Effects of Jigsaw Technique on Seventh Grade Primary School Students’ Attitude towards Mathematics

Abstract

The jigsaw technique, which focuses on development of peer cooperation and teamwork through division of tasks among students, takes place through each student's assuming responsibility. Students were taught the 7th Grade “Transformation Geometry” subject using the jigsaw technique in this study. In this context, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of learning the subject using the jigsaw technique on students’ attitude towards mathematics. In line with this purpose, the “Transformation Geometry” subject was taught to 33 students studying in the seventh grade at a primary school located in the Sakarya province of Turkey during four class hours in two stages, the first stage being in jigsaw groups, and the second in main groups. The one-group pre-test-post-test experimental design is used in this study that was conducted quantitatively. Data were collected using the “Your Opinions about Mathematics” scale. Data obtained were analyzed using statistical methods, and as a result, it was found that there were no significant differences between the pre-test/post-test scores of students. Based on this result it can be said that the jigsaw technique has no effects on improving students’ attitudes towards mathematics. It was seen that there are no differences among the pre-test scores by sex, but that there is a significant difference based on the scores obtained from the post-test.