2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

BOARD # 173: Teaching elasticity through jigsaw classrooms: Impact on students’ experiential learning

Presented at Materials Division (MATS) Poster Session

This article explores the effectiveness of integrating a modified jigsaw teaching approach within the framework of a new teaching pedagogy called CACPLA (Collaborative Assessment, Communication, Pre-lecture, Lecture, and Assessment) to assess its impact on student's academic performance and critical thinking abilities. The study involved 70 participants, with 31 students in the control group and 39 students in the experimental jigsaw group. The jigsaw group experienced a specific instructional process involving the formation of home groups, selection of homogeneous home groups based on pre-lecture test performance, collaborative discussions within home groups, expert group interactions to deepen understanding, and dissemination of acquired knowledge back to home groups. Online resources used in this study on materials science were obtained from https://www.compmatphys.org/topics/elastic-constants-definition/. The findings of the study indicate that students in the jigsaw group outperformed those in the control group. The substantial improvement in post-lecture test scores within the jigsaw group signifies the efficacy of the jigsaw classroom teaching method in promoting better comprehension and retention of course content. A higher percentage of students (81%) scored above 7 out of a total of 10 for the jigsaw group, as against 34% in the control group. This suggests that the integration of the jigsaw teaching approach within the CACPLA framework led to improved academic performance and enhanced critical thinking abilities. The collaborative nature of the jigsaw method, where students worked together in small groups, seems to have contributed to a deeper understanding of elasticity, a sub-topic in materials science. The dataset resulting from this research could provide valuable insights for educators and researchers interested in innovative pedagogical strategies to enhance learning outcomes across various academic disciplines

Authors

David Olubiyi Obada Africa Centre of Excellence on New Pedagogies in Engineering Education (ACENPEE), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria [biography]

David O. Obada holds a Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, specializing in production/industrial engineering. His research interests include fracture mechanics, advanced materials, and condensed matter physics. Before joining the Atlantic Technological University, Ireland, David was a research fellow at the University of Ghana, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur, India, and the University of Birmingham, UK. Also, David was a research and teaching fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, and holds a Kaufmann Teaching Certificate from MIT.
Ayodeji Nathaniel Oyedeji Ahmadu Bello University [biography]

Ayodeji Nathaniel Oyedeji is an advanced manufacturing and materials science researcher. With exceptional performances in both his B.Sc and M.Sc studies in Mechanical Engineering at Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria, he is now pursuing a PhD in Industrial Engineering at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Alongside his scholarly pursuits, Ayodeji demonstrates a keen interest in engineering education. He has made significant contributions to his field through a prolific publication record and active participation in academic conferences. Possessing a diverse skill set, including strong communication abilities and analytical proficiency, Ayodeji is also an avid reader and enjoys nature. His trajectory reflects a commitment to continuous growth and making a meaningful impact within engineering and beyond.
Simeon Akindele Abolade [biography]

Simeon Akindele Abolade is a PhD student at the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) in Sligo, Ireland, and a member of the Mathematical Modelling and Intelligent Systems for Health and Environment (MISHE) research group. He holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Physics from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, and MSc in theoretical physics from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He is currently on his PhD programme at ATU, Sligo, under the supervision of Dr Akinlolu Akande, Prof. Stefano Sanvito and Dr Fedwa El-Melouhi. His research interests include modeling novel materials for photovoltaics, photocatalytic, and thermoelectric applications using state-of-the-art computational tools based on Density Functional Theory and Machine Learning.
Mr. Shittu Babatunde Akinpelu Atlantic Technological University, Ireland [biography]

Shittu Babatunde Akinpelu is a Ph.D. student at Atlantic Technological University (ATU) in Ireland. He completed his bachelor's degree in physics at the Federal University of Technology (FUTA), Akure, Nigeria. While pursuing his master's degree in condensed matter physics in 2021, Babatunde gained valuable research experience as a voluntary research assistant at FUTA. In 2022, Babatunde joined the Modelling and Computation for Health and Society (MOCHAS) cohort at ATU, Ireland for his Ph.D. His current research focuses on material modeling using machine learning and soft computing, with a particular interest in discovering novel materials with unique properties that could be applied in the fields of energy and health.
RAYMOND BACSMOND BAKO
Adrian Oshioname Eberemu http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-4790-3333 [biography]

Adrian Oshioname EBEREMU is a Professor of Geotechnical/Geoenvironmental Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria. He has been an academic for more than 18 years, before which, he spent his earlier years practicing as a geotechnical and civil engineer in the industry in Nigeria. He is a product of the DSC Technical High School, the 90set where a good academic foundation was laid. He had his Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering from Federal University of Technology Owerri, FUTO in 1997; MSc and PhD in 2003 and 2008, respectively from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria.

He has taught and examined students both at the undergraduate and post graduate levels in several Nigerian Universities such as University of Maiduguri, Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola, Kano State University of Technology, University of Agriculture Makurdi, Bayero University Kano, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi, Nnamdi Azikwe University Awka and Covenant University Ota, Federal University of Technology Minna, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Olusegun Agagu University of Science Technology Okitipupa and Universiti Technologi Malaysia.

His primary area of expertise are in geo-material site characterization, deep foundation, the beneficial reuse of waste materials in soil improvement, solutions to geo-environmental problems, waste containment barriers and covers, Biogeochemical Processes in Geotechnical Engineering (Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation) and unsaturated soils (collapsible soils) and lately engineering education. He has many published works in peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings and chapters as well as technical reports to his credit in the various research area.

He is currently the academic and research coordinator with the African Center of Excellence on New Pedagogies in Engineering Education (ACENPEE), Ahmadu Bello University Zaria; a World Bank funded Development Impact project with the aim of scaling up post graduate education at the MSc/PhD levels through regional specialization and collaboration in the West African Sub-region.

Adrian is a registered Engineer with Council for Regulation of Engineering Practice in Nigeria (COREN), a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, a member of the American Society for Civil Engineers as well as the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMG).
Akinlolu Akande [biography]

Dr. Akinlolu Akande is a computational material scientist and lecturer at the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Sligo, Ireland. He is a Principal Investigator in the Mathematical Modelling and Intelligent Systems for Health and Environment (MISHE) and Modelling & Computation for Health And Society (MOCHAS) Research Groups at the ATU. He completed his PhD in Physics at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, and subsequently worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the same institution. During this time, he combined research in computational material sciences with teaching duties in undergraduate laboratories. Akinlolu then served as an assistant lecturer at the Dundalk Institute of Technology in Dundalk, Ireland, before joining the Institute of Technology Sligo (now ATU Sligo). At ATU Sligo, Akinlolu's teaching focuses on mathematics, data analysis and information technology at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, while his research interests include modelling promising materials for photovoltaics, photocatalytic and thermoelectric applications using state-of-the-art computational tools and advanced techniques based on electronic structure theory. Akinlolu is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), a recognition of his expertise in teaching and learning in higher education. In 2020, he was awarded a Teaching Hero, an award organised by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning and the Union of Students in Ireland.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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