Introduction and Assessment of the Jigsaw Method as a Teaching Tool in Community Medicine

Abstract Background: In the context with newer medical curriculum, medical education demand changes in teaching–learning methods with the change in the paradigm of teacher-centered teaching methods to learner-centered methods. The jigsaw method is one of the interactive, collaborative, and cooperative methods of teaching that involve active participation of the learners in the learning process. The aim of this study was to introduce the jigsaw teaching method and to assess the effectiveness over the traditional teaching method among medical students. Methods: This was a cross-over interventional study, which was conducted among 150 students of Phase III Part I MBBS students. The total students were divided into two groups, and two topics were selected for teaching. The first topic was taught to groups 1 and 2 by interactive lecture and the jigsaw technique, respectively. Then, cross-over was done for the second topic. The pre- and post-test scores were calculated and compared by applying unpaired t -test to assess the effectiveness of teaching methods. Results: The post-test score in the jigsaw method was comparatively more than that of the traditional or interactive lecture method, which was found to be statistically significant ( P < 0.001). Most of the students agreed that the jigsaw method enabled an in-depth understanding of the desired topic, helped them to improve their learning and communication skills, and created opportunities for team members to share their information. Conclusions: The results of this study revealed that students’ performance was better when they are actively involved in the jigsaw method of learning and it also improves the teamwork capacity as well as the critical thinking skills.