Using Jigsaw Technique As An Effective W
Using Jigsaw Technique As An Effective W
ABSTRACT
The focus of the study was to improve upon cooperative learning with the use of Jigsaw technique in Basic
six of Holy Child Practice Primary School. Action research design was used in addition to a Case study
design to conduct the study. The research instruments were observation and questionnaire. The researcher
employed the Jigsaw technique as the intervention. The sample size used was 40, made up of 30 pupils and
10 teachers from the same institution. Responses gathered from both the observation and the administration
of the instruments indicate that some of the causes of pupils poor performance in school were poor teaching
methods during lessons and the inability of teachers to vary teaching techniques. It was observed during the
research period that pupils had problems in actively participating in lessons. More so pupils did not know
how to learn in groups. It also came to light that lack of understanding of collaborative and cooperative
learning was the pupils’ deficiency. The study therefore empowered both teachers and pupils to resort to the
use of collaborative learning due to its immense benefits.
Keywords: Co-operative learning, Jigsaw, Collaborative learning.
Received: 28 June 2013/ Revised: 31 July 2013/ Accepted: 3 August 2013/ Published: 6 August 2013
1. INTRODUCTION
Cooperative learning, which is the primary focus of this study, is a specific kind of collaborative
learning. In cooperative learning, students work together in small groups on a structured activity.
They are individually accountable for their work and the work of the group as a whole is also assessed.
Cooperative groups work face-to-face and learn to work as a team. Cooperative learning is defined as
students working together to attain group goals that cannot be obtained by working alone or
competitively (Johnson et al., 1986). It is a process which requires knowledge to be discovered by
students and transformed into concept to which the students can relate. Cooperative learning is a
methodology that employs a variety of learning activities to improve students’ understanding of a
subject by using a structured approach, which involves a series of steps, requiring students to create,
analyze and apply concepts (Kagan, 1990). Cooperative learning utilizes ideas of Vygotsky, Piaget and
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International Journal of Education and Practice, 2013, 1(6):64-74
Kohlberg in that both the individual and the social setting are active dynamics in the learning process
as students attempts to imitate real-life learning. By combining teamwork and individual
accountability, students work toward acquiring both knowledge and social skills.It is a teaching
strategy which allows students to work together in small groups with individuals of various talents,
abilities and backgrounds to accomplish a common goal. Each individual team member is responsible
for learning the material and also for helping the other members of the team learn. Students work
until each group member successfully understands and completes the assignment, thus creating an
atmosphere of achievement (Panitz, 1996). In education, jigsaw is a teaching technique invented by
social Psychologist Elliot Aronson in 1971. Students of an average sized class (26 to 33 students) are
divided into competency groups of four to six students to research. Individual members of each group
then break off to work with the “experts” from other groups, researching a part of the material being
studied, after which they return to their starting group in the role of instructor for their sub-category.
The jigsaw technique was invented and named in 1971 in Austin, Texas by a graduate Professor
named Elliot Aronson. Recent desegregation had forced a racial mix on the students of Austin, and
many teachers were unable to cope with the turmoil and hostility of the situation. The researcher
decided that inter-school competition was leading students to study too much on their own and was
interfering with the idea of a cooperative classroom. By arranging the students in culturally and
racially diverse groups, the researcher and her team of graduate students were able to reduce the
divisions between students.
The Jigsaw technique was randomly introduced into some classrooms and not introduced into
other classrooms. This allowed for comparisons between students in jigsaw classes and those not in
jigsaw classes. Students in the jigsaw classes expressed significantly, more self-confident and liked
school better when tested objectively. Behavioral data supported these self-report measures. Students
in jigsaw classes were absent less frequently, intermingled more in the cafeteria and in the school yard
and performed better in exams.
