New Pieces of the Jigsaw Classroom: Increasing Accountability to Reduce Social Loafing in Student Group Projects

Elora C. Voyles; Sarah F. Bailey; Amanda M. Durik

Elora C. Voyles Northern Illinois University
Sarah F. Bailey University of Wisconsin-Madison
Amanda M. Durik Northern Illinois University

Abstract

Generally, college student group projects can be problematic due to students perceiving low accountability and withdrawing their efforts when working within a group. This paper presents an adapted jigsaw classroom method to improve learning for college students during group work. Although the original jigsaw classroom model is an effective approach for improving cohesion and collaboration, it lacks the structure that could improve college students’ collaborative learning and promote accountability. This paper extends the original jigsaw classroom approach to increase personal accountability and facilitate group processes. This paper introduces a modified jigsaw classroom, in which each group member submits research notes to the instructor, thereby increasing individual accountability, and presents to the class, thereby increasing public accountability.

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