The effect of jigsaw I technique on eighth grade students' environmental awareness

In this study, it is aimed to investigate the effect of the jigsaw I technique on the environmental awareness of eighth grade students on "Matter Cycles and Environmental Problems". The study group consists of 24 students studying in the eighth grade of a secondary school in a district in the Middle Black Sea Region of the Black Sea Region. The study was carried out in the second semester of the 2021-2022 academic year. Two eighth grade classes at the school participated in the study, one as the experimental group and the other as the control group. 12 students in the experimental group were educated with the jigsaw I technique, one of the techniques of the cooperative learning method, and 12 students in the control group were educated with the method and technique suggested by the curriculum (due to the coronavirus pandemic, the study was conducted in small groups). Cooperative learning is an effective method where teachers divide students into small groups, students work together and students learn from each other. Jigsaw technique, on the other hand, is a cooperative learning technique with group activities where students come together and form master and expert groups. In this technique, students can learn many subjects in different ways with different perspectives and different activities. This technique, which is based on a constructivist approach, not only contributes to the learning of each other, but also helps students gain a sense of responsibility, improve their self-confidence, increase their motivation, develop communication skills, socialize, and develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. This research is in a quasi-experimental design model with pre-test and post-test control groups. The study took place during four weeks, during a total of sixteen lesson hours. The research data was collected with 22 items prepared by Ötun (2016). It was collected with the "Environmental Education Concepts Awareness Scale (CFEI)". The scale was applied to both groups as a pre-test at the beginning of the study and a post-test at the end of the study. Quantitative data were analyzed with the SPSS 22 program in the research. While there was no significant difference between the Environmental Education Concepts Awareness Scale pre-test scores applied to the experimental and control groups at the beginning of the study, there was a significant difference between the Environmental Education Concepts Awareness Scale post-test scores applied at the end of the study in favor of the experimental group. As a result, it was seen that the jigsaw I technique contributed more to the environmental awareness of the students than the method and technique suggested by the curriculum. As a result of the application, it was seen that this technique was effective in science teaching. In this context, the Jigsaw I technique can be applied in other subjects of the Science course and at different grade levels.