GENDER DIFFERENCES IN USING “JIGSAW TECHNIQUE II” AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO READING COMPREHENSION

A growing body of research indicates learning differences between the genders that affect the way males and females think, communicate, and behave (Chastain, 1988). These differences illustrate themselves at school, at home, at work, and importantly in groups of learning. Accordingly, this study was conducted to investigate the gender differences in using Jigsaw technique II and to find out how it can improve reading comprehension ability of intermediate-level students. Administering an English language proficiency test, two homogenous groups of students were selected. The participants of the study were a sample of 60 female and male students undertaking a course in general English at Chabahar Maritime University, Iran. The two groups were assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received instruction using Jigsaw technique II; however, the control group was taught using the traditional teacher-fronted method. Finally, the collected data were processed statistically by means of SPSS software. The mean score of the performance of the female subjects on the pretest was ‎‎‎significantly higher than their scores on the posttest (p= .05). However, the mean score of the performance of male ‎‎subjects was 11 prior to the experiment while it was 13 at the end of the course. Although the two groups had a significant ‎‎progress at the end of the study, the female subjects made a greater progress in comparison to the male subjects. The findings have significant implications for EFL teachers who wish to provide learners with cooperative learning context. Teachers need to know their students and different aspects of their behaviors so that they can divide them appropriately into diverse groups.