Jigsaw Method of Cooperative Learning

The Jigsaw Method of cooperative learning is made of small groups. Each student is part of two groups and accountable to both for the work produced.

The first team is the project team. The assignment is that the group has to produce a product that will instruct the rest of the class. Each member of the team has a different task, or job, for which he is responsible to learn more about and then be able to teach the rest of the team.

The second group is made of those students whose task is the same. Together, they share resources and ideas about their job. They bring that information back to the project team.
The project team is responsible for the final product, whether it is a presentation or a document. Each person of the team will have taught the others in the group about her specific area and together they make sure the final project is completed on time.

I like this method because I can work with the “experts” as a facilitator to help them identify sources, find information, and guide their research. As the instructor, I can work with the project groups to help them brainstorm the kind of project they want to produce within the limits of the classroom.

We used part of this method in UW-Stout’s online class, Assessment in Learning. We each were a part of a group and produced a one-page recommendation for our toolbox concerning online quiz & test builders, reflection assessment tools, peer-to-peer collaboration tools, and course tracking tools. By the end the assignment, each 3- or 4-person team had a “toolbox” with one each assessment tool. Then we shared what we had with the other teams so we had access to all the toolboxes created in the class.