Educational Research and Review Vol. 5(12), pp. 770-776, December 2010 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/ERR ISSN 1990-3839 ©2010 Academic Journals. Full Length Research Paper The effect of Jigsaw IV on the achievement of course of language teaching methods and techniques Sedat Maden Department of Turkish Language Education, Faculty of Education, Cumhuriyet University, Turkey. E-mail: [email protected]. Fax: 03462191224. Accepted 27 October, 2010 The purpose of the study is to compare the effects of Jigsaw-IV and the conventional teaching on the academic achievement of Turkish pre-service teachers as for the language teaching methods and techniques. In this study “pretest–post test with the control group model” was used. The subjects of the study are 62 undergraduate students at the Department of Turkish Language. The control group in which conventional teaching was used (n=30), and the experimental Jigsaw group (n=32) were randomly selected. The data for the groups’ academic achievement in terms of language teaching methods and techniques were gathered by means of language teaching methods and techniques achievement test (LTMTAT) as pre-test and post-test, and their views towards the Jigsaw IV technique taken through student opinion form (SOF) were analyzed. As a result of the statistical analysis, it appears there were considerable differences in favor of the experimental group in terms of academic achievement and retention level in language teaching methods and techniques. Moreover, it was concluded that students have positive attitudes towards Jigsaw IV. Key words: Language teaching, methods and techniques, cooperative learning, Jigsaw IV, conventional teaching. INTRODUCTION Language teaching is a multidimensional area since it learning, and knowing the way of reaching the goal is as develops child/adult’s language abilities, makes them crucial as the goal itself. Reaching the educational goals acquire awareness of native language, and finally builds is dependent upon being able to choose the appropriate close relationship with other social skills. Therefore, method. Choosing the appropriate methods is in language teaching should be organized according to the accordance with the suitable methods for an effective in- content and learners’ characteristics. For the desired class learning-teaching process. For an effective achievement, implementing different in-class methods learning, teachers should be attentive about teaching and techniques appears to be both natural and style, and in order for teachers can be attentive about indispensable. Instruction, discussion, demonstration, the method, they should be familiar with the methods question and answer, drama, brainstorming, aquarium, available and appropriately use them (Demirel, 1999). circle and jigsaw are only some of these methods and The conditions for each method and technique’s techniques, and these techniques considering the availability are different. Therefore, teachers should objectives, content and learner’s features and needs can choose the most appropriate methods considering be either simultaneously or separately used. In order to himself/herself, the students, subject matter, and the reach success in any task, implementation should be expected behaviors (Fidan, 1993). carried out according to certain methods. In other words, Language teaching is a long process, and the teaching any task done without any method seems to deviate from methods are of considerable importance. Most of the its ultimate goal. Thus, teaching method plays a crucial language teaching approaches and theories argue that role for a thorough and effective learning (Buyukkaragoz, teaching methods obtain their own values being affected 1997). by the economic, political, social and educational Methods and techniques are the key to ultimate developments and these methods should be found in Maden 771 terms of feasibility, intuition, and creativity. The methods Slavin, 1991; Bolling, 1994; Coppola and Lawton, 1995; and techniques deprived of these features are not Gardener and Korth, 1996; Johnson and Johnson, 1999; appreciated. Due to changing and developing social, Bowen, 2000; Levine, 2001; Prince, 2004; Eilks, 2005; economic and educational conditions, the language Graham, 2005; Maloof and White, 2005; Gilles, 2006; teaching methods and techniques should be revised and Hennessy and Evans, 2006; Lin, 2006; Prichard, Bizo they need to meet the new needs. Teachers should also and Stratford, 2006). Cooperative learning, in addition, is know their students’ characteristics, subject matter and a covering term for the educational approaches that the communicative skills. In this way, they can achieve require an intellectual effort of both teacher and student, successful language teaching (Liu and Shi, 2007). and only student individually or in group (Delucchi, 2006). There recently appears a necessity of use of strategies As a teaching tool, that is a part of cooperative learning and methods that both students and teachers can approach, Jigsaw was first used by Eliot Aronson in 1978 discover some solutions to learning of fundamental to improve the collaboration of students that includes two language skills based on practice together. Likewise, as different actions of small groups (Hedeen, 2003). for the education of language teachers, language As for application phase of Jigsaw technique the learning strategies, efficacy in methods and techniques, following are highlighted: participation, subject, providing modeling and meaningful learning should be taken into consideration (Chamot et i) Forming groups (consisting of 4 or 7 students); al., 1993). preferably heterogeneous ones. Conducting implementations in the teaching of strategy, ii) Dividing the materials (the subject is divided into methods and techniques to language teachers can be smaller parts in accordance with the number of students. effective to achieve in teaching setting. A language Each part is given to one student. teacher who has a constructive, creative and enjoyable iii) Creating expert groups (valid for Jigsaw technique). personality and has been able to learn several characteristics and functions of teaching methods and Students leaving their own groups form new groups with techniques can effectively and productively use all the other students who are responsible for preparing the methods in spite of hard conditions (Oguzkan, 1989). same subject. These groups called “expert” attempt to Language and language teaching has a sophisticated clarify the subject, make plan about how to teach the structure that a person developing his/her inborn subject to their classmates and then turn back to their language skills, can consciously use them in terms of own group teach their subject as they have done in the complex and specified language use domain/skills expert group. At the last phase, teacher makes an either (Pinker, 1994: 18). In order to improve this structure, an individual or small group activity in order to complete their appropriate and implementation based teaching program learning. For example, teacher can make one of the should be employed. actual group’s students present one of the subject No element in language learning and teaching is static materials. As for the evaluation, using the evaluation but dynamic (Larsen-Freeman, 1997). Literature into tools that are employed in cooperative learning, the study language teaching emphasizes that general and specific is completed (Simsek, 2007: 19). goals should be assessed. Therefore, particular Through some studies into Jigsaw technique, the requirements in language teaching program and teaching implementation phase has been somewhat changed and should be paid attention (Robinson, 1980). diverse types of this technique has occurred. Apart from In the determination of the subject, material, method Jigsaw I, Jigsaw-II (by Slavin, 1987), Jigsaw-III (by Stahl, and techniques and even in teacher education, this detail 1984), Jigsaw-IV (by Holliday, 2000), Reverse Jigsaw (by should be considered. Language teaching methods and Heeden, 2003) and Subject Jigsaw (Doymus, 2007) have techniques should not ignore active participation, critical been developed. approach, creative thought production, being practice The jigsaw technique can enhance cooperative based, taking examples from daily life and giving the total learning by making each student responsible for teaching structure of language while serving on the features of some of the materials to the group. In this technique, student and the educational content. Among the teaching students are members of two different groups, the “home approaches that can form active learning process and be group” and the “jigsaw group.” Initially, students meet in effective in academic achievement and can need the their home groups, and each member of the home group modern expectations, cooperative learning may attract is assigned a portion of the material to learn as an attention. “expert” (Doymus et al., 2004; Slavin, 1991). Cooperative learning is a type of learning that a subject The language teaching profession has mirrored these is learnt with small heterogeneous groups (4 or 7 theoretical trends with approaches and techniques that members) and meanwhile in which group members have stressed the importance of self-esteem, intrinsic attempt to teach each other. The methods and motivation, students cooperatively learning together, of techniques of cooperative learning enhance students’ self- developing individual strategies for