THE JIGSAW TECHNIQUE IN LOWER SECONDARY PHYSICS EDUCATION: STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT, METACOGNITION AND MOTIVATION

Abstract

Physics teaching should facilitate students to acquire knowledge, increase metacognitive awareness and motivation for learning physics. The implementation of cooperative learning could be useful for improving teaching. The aim of this research was to examine the effect of cooperative learning (specifically the jigsaw technique) on students’ achievement in physics, metacognitive awareness, and motivation. An experiment with parallel groups (experimental and control) was carried out with 92 seventh-grade students (in lower secondary education). Jigsaw technique was implemented in the experimental group, while the control group was taught using teacher-directed teaching method. Students’ physics achievement, metacognitive awareness and motivation were measured using knowledge tests and questionnaires (before and after the experiment). Statistical analysis included calculations of Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, performance of the Shapiro-Wilk test, Mann-Whitney U test and the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test. The research results showed that the implementation of jigsaw technique in physics classes significantly improved students’ physics achievement, metacognitive awareness, and motivation. Therefore, it can be suggested that this technique is beneficial in lower secondary physics education, and it can be recommended to implement the jigsaw technique in everyday school practice. Keywords: cooperative learning, metacognitive awareness, parallel group design, physics education