Jigsaw Bringing Students Together

History Social psychology – Kurt Lewin, Morton Deutsch Gordon Allport – how to promote integration Three factors Common goal Common goal Equal status Equal status Official sanction Official sanction

How Jigsaw Was Invented (one version) Social psychologist Elliot Aronson and colleagues invited to help integrate the integrated schools of Austin, TX Ss of different races were in the same school but didn’t interact Jigsaw was designed to address this See

Basic Jigsaw (not the official version) Heterogeneous groups of 4 – Home Teams Each S receives & reads a different piece of information – pieces can be color-coded or numbered to avoid confusion Ss leave Home Team and form Expert Teams with Ss who have the same piece Experts learn and prepare to teach their pieces In Home Teams, Ss take turns to teach Individual quiz on all the pieces

Tips on Using Jigsaw (some may be contradictory) Make sure each piece can be understood on its own One person per group who facilitates discussion This – and any other roles - should rotate This – and any other roles - should rotate Keep Expert Teams to 4 or less Ss

Moving into Expert Teams Plan where Expert Teams will sit so movement creates minimal disruption Divide room into sections – Expert Teams form within their section One section of class moves at a time, instead of the whole class moving at once Ss raise fingers to indicate which number expert they are – this helps them find others with same number Experts have a designated amount of time, e.g., 10 seconds, to form their groups

Help Experts Succeed Control difficulty of reading material Circulate among groups Provide at least one relatively strong S to each group Give guide questions Provide graphic organizers, such as outlines and diagrams Ss focus on key points not on memorizing

SUMMER Formerly known as MURDER Hythecker, V.I., Dansereau, D.F. and Rocklin, T.R. (1988) An analysis of the processes influencing the structured dyadic learning environment, Educational Psychologist 23: Done in pairs using a text that has been divided into sections Helps Experts learn their pieces

S = Set the mood = a bit of chit-chat before starting U = Understand by reading the section silently = each S reads the section alone M = Mention the Main ideas = one S summarizes without looking at the page M = Monitor the summary = partner checks for accuracy – roles rotate for next section

E = Elaborate connected ideas and experience connected ideas and experience applications applications questions: don’t understand & want to know more questions: don’t understand & want to know more additions to what is presented additions to what is presented agreements and disagreements agreements and disagreements reactions reactions R = Review = A summary of the entire text

Why SUMMER Ss focus on main ideas They connect these main ideas to what is already in their minds Increased comprehension and retention when SUMMER is used Ss continue to use the SUMMER script even when reading alone

Experts Prepare to Teach Teaching, not reading or showing Rehearsal to each other; one S in charge of checking everyone is ready Experts take turns to do part of the presentation

Graphics, etc. used – Remember Multiple Intelligences Ss write up presentation for T to check If more than 1 Expert group for the same piece, Experts can practice teaching members from the other Expert group with the same piece

Teaching the Home Team Members Can use Multiple Intelligences Other Home group members ask questions, add information, connect to their own pieces Presenter can also ask questions to check comprehension or to go beyond comprehension Others thank their ‘teacher’

The Last Step Provides a reason for listening to experts Incorporates all 4 pieces Can be a task, rather than quiz, e.g., mind map Ss shouldn’t do the part of the task for which they were expert, but can check that part

Rationale for Jigsaw Common goal Equal status Official sanction for cooperation Resource, goal, role positive interdependence Individual accountability Equal opportunity to participate Maximum peer interaction

Variations on Jigsaw (just some) Jigsaw II Stay Home Jigsaw BYOP Jigsaw Teaching Pairs Jigsaw Workstation Jigsaw Expert Pairs Jigsaw

Jigsaw II Everyone has all pieces, but are experts in only one Cons Less positive interdependence Less positive interdependencePros No worry about pieces being understandable on their own No worry about pieces being understandable on their own Less worry if experts teach poorly Less worry if experts teach poorly

Stay Home Jigsaw Ss don’t go to Expert Teams Pros Less movement Less movement Helps familiarize Ss with Jigsaw Helps familiarize Ss with JigsawCons No help for experts, so pieces must be fairly easy No help for experts, so pieces must be fairly easy

BYOP Jigsaw (Bring Your Own Piece) Ss do research to find their own info, rather than receiving from T Pros Ss practice research Ss practice research S ownership increases S ownership increasesCons What if Ss don’t/can’t do the necessary research? What if Ss don’t/can’t do the necessary research?

Teaching Pairs Jigsaw Home Teams are also Expert Teams They prepare to teach other Home Teams Two members of each Home Team go to another Home Team with different piece When the two return, the ones who remain teach them what they missed Repeats until every team has learned all pieces

Workstation Jigsaw Instead of information coming from reading material, Ss go to a workstation They get their information there by Listening to a CD Listening to a CD Watching a VCD Watching a VCD Doing an experiment or other task Doing an experiment or other task

Expert Pairs Jigsaw Experts first work in pairs Two pairs of experts try to reach consensus on meaning and key points Back to single pairs to rehearse B4 teaching Teach Home Teams

Con – Less help for experts Pros Promotes Equal Opportunity to Participate, Individual Accountability, and Maximum Peer Interactin Promotes Equal Opportunity to Participate, Individual Accountability, and Maximum Peer Interactin Less proficient Ss get individual help Less proficient Ss get individual help

Troubleshooting with Jigsaw Uneven group size Add extra Ss to one or two Home Teams – those teams have two people doing a particular piece Add extra Ss to one or two Home Teams – those teams have two people doing a particular piece Missing experts Their group listens in when an expert with the same number presents in another group Their group listens in when an expert with the same number presents in another group T presents that piece to that group T presents that piece to that group

More Troubleshooting Very weak Ss Use Jigsaw II Use Jigsaw II Assign someone to help that S, i.e., two Ss per piece Assign someone to help that S, i.e., two Ss per piece One of the four pieces is easier than the others One of the four pieces is easier than the othersOthers?