Presentation

Using the Jigsaw Method for Exam Reviews in

Introductory Statistics Classes

Jackie Miller miller.203@osu.edu

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Using the Jigsaw Method for Exam Reviews in Introductory Statistics Classes

Overview

• Introduction to the jigsaw method by example

• Where did the jigsaw method come from?

• How did the jigsaw method come to statistics at

OSU?

• How we use it for a midterm review

• Making it work

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Nobel Prize in Astronomy (Brant Hinrichs, Drury

University)

• Imagine that we are going to give a Nobel Prize for Astronomy to one of four astronomers:

Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Ptolemy.

• If we have a class of 20 students, 5 students will be assigned to a group for each astronomer.

• Each group (the “home” group) will study its astronomer and build a case for why that astronomer should win the Nobel Prize.

• This group work is done as an activity outside of class.

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University)

• In the next class meeting, one person from each of the four astronomer groups will be assigned to a new group —we now have 5 groups of 4 students (heterogeneous —each group has a representative for each astronomer). These are the “jigsaw” groups.

• Each group member presents to his group why his astronomer should win the Nobel Prize.

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University)

• The heterogeneous jigsaw group debates which astronomer should win the Nobel Prize.

• The decision cannot be made without information about each astronomer and it cannot be made without healthy debate.

• Once each group has selected an astronomer to win the Nobel Prize, the class comes together to discuss the decisions of each group.

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Why the Nobel Prize in Astronomy Example Works

• The decision each group makes about which astronomer should win the Nobel Prize cannot be made without the contribution of a student from each astronomer group.

• If a student from an original astronomer group does not understand why his astronomer should win, he cannot make a good case for his astronomer in his jigsaw group.

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Why the Nobel Prize in Astronomy Example Works

• In this case, there is no wrong answer —it’s the process of teaching and learning about the four astronomers that is important.

• Teachers appreciate that teaching about a topic helps you to understand the topic better. In this example, the healthy discussion of which astronomer should win in each jigsaw group helps all students learn about each astronomer.

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Where Did the Jigsaw Method Come From?

• The jigsaw method was developed by Aronson in

1971 ( http://www.jigsaw.org/history.htm

)

• It was developed “as a matter of absolute necessity to help defuse an explosive situation” post desegregation in Austin, TX.

• As Aronson says, “we realized that we needed to shift the emphasis from a relentlessly competitive atmosphere to a more cooperative one.”

• There is objective evidence that backs up the success of the jigsaw method that Aronson introduced.

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How Did the Jigsaw Method Come to Statistics at

OSU?

• Flashback: Spring 1996, The Ohio State

University, EDPL 851 (College Teaching)

• I learned about the jigsaw method in my College

Teaching course and thought that we could apply it in some way in Stat 135 (Elementary Statistics).

• Dennis Pearl (course coordinator) agreed, and the jigsaw method was introduced in Stat 135

• Sad admission: I had data from the Stat 135 implementation of the jigsaw and did not publish.

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How We Use the Jigsaw Method for Midterm

Review

• Stat 145 (Introduction to the Practice of

Statistics), the “typical” Stat 101 course

• A GTA who had worked with Stat 135 talked about the jigsaw with other GTAs in Stat 145 when she came to teach the course.

• The GTAs were interested and developed a midterm review for Stat 145.

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Review

• Please refer to the pdf file with the exercises.

• These five exercises are copied onto colored paper to indicate the “home” groups.

• Each home group works out an exercise and needs to be ready to teach it to the people they will be matched with in a jigsaw group.

• The jigsaw groups meet together (each jigsaw group will have one person with each color of paper), and each student teaches his exercise to the others.

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Review – Advice on Implementation

• Make sure EVERY student is working with their group.

Students working on their own while sitting with a group have an uncanny tendency to take incorrect work to the group they are teaching.

• Have students start the second portion of the activity on the problem their group thinks is hardest. This helps individualize the activity to help as many students as possible.

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• It is a good idea to have a “filler” page with extra practice questions since not all groups will take the same amount of time in phase 1 of the activity.

• If there is a problem with multiple parts that build on each other, keep an eye on the group early to make sure that they are on the right track! It can save a lot of extra time and work in the end.

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• I like copying each problem on a different color page. That way, during phase one, you know everyone is in the correct group working on the correct problem with a single glance.

It speeds up checking students' work since you will automatically know which problem the group is on by their pages.

• Also, during phase 2, I think students can more easily refer to the problems with the colors of paper than the Chapter 4,

Chapter 6, etc. problem. When I did this, I called the phase

1 groups the “color groups” and the phase two groups the

“number groups.”

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One last note: I tried to make sure (my second attempt at the jigsaw) that all of the interpretation sentence were perfectly correct. I found during the first attempt, that some of the correct interpretations could easily get morphed into something incorrect if they weren't perfect. (Otherwise, I worry that something similar to a kid's game of “telephone” could occur.)

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Making It Work – It Didn’t

• One of our GTAs said that “to be brutally honest,

[the] jigsaw never worked well for me” and suggested that it might be better when learning new material than when used as a review.

• This GTA also felt that the other two GTAs I asked about the jigsaw had better success

(which they did).

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Making It Work – Success Story

• I think the most important thing is to really let the review be student driven and as an instructor to play more of a moderator/outside role. Your purpose in the jigsaw is to answer questions and facilitate the group switches.

• Some of the TAs would have the students work on the problems in their groups, check their answers, and then ask each group to write their answers on the board. After that they would switch and go over in more detail the problem with their new group. This seemed to work for some depending on the class.

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• However… the students should already know the material and so it is better if you let them drive the review and what they might need that day.

• The jigsaw works so well as a review because it allows the students to teach each other and explain it in a language students understand. I could stand up front and go over formulas and do problems perfectly speaking stats speak the entire time but on review day the students are better served by being able to use their mnemonic devices and things like “that p-hat thingy” which amazingly the other students will understand.

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• The best part is that they can go about working on the problems speaking the student language and we can make sure that their stats language on the paper is correct as well. When students study they study with other students, not their professors... the jigsaw just allows for a more controlled study environment.

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Making It Work – Instructions Sent to Stat 145 GTAs

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to give you all a quick rundown of how the final review was made. The first five problems are for the “jigsaw” review, where each of 5 groups does one problem, the TA checks all problems, and then new groups are formed so that somebody who did each problem is in each group and can teach their new group mates about that problem. The true/false questions on the sixth page are intended to be a “filler” activity for those groups who finish their problem early. Good luck and I hope the review is helpful to you!

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More Information: http://www.jigsaw.org/ http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/jigsaws/what.html

http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr324.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jigsaw_(teaching_techniq ue)

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Acknowledgments

• Anita Woolfolk Hoy and Nancy Zimpher (EDPL 851 instructors)

• Dennis Pearl —for letting me bring the jigsaw to Stat 135

• Nicole Dobmeier and Katie Thompson —Nicole for bringing the jigsaw to Stat 145; both Katie and Nicole for developing the midterm review (and the final exam review)

• Nicole Dobmeier, Erin Leatherman, and Katie Thompson for feedback for this webinar —their wise words are found on the pages of why and how the jigsaw works

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Using the Jigsaw Method for Exam Reviews in

Introductory Statistics Classes

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Introductory Statistics Classes

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