Fostering Student Motivation and Engineering Competencies: Supporting Knowledge Sharing and Critical Thinking Through Expert Roles

Abstract

This study examines whether introducing structured expert roles (jigsaw) in a second-semester food analysis laboratory course was associated with changes in students’ perceptions of knowledge-sharing and responsibility for understanding shared data. In the initial course design (2021–2023), student groups each analysed one macro food component, and relied on other groups’ results to complete a final integrated report, making inter-group knowledge exchange necessary but uneven. In 2024–2025, the course was redesigned using a jigsaw structure in which each home group contained an “expert” for each component; experts conducted analyses in expert groups and then returned to their home groups to integrate results. Data were collected across cohorts using end-of-course questionnaires (2021: N=16; 2022: N=21; 2024: N=24; 2025: N=15) and optional reflection prompts (2025). Before the redesign, students generally viewed communication of data and methods positively but reported reluctance to share results across groups. After redesign, students reported greater confidence in contributing as experts and a greater emphasis on understanding peers’ methods and results when producing the final report. Students also valued collaboration and communication, although these were not consistently identified as engineering competencies. Findings are interpreted as context-specific associations given small cohorts and reliance on self-report.