Jigsaw is a strategy that emphasizes cooperative learning by providing students an opportunity to actively help each

other build comprehension. Each group member is responsible for becoming an “ expert ” on one section of the
assigned material and then “teaching” it to the other members of the team.

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). For the past 50
years, teachers have been utilizing this method and its various components to promote collaboration in early grades
through post-secondary classroom settings.
Jigsaw is a well-established method for encouraging group sharing and learning of specific content. This technique
can be used as an instructional activity across several days and is best to use when there is a large amount of content
to teach.
Jigsaw helps students learn cooperation as group members share responsibility for each other ’ s learning by using
critical thinking and social skills to complete an assignment. Subsequently, this strategy helps to improve listening,
communication, and problem-solving skills.
Monitoring each student ’ s participation within the groups provides teachers with information about how much the
students already know about the topic. This allows teachers to tailor instruction accordingly.

Example :

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.
Solving jigsaw puzzles does require elements of creative art, such as achieving continuity of colors and patterns.
However, the activity also requires elements of science, such as knowledge application during trials.
Every time we lift a puzzle piece to meet the edge of another, we have a “theory” that the piece should go there. We
then test that theory by trying to place the piece where we believe it should go.
Today, a jigsaw puzzle in the classroom is more often used as a game. Of course, you can use these puzzle games to
teach your students a valuable lesson as well.
That said, the biggest advantage of using jigsaw puzzles in your lesson is the possibility to combine a fun and
interactive teaching method with an educational valuable lesson. Students aren’t just making a jigsaw, they’re learning
and practising as well.
Jigsaw puzzles are the perfect way for students to practice learning material with each other. And while doing so, they
train their brain by thinking logically when putting all the pieces together.
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.
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. 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