Jigsaw - Developing Community and Disseminating Knowledge
Using the jigsaw teaching strategy is one way to help students understand and retain information, while they develop their collaboration skills. This strategy asks a group of students to become “experts” on a specific text or body of knowledge and then share that material with another group of students. These “teaching” groups contain one student from each of the “expert” groups. Students often feel more accountable for learning material when they know they are responsible for teaching the content to their peers. The jigsaw strategy is most effective when students know that they will be using the information they have learned from each other to create a final product, participate in a class discussion, or acquire material that will be on a test.
Step one: Preparation
Select the material you want students to explore. It might be a collection of documents (e.g. readings, images, charts) or it could be a series of questions. Also, decide how many students you would like to work together in an “expert” group. Teachers often find that groups of 3-5 students work best. Sometimes it makes sense to make groups randomly (e.g. by counting off) while other times you might want to divide students in advance to balance strengths, needs and interests. You can assign the same material to more than one group.
Step two: Students Work in Expert Groups
In this step, small groups of students (“experts”) are responsible for reviewing specific material so that they can share this information with their peers. “Expert” groups work best when students have clear expectations about the type of information they are supposed to present to their peers. Therefore, it is often helpful to provide a chart or a series of questions that students answer together in their expert groups. It is important that all group members understand the material they are responsible for presenting. To avoid having students present inaccurate or misleading information, teachers can review and approve of content before this information is shared with students in the other groups.
Step three: Students Meet in Teaching Groups
After “expert” groups have a solid understanding of the material they will be presenting, assign students to “teaching” groups. “Teaching” groups are typically composed of one or two members from each expert group. Experts take turns presenting information. Often teachers ask students to take notes while the experts present. For greater accountability it is best if students are required to synthesize the material presented as part of an assignment, presentation or discussion.
Step five: Synthesis and Reflection
“Teaching” groups can be assigned a task that requires them to synthesize the information that has been shared, such as answering a larger question, comparing texts, or generating a plan of action. Or, students can synthesize information individually or in pairs. It is appropriate to structure a class discussion that asks students to draw from the material they just learned to answer a question about history and apply this information to society today.
EXAMPLE:
This strategy is designed to include all students in the reading and dissemination of knowledge. The key to its success is that each "expert” group has information that contributes to the larger group.
Students are divided into “expert” learning groups and given one reading to study and share with one another. For example, a selection of five readings from Chapter 4: The Nazis Take Power in Holocaust and Human Behavior Resource Book could include:
- Reading 2: Threats to Democracy, p. 160
- Reading 3: Targeting the Communists, p. 162
- Reading 15: No Time to Think, p. 189
- Reading 17: Eliminating Opposition, p. 193
- Reading 20: Did you Take the Oath?, p. 198
After “experts” meet in teaching groups to learn from each other, students can use the material they have learned to make a list of the factors that contributed to the Nazis’ rise to power. Groups can present their list to the larger class.
