Jigsaw

Jigsaw is a collaborative group learning technique. In Jigsaw, the class is broken up into groups.  Each group is assigned a topic with each student in the group a subtopic.  Each student  researches their topic and then discusses their research in a group called an expert group.  The expert group is a group of students that have been assigned the same subtopic.  In the expert group students teach each other what they have learned about the topic.  When students return to their original group the students in the group teach each other their subtopics and take a test on the knowledge they have acquired.

If I had a class that only had five computers each group would be assigned a computer.  Each person in the group would have to take turns researching their topic. Each expert group could then be assigned a computer.  In the expert group each student could add what they have learned and type it up on the computer.  When students convene back to the original group each student could bring their information onto one computer teaching the others in the group about the topics that were assigned.

There are some advantages and disadvantages to using this method.  When using Jigsaw with five computers, students learn to collaborate with each other.  When students collaborate with each other they become responsible for their own learning and learn acceptance of each other which is a great advantage in the classroom. A disadvantage of using Jigsaw in this way is time. A teacher has to give students a lot of time  to research the topic.  This could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to allow enough time for students to go through the whole Jigsaw process which can be a huge disadvantage.