Jigsaw is a tried and true method for cooperative learning in my classroom. I feel this method works especially well with older students who appreciate having more autonomy and ownership over their own learning. Additionally, study and reading groups in college often operate under this same premise: become an expert on one section, then depend on info. supplied by other student "experts" to complete the full "puzzle" of the reading. The peer dependency is a strong motivator and a responsibility my students tend to take quite seriously.
Most recently, I used this method in my British literature and composition class to study Romantic era poetry. Students were divided into groups, designated with color coding on a spreadsheet shown at the front of the classroom. Initially, students individually studied and analyzed their assigned poet's writing style. Then, they met together with others who had studied the same poet. This allowed time to share their own ideas and add to their original list new insights gained from shared info. of group members. Next, together as a group, they read poetry by two assigned American poets that correlated in some way (either stylistically or by subject matter) with the original British poet. They were charged with discussing and coming to conclusions about comparative values between the authors. Finally, the group was divided out, and one representative from each group was mixed with representatives from other groups to form a new mixed expert group. While this sounds a bit complicated, the color coding of groups actually made it quite manageable. I feel this approach gave them a variety of learning experiences, not only to be the recognized expert, but also to see the value of listening to others and synthesizing information to create a fully developed picture of their own understanding.
This jigsaw method was also used in my AP Lang class (in an adapted format) for the editing process on a recent essay. Students completed an essay and then studied closely one of six elements of strong writing (taken from the 6+1 traits model). They evaluated a sample essay and a peer's essay for this element, and then discussed as a group the relationship between all six elements working together to
make a successful final written product. The jigsaw was less discussion-based, but the interactions were planned and structured, which is more successful with this class of students.
Overall, I find this method to be one that lends itself well to my strengths as a teacher. Facilitating and guiding learning is my favorite approach as I feel it gives student-driven education an environment in which to to thrive. Structured with probing questions and careful setup, this method is most successful when students are fully invested in the process and know they will be held accountable for the knowledge gained. I usually end an activity like this with an individual assessment which taps into knowledge gained through the jigsaw activity as well as teacher-driven instructional reinforcement.
