Protein Sequencing Jigsaw

The jigsaw technique has been used in a fourth-year biochemistry course to increase problem-solving abilities of the students. The jigsaw method is a cooperative-learning technique that involves a group structure. Students start with a “home” group. That group is responsible for learning an assigned portion of a task. Then the instructor separates students into new groups, the “jigsaw groups”, by assigning one member from each home group to a new group. In the jigsaw group, students share information and complete some sort of project or product: in this case, several protein-sequencing problems. The implementation of this technique increased student scores in this particular area on an individual exam and on the final exam.