Jigsaw Technique

Prepared by; Joanna Ismail Omer Asma A. Brime

Definitions 

Jigsaw technique:  is a teaching technique invented by social psychologist Elliot Aronson in

1971.  

Jigsaw strategy: is a cooperative learning technique appropriate for students from 3rd to 12th grade. It is also used extensively in adult English Second Language (or ESL) classes.It encourages;listening, engagement, interaction, peer teaching, and cooperation, by giving each member of the group an essential part to play in the academic activity.

In ESL classrooms jigsaws are a four-skills approach integrating; reading, speaking, listening and writing.

Definitions Jigsaw method: is a cooperative learning

technique in which students work in small groups.

  Jigsaw: is a cooperative learning strategy

that enables each student of a “home” group to specialize in one aspect of a learning unit. Students meet with members from other groups who are assigned the same aspect, and after mastering the material, return to the “home” group and teach the material to their group members.

History of the Jigsaw Technique:

The jigsaw teaching technique was invented and named in 1971 in Austin, Texas by a graduate professor named Elliot Aronson. 

The jigsaw classroom was first used in 1971 in Austin, Texas.

It had invented to help defuse an explosive situation, also

To help students get along with one another. To invent the jigsaw strategy, Professor Aronson

realized that he needed to shift the emphasis from a patiently competitive atmosphere to a more cooperative one.

An example of a description of a typical 5th grade classroom in which, the students worked individually and competed against each other for grades:

The teacher stands in front of the class, asks a question, and waits for the children to signal that they know the answer. Most often, six to ten youngsters raise their hands, lifting themselves off their chairs and stretching their arms as high as they can in an effort to attract the teacher's attention. Several other students sit quietly with their eyes averted, hoping the teacher does not call on them.

When the teacher calls on one of the eager students, there are looks of disappointment on the faces of the other students who had tried to get the teacher's attention. If the selected student comes up with the right answer, the teacher smiles, nods approvingly, and goes on to the next question. In the meantime, the students who didn't know the answer breathe a sigh of relief. They have escaped being shamed this time. Such students in each group were already viewed as "losers" by their classmates.

The purpose of Jigsaw Technique:

To develop teamwork and cooperative learning skills within all students.

It helps developing a depth of knowledge. Allows students to be introduced to the material

and yet maintain a high level of personal responsibility.

To disclose a student’s own understanding of a concept as well as reveal any misunderstandings.

Tips on Implementation

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

Most teachers find jigsaw easy to learnMost of them 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

How can I do it?In its simplest form, the Jigsaw instructional

strategy is when:

1. Each student receives a piece of the materials to be introduced;

2. Students leave their "home" groups and meet in "expert" groups; 

3. Expert groups discuss the material and brainstorm ways in which to present their understandings to the other members of their “home” group; 

4. The experts return to their “home” groups to teach their portion of the materials and to learn from the other members of their “home” group.

Jigsaw in 10 Easy Steps

The jigsaw classroom is very simple to use. If you're a teacher, just follow these steps:

1. Divide students into 5- or 6-person jigsaw groups. The groups should be diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity, race, and ability.

2. Appoint one student from each group as the leader. Initially, this person should be the most mature student in the group.

3. Divide the day's lesson into 5-6 segments. Hist.4. Assign each student to learn one segment, making sure

students have direct access only to their own segment.5. Give students time to read over their segment at least

twice and become familiar with it. There is no need for them to memorize it.

Jigsaw in 10 Easy Steps6. Form temporary "expert groups" by having one student from

each jigsaw group join other students assigned to the same segment.

7. Bring the students back into their jigsaw groups.

8. Ask each student to present her or his segment to the group. Encourage others in the group to ask questions for clarification.

9. Float from group to group, observing the process. If any group is having trouble (e.g., a member is dominating or disruptive), make an appropriate interference.

10. At the end of the session, give a quiz on the material so that students quickly come to realize that these sessions are not just fun and games but really count.

How can a teacher adapt it?There are limitless ways of adapting the jigsaw structure in terms of

the size of the groups, the range of topics and the demonstration of mastery of those topics. Teachers have developed many variations.

