Jigsaw cooperative learnings

1. The Jigsaw: Cooperative
Learning Technique
TPD Session
October 15, 2018
AL

2. Past Studies on Cooperative or Collaborative Learning
1. Students learn best when they are actively involved in the process.
2. Regardless of the subject matter, students working in small groups
tend to learn more of what is taught and retain it longer than when
the same content is presented in other instructional formats.
3. Students who work in collaborative groups also appear more
satisfied with their classes.
-Barbara Gross Davis, 1993
4. Cooperative learning requires more than seating students around a
table and telling them to share, work together
-https://www.jigsaw.org/

3. Popular Cooperative Learning Methods
• Circles of Learning
• Team-Accelerated Instructions
• Group Investigation
•The Jigsaw Classroom

4. What is the Jigsaw Classroom?
The Jigsaw Classroom is a cooperative learning technique that reduces
racial conflict among school children, promotes better learning,
improves student motivation, and increases enjoyment of the learning
experience.
-https://www.jigsaw.org/
The Jigsaw Classroom model (Aronson et al. 1978), which involves two
different sets of small groups to facilitate learning, was developed over
thirty years ago to promote cooperation among students in recently
desegregated classrooms marked by hostility and competition.
-Hedeen, 2003

5. The 4 Main Steps of Jigsaw
1. Students gather in "jigsaw groups" or "learning groups" of three to six and the
instructor divides the material to be covered into the same number of sections.
2. Each member of the group is provided materials related to one of the sections,
so that all materials will be covered within the group. Students are provided
sufficient time to review their respective sections.
3. Students form "expert groups" or "preparation groups" by gathering with
members of other jigsaw groups who were provided the same section of the
material. In these expert groups, students discuss their materials and plan how
they will teach the material to other members of their respective jigsaw
groups.
4. Students return to their jigsaw groups with two tasks: 1) to teach their material
to their group with appropriate time for clarifying questions and discussion and
2) to learn the materials taught by other members.
(Hedeen, 2003)

6. Types of Jigsaw
• Jigsaw I (Aronson et al, 1978) is the regular or standard Jigsaw
• Jigsaw II (Slavin, 1995) adds an element of competition among groups for
rewards based on test-score improvement by group members,
• Jigsaw III (Gonzalez and Guerrero, 1983) has been designed specifically to
increase interaction among students of differing language proficiencies in
bilingual classrooms.
• Jigsaw IV (Holliday 1998) builds on II and III by incorporating quizzes during
the process to assess which areas of the curriculum have been well-
understood by students and which require additional teaching by the
instructor
• Reverse Jigsaw (Hedeen, 2003) reverses the order: from Home group to
Expert group

7. Traditional teaching methods vs The Jigsaw classroom
• Most teachers find jigsaw easy to learn
• Most teachers enjoy working with it
• It can be used with other teaching strategies
• It works even if only used for an hour per day
• It is free for the taking

8. Potential Problems in a Jigsaw Classroom
1. a dominant student will talk too much or try to control the group
2. Some students are poor readers or slow thinkers and have trouble
creating a good report for their group
3. some students are so gifted that they get bored working with
slower students
4. older students who have been trained to compete with one another

9. Dealing with the Problems: Tips for Implementation
1. THE DOMINANT STUDENT: appoint one of the students to be the
discussion leader for each session, on a rotating basis: the leader's job to
call on students in a fair manner and try to spread participation evenly.
2. THE SLOW STUDENT: In the expert group, make sure students have a
chance to discuss their report and modify it based on the suggestions of
other members of their expert group.
3. BORED BRIGHT STUDENTS: encourage them to develop the mind set of
“teacher”
4. STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN TRAINED TO COMPETE: use the method as
early as possible before the old habit is fossilized; that said, it’s never too
late to start

10. CONCLUSION
…cooperative learning requires more
than seating students around a table
and telling them to share, work
together... Such loose, unstructured
situations do not contain the crucial
elements and safeguards that make the
jigsaw and other structured
cooperative strategies work so well.
-https://www.jigsaw.org/

11. Workshop
Session
With your homegroup:
Design a sample Jigsaw
application in:
1. an EFP Class
2. a YA Class
3. a YL Class

12. Thank you and happy teaching