The Use of Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Strategy to Enhance English Reading Comprehension for Higher Vocational College Students in Sichuan Province, China

Abstract

Students in higher vocational colleges generally face difficulties in English reading comprehension, which not only affects their academic learning but also impacts their career development. Therefore, the objectives of this study are as follows: 1. to enhance English reading comprehension of higher vocational college students by using Jigsaw in Cooperative Learning; 2. to compare English reading comprehension of students in the experimental class before and after using Jigsaw in Cooperative Learning. This study is a quantitative research that employed stratified random sampling to select 60 students from Sichuan Vocational College of Health and Rehabilitation as participants, divided into an experimental class (30 students) and a control class (30 students). The experiment lasted for eight weeks, with 80-minute English reading sessions each week. The research instruments included a pre-test, a post-test, and lesson plans. Data were collected before and after the experiment, and statistical analysis was conducted using independent-sample t-tests and paired-sample t-tests.

The results showed that the post-test scores of the experimental class, which implemented Jigsaw in Cooperative Learning (mean = 180.46), were markedly higher than those of the control class that used the traditional teaching method (mean = 140.11, p < 0.001), indicating that Jigsaw in Cooperative Learning can improve the English reading comprehension of higher vocational students. Furthermore, the post-test scores of the experimental class was significantly higher than its pre-test scores (mean = 127.45, p < 0.001), confirming the effect of Jigsaw in Cooperative Learning on enhancing students' English reading comprehension, providing a practical reference for English teaching in higher vocational colleges.

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