SPARCnet Jigsaw Activity

This activity is intended to immerse students in the vast previous literature of the biology and ecology of Plethodon cinereus using the review paper Fisher-Reid et al. 2024. The goal of this jigsaw activity is to distribute this task across a group of students, rather than place what could be a daunting task on each individual alone. In Part 1, students work in small groups and focus on a specific research topic by summarizing what is already known, defining what questions remain, and identifying manners in which SPARCnet is able to answer those questions. To organize their progress, students will add notes to the Research Topic Table that outlines these goals. In Part 2 students will reorganize into new groups made of one representative from each group in Part 1. Then students will each share what they have each learned about their research topic and record notes in the table. In Part 3, the activity ends with a discussion in small groups, then the entire large group, to share how the research topics connect and interact, as well as how SPARCnet can contribute to filling gaps in our understanding.