Jigsaw

The Jigsaw strategy is a cooperative learning technique in which each student's part is essential for the completion and full understanding of the final product. If each student's part is essential, then every student is essential, and that is what makes this strategy so effective. Dr. Elliot Aronson and his graduate students introduced the Jigsaw strategy in 1971 in Austin, Texas. The city's schools had recently been desegregated, and because Austin had always been racially segregated, white youngsters, African-American youngsters, and Hispanic youngsters found themselves in the same classrooms for the first time. The strategy was first used to alleviate some of the problems that arose between different groups.

The Jigsaw strategy is a cooperative learning technique in which each piece--each student's part--is essential for the completion and full understanding of the final product. If each student's part is essential, then every student is essential, and that is what makes this strategy so effective. Dr. Elliot Aronson and his graduate students introduced the Jigsaw strategy in 1971 in Austin, Texas. The city's schools had recently been desegregated, and because Austin had always been racially segregated, white youngsters, African-American youngsters, and Hispanic youngsters found themselves in the same classrooms for the first time. The strategy was first used to alleviate some of the problems that arose between different groups.

Implementation

Compared with traditional teaching methods, the jigsaw classroom has several advantages:

• It is easy to learn.
• Most students like it.
• It can be used with other teaching strategies.
• It works even if only used for an hour per day.
• It is inclusive and potentially empowering to all students.

Classroom Management

1. Divide class into 4-6 member groups; each member will becomes an expert on a different subtopic/concept assigned by teacher.<?xml:namespace prefix =" o" ns =" "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"" />
2. Members of the teams with the same topic meet together in Expert groups with a variety of resource materials and texts available to explore their topic.
3. The students prepare how they will teach the information to others.
4. Everyone returns to his/her original jigsaw team to teach what he/she learned to the other members.
5. Team members listen and take notes as their classmate teaches them.