The jigsaw method is a cooperative learning strategy where students are assigned subtopics to become experts on. They then teach their subtopic to other students to form a complete understanding of the overall topic. It promotes deeper learning, collaboration, and discussion. Numbered heads together assigns students to groups and numbers. The teacher calls a number and that student from each group answers the question to promote individual and group accountability. Both strategies encourage peer teaching and support collaborative learning.
3. The jigsaw method of teaching is a strategy
first developed by Elliot Aronson in 1971 and
further advanced in assessment practices by
Robert Slavin in 1986.
Aronson developed this method as means to
assist students overcoming learning gaps in
recently desegregated schools in Austin,
Texas (Teaching Methods).
4. What is Jigsaw Method of
Teaching?
a collection of topics, which will be fully
developed by students before coming
together to make a complete idea.
This type of cooperative learning strategy
allows individuals or small groups to become
responsible for a subcategory of a larger
topic. After researching and developing their
idea, each individual or small group then has
the responsibility to teach it to the rest of the
group or class.
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11. Benefits of the Jigsaw Method
in Education
There are many benefits to using the jigsaw
method in one’s classroom. For starters, in
most instances, students who take ownership
in their learning will better understand the
material. As active learners, students are
directly immersed in the information and
material, which promotes a deeper
understanding of that material.
12. When students are given the opportunity
to contribute to a group, they also learn life
skills such as communication and working within
a timeline. This method also promotes
collaboration and discussion, as well as self-
motivated learning strategies.
13. Students who work together learn to ask
questions to clarify their understanding and
provide critical feedback in appropriate
manners. In addition, the jigsaw method in
education effectively produces academic
gains in problem solving and analyzing, two
important cognitive skills.
14. What Material can be Used in
the Jigsaw Method?
While most think of the jigsaw method being used to
teach subcategories of a specific overarching lesson, it
can be even simpler than that.
Each group could be
responsible for a section of
the textbook chapter, a
specific strategy for a math
concept, the culture of a
county within a region, a
chapter of a trade book, or
even analyzing poetry or
other works of art.
15. Jigsaw Method Examples to
Try in Your Classroom
Individual Pieces
For virtual classrooms or younger students, it
may be easiest to start using this method as
individuals who then come together to present
their piece of the puzzle. A teacher would start
by assigning each student a subcategory to
research.
16. The teacher may ask each child to create a
slide presentation to then share with the class
that fully develops their subcategory. This can
also be done within the traditional classroom if
the overall lesson has enough subcategories,
or if the teacher chooses to let two to four
students work independently on the same
subcategory and share separately to provide
a more in-depth look at each subcategory.
17. Cooperative Groups
As with any group activity, the teacher will divide
students into groups of four or five students.
The number of groups should be based on the
number of subcategories that fit into the
overarching lesson; then divide the number of
students into groups accordingly. Each group
would then be given a subcategory
to cooperatively research and develop. As
with the individual’s approach, each group
would then create a presentation and share it
with the entire class.
18. Jigsaw within Groups
Similar to the cooperative group approach, this
example allows each member of the small group to
develop a subcategory and share within their small
group. In order to start this method, the teacher
would divide the lesson into subcategories. Then
each small group would be created with one
student receiving one subcategory of the lesson.
For this method, each small group gets the same
set of subcategories.
19. Assessment Guidelines
No matter the type of jigsaw method used,
all students will need to be assessed on all
subcategories at the end of the lesson so that
the teacher knows what material might need
to be retaught by the teacher. This
assessment is also meant to ensure that all
students gained an understanding of the
entire content, not just their expert piece of
the puzzle.
20. The jigsaw method, whether used at an individual or cooperative
group level, allows for this peer-teaching opportunity. Students
become invested in what they are responsible for teaching and for
what they learn, which deepens their knowledge and application of
the skill. The jigsaw method is a valuable educational strategy to
use at any grade level.
23. What is Numbered Heads
Together?
Numbered Heads Together is a listening and
speaking strategy that involves students
working collaboratively in groups to answer a
question posed by the teacher. Students are
assigned to numbered, equal sized groups of
3-5. Each individual student within each group
is also given a number, meaning a student
might be student #3 from group #5, for
example.
24. Once all groups are created and students are
assigned numbers, the teacher asks a
question or assigns a task. Students work
together in their groups to discuss and
determine an answer to the question. During
this time, each individual student can offer
their thoughts and ideas.
25. Why Is It Important?
This cooperative learning strategy promotes
discussion and both individual and group
accountability. This strategy is beneficial for
reviewing and integrating subject matter. Students
with special needs often benefit when this strategy
is used. After direct instruction of the material, the
group supports each member and provides
opportunities for practice, rehearsal, and
discussion of content material.
26. Group learning methods encourage students
to take greater responsibility for their own
learning and to learn from one another, as
well as from the instructor (Terenzini &
Pascarella, 1994).
27. Cooperative learning has been shown to
increase student achievement, race
relations, acceptance of special needs
students, and self-esteem (Slavin, 1995).
28. How Can You Make It Happen?
1. Divide the students into groups of four and give each
one a number from one to four.
2. Pose a question or a problem to the class.
3. Have students gather to think about the question and
to make sure everyone in their group understands
and can give an answer.
4. Ask the question and call out a number randomly.
5. The students with that number raise their hands, and
when called on, the student answers for his or her
team.
29. Content Area Examples
Reading
Numbered Heads Together can be used in reading to
determine key details of a story or in analysing character
traits.
Students might also answer questions related to the
setting, problem, and solution. This strategy can be
effectively used in asking a variety of comprehension
questions during or after reading. Because Numbered
Heads Together is flexible, questions posed to students
can have a range of complexity, depending on students'
ability levels.
30. Math
In math, Numbered Heads Together can be
used to when solving a variety of math
problems. This strategy can be used after
presenting a new type of problem.
If students are unsure of which steps to use in
solving a problem, students can put their heads
together with their group members to discuss
different strategies or steps that could be used
in order to find the answer and justify their
reasoning as to why those strategies or steps
will lead you to the correct answer.
31. Science- Numbered Heads Together can be
used as a review to prepare for a test, quiz, or
other type of assessment in any content area. In
science, students can spend time working in
their groups to study the material that will be on
the assessment by reviewing notes, textbook
pages, projects, in class activities, or other
coursework.
32. Teachers can create review questions that students
work together in their groups to solve, or students
themselves can create science review questions for
other groups to solve collaboratively. Questions
posed may or may not be on the assessment. By
using Numbered Heads Together in this way,
teachers can formatively assess where students are
at and what needs to be focused on during the
review to ensure students are successful on the
assessment.
Just as a jigsaw puzzle is a collection of various pieces that come together to make a complete picture, the jigsaw method of teaching is a collection of topics, which will be fully developed by students before coming together to make a complete idea. To be more specific, this type of cooperative learning strategy allows individuals or small groups to become responsible for a subcategory of a larger topic. After researching and developing their idea, each individual or small group then has the responsibility to teach it to the rest of the group or class.