Let’s Learn with a Jigsaw! Implementing a Unique Collaborative Online Learning in an Engineering Course

Abstract

The jigsaw technique is a cooperative learning method that makes students depend on each other to understand the concepts of any topic. Many faculties in engineering schools struggle to convey the concepts of their topics to students via online learning, especially during this Pandemic. Therefore, there is a need for suitable online activities that students can perform to better understand the concepts in engineering courses. A case study was done in a mechanical engineering course to test online group learning methods. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the jigsaw group learning and conventional group learning methods on students’ performances in a course assessment. A total of 80 students divided into two groups participated in this study. The harvested data from students’ performances in a course assessment was analyzed statistically using multiple-way ANOVA. Also, a post course survey was conducted and a satisfaction index was calculated. The results showed that students who participated in the jigsaw groups scored a slightly higher average than students from conventional groups. Further, the results of the calculated satisfaction index showed that the application of jigsaw groups can highlight areas of improvements in students’ understanding of the course material.