The Aronson´ s jigsaw technique used as methodology of work in a biannual university course of statistics

Abstract

To implement a biannual work methodology based on an active learning technique in a statistics course for the Business Engineering career at Universidad Católica del Norte. A pedagogical innovation experience was implemented, applying the cooperative learning technique "The Aronson's Jigsaw" as a biannual work methodology in a statistics course made up of 60 students. The questionnaires reveal that the development of this experience was well received within the students and the failure rate was reduced. At the end of the course, 63% of those surveyed expressed a preference for having built their learning with this technique and only 7% indicated a preference for having used a traditional methodology. Negative and positive aspects of the implementation can also be identified, in addition to visualizing possibilities for improvement.  Among the negative aspects, issues such as the lack of time and pedagogical skills of the students, complexity of the contents to use this technique and little feedback in the first stage of the process are raised. Meanwhile, positive opinions are related to the innovator of the method, the development of competencies that are not achieved with traditional methodologies, such as social and organizational skills. Teaching support during the second stage of the process and the use of audiovisual resources for learning are also highlighted.