatomy to health science students incorporating small group and peer instruction based on the jigsaw method first described in the 1970's. Fifty-three volunteers participated in abdominal anatomy workshops. Students were given time to become an "expert" in one of four segments of the topic (sub-topics) by allocating groups to work-stations with learning resources: axial computerized tomography (CT) of abdominal structures, axial CT of abdominal blood vessels, angiograms and venograms of abdominal blood vessels and structures located within abdominal quadrants. In the second part of workshop, students were redistributed into "jigsaw" learning groups with at least one "expert" at each workstation. The "jigsaw" learning groups then circulated between workstations learning all sub-topics with the "expert" teaching others in their group. To assess abdominal anatomy knowledge, students completed a quiz pre- and post- workshop. Students increased their knowledge with significant improvements in quiz scores irrespective of prior exposure to lectures or practical classes related to the workshop topic. The evidence for long-term retention of knowledge, assessed by comparing end-semester examination performance of workshop participants with workshop nonparticipants, was less convincing. Workshop participants rated the jigsaw workshop highly for both educational value and enjoyment and felt the teaching approach would improve their course performance. The jigsaw method improved anatomy knowledge in the short-term by engaging students in group work and peer-led learning, with minimal supervision required. Reported outcomes suggest that cooperative learning approaches can lead to gains in student performance and motivation to learn. Anat Sci Educ 00: 000-000. © 2018 American Association of Anatomists.

Developing digital multimedia of human anatomy and physiology material based on STEM education

“…Implementing of multimedia is believed to be able to facilitate the occurrence of meaningful learning processes and experiences for students (Maria, Rusilowati, & Hardyanto, 2019;Umachandran et al, 2019). Meaningful learning is indicated to be able to facilitate students in optimizing thinking skills (Iversen, Pedersen, Krogh, & Jensen, 2015;Korres & Tsami, 2013) which in turn will determine how he understands the concepts being studied (Kiliç & Saǧlam, 2014), especially if the concepts are very complex such as human anatomy and physiology (Himschoot, 2012;Oakes, Hegedus, Ollerenshaw, Drury, & Ritchie, 2019).…”

Supporting Cooperative Dialogue in Heterogeneous Groups in Elementary Education

“…However, this absence has been found more often in this line of research. For example, Oakes et al (2019) found that students who participated in a jigsaw lesson did not outperform students who worked in a nonjigsaw setting, even though the jigsaw groups did show high-quality processes, and students considered the jigsaw task as beneficial and enjoyable. Furthermore, Lazonder and Harmsen (2016) stated in their meta-analysis concerning guidance in inquiry learning that guidance that is specifically focused on the process does not necessarily induce acquisition of knowledge.…”

“…Previous research demonstrated that the jigsaw method was more successful than learning in traditional cooperative groups, leading to higher academic achievement (e.g., Aronson & Patnoe, 2011; Colosi & Zales, 1998). The method ensures that group members actively take part in the group process by sharing their knowledge and discussing the content in differently composed groups (Karacop & Doymus, 2013; Oakes, Hegedus, Ollerenshaw, Drury, & Ritchie, 2019). However, these process-related benefits have been demonstrated with an older target group (i.e., university students), and it is not clear yet how the method affects younger children’s cooperative processes.…”

Implementing of subject jigsaw learning model and its impact on students’ achievement in Embryology course

“…Some researchers believe that cooperative attitudes can grow with a pattern of habituation in the learning process (Scott, 2015;Triyanto, 2018). Cooperative attitudes such as togetherness in the learning process (Hedeen, 2003;Slish, 2005), responsibilities (Bennett, 2016), perceptions of the same learning goals (Slavin, 2012), fair distribution of responsibilities (Haviz, 2015), appreciation (Oakes et al, 2019), and leadership (Bennett, 2016) always emerge and grow in student learning interactions (Karaçöp, 2016). On the contrary, these results were not found in the CG class.…”

“…Jigsaw implementation is not mere a learning method but also an effort that can be done to measure the success of biology learning (Slavin, 2012). (Oakes, Hegedus, Ollerenshaw, Drury, and Ritchie, 2019) found that the jigsaw method increases knowledge about anatomy by involving group work, peer-led learning, minimal supervision, and leads to increased student performance and learning motivation. While other research also reports that various biology topics such as ecology (Asshoff, Düsing, Winkelmann, & Hammann, 2019;Smith & Chang, 2005), microbiology (Jasti, Hug, Waters, & Whitaker, 2014), anatomy (Koprowski & Perigo, 2000), biology developmental (Haviz, 2015) that are taught with jigsaw have a positive impact on students' understanding, interest in learning, and thinking ability including cognitive (Bennett, 2016) and metacognitive awareness (Palennari, 2016).…”