Here are several modifications that are helpful in different

circumstances:1. Give students subtopics and have them use reference materials

in the library to research their subtopic. This frees the teacher from having to arrange materials in advance.

2. Have the “home” group write a report or give a class presentation on the overall topic, with the specification that it includes all the subtopics presented in the group.

3. Prepare outlines or study guides of what each subtopic should cover and have students read the same text, organizing and becoming experts on the material highlighted by their outline or study guide

Assessment & Evaluation Considerations

Assess students' degree of mastery of all the material.

Reward the groups whose members all reach the preset criterion of excellence or give extra points on their individual scores if this criterion is met.

Students will need to evaluate themselves on how well their group did in the jigsaw (e.g., active listening, checking each other for understanding, and encouraging each other) and set goals for further interaction.

Co-operative learning \collaborative learning:An approach to teaching and learning

in which classrooms are organized so that student work together in small co-operative teams.

It increases students' learning because:

1.It is less threatening for many students,

2.It increase the amount of student participations in the classroom ,

3.It reduces the need for competitiveness ,

4.It reduces the teacher 's dominance in the classroom

Five distinct types of co- operative learning activities are often distinguished: peer tutoring, jigsaw, co-operative projects, individualized and co-operative interaction.

The jigsaw technique was developed as an attempt to bridge the gap between children from different ethnic groups.

Jigsaw: each member of a group has a piece of information needed to complete a group task.

The Teacher’s roleA jigsaw teacher's goal is having

students regard each other as learning resources rather than depend solely on her as instructor and leader.

She acts as a backstage designer,

Creating a structure where the students may learn how best to make use of each other's knowledge and skills.

Moves around the room, from jigsaw group to jigsaw group, listening and observing .

She makes interventions in group process through the group leader, thereby validating the group leader's authority for the other students.

Jigsaw in teachingA wide variety of subject matter can

be adapted for use with the jigsaw format.

On the whole, narrative material that emphasizes reading and comprehension skills is the easiest to work with in groups.

The area of social studies - including history, civics, geography and so forth .

Jigsaw has been successfully used, however, in teaching math,

Language arts, and biology, although those subjects are more difficult to adapt.

Important noteThis is the key to adapting

curriculum for jigsaw:whatever material is used must

be divided into coherent segments that can be distributed to members of the jigsaw group.

Jigsaw in Teaching ListeningIn three groups, students listen

to three different tapes, all of which are about the same thing (phone conversation arranging a meeting, different news stories which explain a strange event, etc.).

Students have to assemble all the facts by comparing notes. In this way, they found out what actually happened, solve a mystery or get a round account of a situation or topic.

Jigsaw task ideasThere slightly different viewpoints of a single

event , each on a separated recording . The task is to work out what actually happened. Useful additional materials might be a location map or diagram of a room. or diagram of a room.

Example events:Witnesses of a crime Accident reports Finding where someone might have lost their

purseWorking out exactly who was at a meeting

working out the sequence of events ( what happened first , second , etc )

A new story with additional details in each separate section

A description of a place or people ( to get the complete picture , students will need to put together information from all sections )

A party An office A factory process'Diary ' information from three people

(e.g. when |where they are doing things); the listing parts could be to choose a time and place for a meeting.

The learning processchildren treat each other as resources. This

was achieved in threeways:1. The learning process was structured so that

individual competitiveness was incompatible with

success.2. It was certain that success could occur only

after cooperative behavior among the students in a group.

3. Each student (no matter what her prior status in the classroom) was in a position to bring to her group-mates a unique gift of knowledge (i.e.,

a piece of vital knowledge that was not readily available accept from that student).

The children began to learn two important lessons:

1. None of them could do well without the aid of every other person in that group, and

2. Each member had a unique and essential contribution to make

Resources-Haemer Jeremy. (2007) . How to

teach English .PERSON LONGMAN-Richards et al.(1992). Dictionary

of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

Scrivener.(2005).Learning Teaching .Macmillan

Zanco.No.(40) 2009.http://www.wikipedia/jigsaw/html