Jigsaw - Interactive Instruction

"One of the best things that teachers can do with respect to technology is to model what to do when one doesn't know what to do." Barbara Means and Kerry Olson - (researchers)

The Definition:
Jigsaw is an interactive instructional strategy that enables each student of a "HOME" group to become an "EXPERT" in one aspect of a learning unit. Jigsaw is a cooperative learning strategy with more of a twist. Students meet with members from other HOME groups who are assigned the same aspect, and after mastering the material, return to the HOME group and teach the material to their HOME group.

We know that in a jigsaw puzzle, each piece is essential for understanding and viewing the final product. Each student represents a piece of the puzzle; therefore, each student is essential to the final product. This is one reason the jigsaw activity is so effective.

The Purpose:
The purpose of jigsaw is to practice cooperative learning and to develop teamwork within all our students. Students can absorb a wealth of knowledge they could not otherwise learn on their own. Large chunks of material can be introduced and presented to students in a short amount of time. Since the students are required to present their research to the HOME group, Jigsaw learning will often reveal to the instructor a student's own understanding of a concept or misunderstanding of the principles.

The Plan:
The basic form of Jigsaw is when:

1. Students are asssigned to "HOME" groups or teams of 4 or 5. Then have students number off within their teams. (1,2,3,4)
2. Assigned study topics to HOME team members by issuing them an assignment sheet or by listing their numbers and corresponding roles on the board. (#1 = James Watson, #2 = Francis Crick, and so on)
3. Then students move to "EXPERT" groups where each student in the group has the same topic (person) to research. (All the #1 meet together and research James Watson.) At this point, students will be using the primary source document or the interactive web site the assignment is based on such as DNA Interactive -http://www. dnai.org. Students follow the instructions in the assignment and gather information on their scientist. Students work together with members of their expert group to prepare a short presentation or to decide how to "teach" their HOME group about the topic. One suggestions may be to present a mini-poster or flash cards with information and diagrams.
4. Students then return to their HOME teams and take turns teaching their team members about their assignment. Team members should take notes on the information presented, record it in a journal, or have them complete a graphic organizer to chart the new information they received.
5. Finally, have each HOME group present to the whole class and review the information that is presented for accuracy.

There are many different ways to adapt Jigsaw for your specific classroom. I find it especially usefull when you need to cover a large amount of content giving the student maximum responsibility. Consider using Jigsaw when a web site is enourmous and you would like the students to dissect it. Most likely, you do not have enough time for your students to examine each feature of the interactive web site, so Jigsaw is one method that can be utilized to navigate your students through it.

Assessment and Evaluations will be addressed in a later blog.