A New Approach in Teaching the Features and Classifications of Invertebrate Animals in Biology Courses

This study examined the effectiveness of a new learning approach in teaching classification of invertebrate animals in biology courses. In this approach, we used an impersonal style: the subject jigsaw, which differs from the other jigsaws in that both course topics and student groups are divided. Students in Jigsaw group were divided into five “subgroups” since teaching the features and classification of invertebrate animals is divided into five subtopics (modules A, B, C, D and E). The subtopics are concerning characteristics used in classification of invertebrate animals
and fundamental structures of: phyla porifera and cnidarians (module A), annelid (module B), mollusks (module C), arthropods (module D) and
Echinodermata (module E). The data obtained in the tests indicated that the the new learning approach was more successful than teacher-centered learning.