Vives Eva, Bressan Marco, Poletti Céline, Caroti Denis, Butera Fabrizio, Huguet Pascal, Régner Isabelle
Moral & Social Brain Lab, Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium.
Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, CRPN, Marseille, France.
PLoS One. 2025 Mar 18;20(3):e0319495. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0319495. eCollection 2025.
The Jigsaw classroom is a popular cooperative learning method based on resource interdependence, which requires students to work in small groups on complementary pieces of information, to achieve learning. However, Jigsaw classroom is characterized by contradictory findings and a lack of knowledge on its underlying cognitive mechanisms. The present study examined whether working memory capacity, a key executive function for academic achievement and learning, mediated or moderated the effects of Jigsaw classroom on individual performance. Undergraduate students (n == 342) attending French University took part in this study (Mage == 19.40, SD == 1.21, 60% female). Students worked in small groups on a critical thinking reasoning task, either in the Jigsaw condition or in a cooperative (control) condition without resource interdependence. Working memory was assessed twice, before and during the group activities, by using a complex working memory span task. We analyzed students' individual score to a quiz on logical fallacies. Multilevel analyses revealed that working memory capacity moderated-but did not mediate-the effect of the Jigsaw classroom. That is, Jigsaw enhanced performance for students with low working memory capacities. These findings offer insight into the potential cognitive mechanisms implied in the success of the Jigsaw method and provide new recommendations for educators on how to redeem the deficit of low working-memory-capacity students on performance.
拼图教室是一种基于资源相互依存的流行合作学习方法，它要求学生以小组形式处理互补的信息片段以实现学习。然而，拼图教室的特点是研究结果相互矛盾，且对其潜在的认知机制缺乏了解。本研究考察了工作记忆容量（学术成就和学习的关键执行功能）是否介导或调节了拼图教室对个人表现的影响。就读于法国大学的本科生（n = 342）参与了本研究（年龄均值 = 19.40，标准差 = 1.21，60% 为女性）。学生们以小组形式完成一项批判性思维推理任务，要么处于拼图条件下，要么处于无资源相互依存的合作（对照）条件下。在小组活动之前和期间，通过使用复杂工作记忆广度任务对工作记忆进行了两次评估。我们分析了学生在逻辑谬误测验中的个人得分。多层次分析表明，工作记忆容量调节了——但没有介导——拼图教室的效果。也就是说，拼图提高了工作记忆容量低的学生的表现。这些发现为拼图方法成功背后潜在的认知机制提供了见解，并为教育工作者提供了关于如何弥补低工作记忆容量学生在表现上的不足的新建议。
