Özet:

The main aim of the current study is to determine the effects of laboratory activities through cooperative learning jigsaw technique on the achievements of primary school seventh grade learners at the unit of ‘The Electricity in Our Lives’. Moreover, the effects of laboratory activities through cooperative learning jigsaw technique and the traditional teaching methods on the retention of the knowledge were investigated. It was also targeted to find out the opinions of learners regarding the laboratory activities carried out via the cooperative learning Jigsaw technique. The sampling of the study consisted of 50 students attending 7th grade of a state lower secondary school. Pre-test post-test control group design out of experimental research designs was used for the study. One of the classes was assigned as the experimental group which practiced the cooperative learning jigsaw technique, and the other class practicing the traditional teaching method was determined as the control group.  Throughout the procedure, academic achievement test was administered to the experimental and control groups as a pre-post and retention test.  Jigsaw opinion questionnaire (JOQ) was also used for the students in the experimental group. Descriptive statistics of the relevant data were computed, and independent samples t-test was used to compare the quantitative data.  Frequencies and percentages of the findings of the JOQ administered to the experimental group were computed and evaluated.  The findings of the study revealed that prior knowledge of the research groups about the contents in the unit of the electricity in our lives was similar to each other before the treatment. It was also found that teaching through cooperative learning jigsaw technique was more effective than traditional teaching methods in enhancing the student achievement in the unit of the electricity in our lives and ensuring the retention of the knowledge. Also, the students participating in the treatment with the cooperative learning jigsaw technique had positive opinions about the treatment procedure. According to the findings of the study, it was suggested that using jigsaw technique at different subjects of science courses in a long-term process would contribute to the students’ development of affective characteristics along with the academic achievements.

Anahtar Kelimeler: