Jigsaw
Active
Learning
Value Based
Learning
Collaboration
Self Directed
Learning
What Is This?
The Jigsaw strategy is a cooperative learning strategy that allows students to gain a full understanding of texts or content units by playing the roles of both experts and learners. Each student takes responsibility for one chunk of the content then teaches it to a mixed group of experts. All group members serve as important pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
How To Use It?
The class is divided into home groups. Each student in a home group is assigned his/her own topic to review and study independently. Make sure students have direct access only to their own segment and that they have enough time to read over their segment at least twice and become familiar with it. After individual review, students meet with students from other groups who have the same topic to form expert groups. While communicating and discussing in expert groups, students prepare a presentation or summary to share. Expert groups work together to decide the most important parts to share back with their home group to help them learn.
With this strategy, each student in the home group serves as a piece of the topic’s puzzle and when they work together as a whole, they create the complete jigsaw puzzle.
When To Use?
The Jigsaw strategy is most effective when introducing new learning material or for cooperative review of material which had been previously learnt. Jigsaw can be especially effective when there is a lot of information to take in, allowing for various areas of information to be studied in-depth separately
How To Assess?
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- A short quiz which covers all the segments learnt during a jigsaw lesson can be given at the end of the lesson to assess which segments were better understood.
- Students will use the information they have learned from each other to create a final product
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- Students will use the information they have learned from each other to actively participate in a class discussion.
Jigsaw Flow
01 Read More
Divide the content into 5-6 segments.
02 Read More
Divide students into 5 or 6 person home groups.
03 Read More
In each home group assign one student per segment.
04 Read More
Form expert groups by joining students assigned the same segment.
05 Read More
Give expert groups time to discuss the main points of their segment and rehearse the presentations they will make to their home group.
06 Read More
Bring students back into their home groups.
07 Read More
Ask each expert to present her or his segment to the home group.
08 Read More
Circulate around the classroom, observing the process.
09 Read More
At the end of the session assess knowledge of the whole content unit.
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Hang A Visual Flow In The Classroom
Download
Jigsaw Podcast
Listen to the podcast
Podcast worksheet
Podcast in PDF format
Printable Products
Inspirational Links
Jigsaw Activity Student Worksheet
The Jigsaw Method – Reading Rockets
The Jigsaw Method – Cult of Pedagogy
