Summary:
efficient way to learn the course material in a cooperative learning style
encourages listening, engagement, and empathy by giving each member of the group an essential part to play in the academic activity
group members must work together as a team to accomplish a common goal; each person depends on all the others
no student can succeed completely unless everyone works well together as a team
facilitates interaction among all students in the class, leading them to value each other as contributors to their common task.
Appropriate Student Level:
Any Level
Suggested Class Size:
Any Size
Ease of Use Rating:
Moderate
Activity Description:
The strategy, developed by Elliot Aronson, involves the formation of Home Groups to resolve the task
The Home Groups allocate one member to each Expert or Research Group to gather data to bring back to the Home Group
For example, students are divided into small groups of five or six students each
Each member of the group is assigned a portion of an assignment or research project
Each member must research the material pertaining to their section of the project and be prepared to discuss it with their classmates
The Jigsaw strategy places great emphasis on cooperation and shared responsibility within groups
The success of each group depends on the participation of each individual in completing their task
This means the Jigsaw strategy effectively increases the involvement of each student in the activity (See "Some suggestions for forming groups" for more information on groups)
To implement the Jigsaw:
Divide the material needed to cover a topic into four roughly equal parts
In upper division or graduate classes, you might assign four different articles
In introductory level classes you might need to assign four different sections of a chapter or four abridged articles
Finding four equal parts is sometimes tougher than it seems
Assign a different topic to each team member
You make the assignment: for example, all #1's will read the article by Johnson & Johnson, all the #2's will read the article by Kagan, all the #3's will read the article by Millis, and all the #4's will read the article by Davidson
Develop and assign homework questions or essays over the material. These can be turned in for points or a grade in undergraduate classes
Jigsaw falls apart if students are not prepared. Assigning questions, reading logs, study guides or reaction papers helps to ensure preparation. You may write different