Effectiveness of Jigsaw Active Learning Method in Promoting Knowledge Gain and Retention among Medical Students: A Quasi-experimental Study

Abstract

Introduction: The jigsaw method is one of the learning methods that has great potential to make students learn a large amount of information in a short period of time. It is a classroom technique where students act as blocks of jigsaw puzzle and learn cooperatively with all the participating students acting as teachers as well as learners. Aim: To assess the effectiveness of jigsaw active learning method in comparison to conventional didactic method in promoting knowledge gain and retention among final year medical students. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental crossover pretest post-test study was conducted among final year medical students of a tertiary care teaching hospital in North Kerala from June 2021 to July 2021 during the integrated sessions by Surgery and Pharmacology Departments. Students were randomly divided into two groups A and B of 28 students each. They were taught two topics i.e., hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, as two sessions by either a jigsaw (experimental) or didactic (control) method. The first topic was taught by the two methods and then the same groups were later crossed over for the second topic. Knowledge gain and retention were assessed by immediate and delayed post-tests consisting of 20 multiple choice questions with a single correct response. Each correct response was given one mark and incorrect responses were given no negative marks. All data collected was analysed statistically. Statistical significance was considered at p-value <0.05. Results: The mean age of students was 22.321±0.734 years. Mean scores of immediate post-test were significantly higher in the jigsaw group for the first session (16.64 vs 14.21, p=0.001) and the crossover session (17.61 vs 15.14, p=0.001). Mean scores of delayed post-test were significantly higher in the jigsaw group for the first session (14.32 vs 11.03, p=0.001) and the crossover session (14.85 vs 11.28, p=0.001). Conclusion: Jigsaw method was found to be more effective than didactic method in promoting knowledge gain and retention among medical students.

Keywords

• cooperative learning
• interactive learning
• medical education