The jigsaw strategy is a cooperative learning technique appropriate for students from 3 rd to 12th
grade. There are several benefits of jigsaw technique in teaching. Teacher is not the sole provider of
knowledge because most of the work is done by the students themselves which makes it an efficient
way to learn. Students take ownership in the work and achievement and therefore students are held
accountable among their peers. Jigsaw technique is beneficial in teaching because learning revolves
around interaction with peers, students are active participants in the learning process and thereby help
to build inter-personal and interactive skills among students. The use of this technique also makes
teachers find it easy to learn, enjoy working with it, it can be used in conjunction with other teaching
strategies and it can be effective even if it is used for just an hour per day. There can be some obstacles
when using the jigsaw technique. One common problem is a dominant student. In order to reduce this
problem, each jigsaw group has an appointed leader. Students realize that the group is more effective
if each student is allowed to present his or her own material before questions and comments are made.
Dominance is eventually reduced because students realize it is not in the best interest of the group.
Another problem is a slow student in the group. It is important that each member presents the best
possible report to the group, as it is important that individuals with poor study skills do not present
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International Journal of Education and Practice, 2013, 1(6):64-74
inferior reports to their jigsaw group. In order to reduce this problem, the jigsaw technique relies on
“expert” groups. Students work with other individuals from other groups working on the same
segment of the report. In this “expert” group they are given a chance to discuss their reports and
gather suggestions from other students to modify their reports as needed. Another issue is that of
bright students becoming bored. Research suggests that there is less boredom of bright students in
the jigsaw classroom than in the traditional classroom. Bright students should be encouraged to
develop the mindset of a teacher. By being a teacher a boring task can be changed into an exciting
challenge. Dealing with students that have been trained to compete can also cause difficulties. A goal
of a jigsaw classroom is to decrease competition and increase cooperation and so competitive students
can create difficulties.
Research on the jigsaw classroom suggests that it has its strongest effect when introduced in
elementary school. If there is exposure to the jigsaw classroom at an early age, only an hour per a day
is needed to maintain the impact of cooperative learning in later schooling. If jigsaw is first introduced
in the later years of schooling, it can often be an uphill battle. Old habits can be hard to break but
overtime students participating in the jigsaw classroom in high school can benefit from the cooperative
structure.
3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What are the steps involved in using jigsaw technique in teaching?
2. To what extent can the use of jigsaw technique promote cooperative learning?
3. What is the relationship between the use of jigsaw technique and pupils academic work?
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International Journal of Education and Practice, 2013, 1(6):64-74
4. What are the challenges involved in the use of jigsaw technique in teaching?
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International Journal of Education and Practice, 2013, 1(6):64-74
relationships, describe what members actions are helpful and not helpful and make decisions about
what behaviours to continue or change. Compared with traditional teaching methods, the jigsaw has
several benefits or advantages or importance. First and foremost, most teachers find jigsaw easy to
learn because teacher is not the sole provider of knowledge which makes most teachers enjoys working
with it because it can be used with other teaching strategies. It works even if only used for an hour per
day. Again, it is an efficient way to learn. It enables students take ownership in the work and
achievement. Students are held accountable among their peers, also learning revolves round
interaction with peers and therefore students are active participants in the learning process and this
helps build interpersonal and interactive skills.
5. METHODOLOGY
Action and Case study designs were used. Action research involves finding out immediate
solutions to local problems. According to Burns (1990), Action research is the practical application of
fact finding to practical problems solving in a social situation with a view to improving the quality of
action within it, involving the collaboration and cooperation of researchers, practitioners and laymen.
Action research can also be explained as a small scaled intervention in the functioning of the real world
and a close examination of the effect of such intervention. The choice for action research design is to
help to promote cooperative learning in the classroom and elsewhere in the world of life. This is
because the Action research assists us find immediate solutions to the problems we identify in the
classroom. In terms of strength, the Action research helps the teacher to find immediate solutions to
classroom problems confronting both teaching and learning. The researcher again used a case study
approach. Case studies are investigations of an individual, group, institution or other social unit.
According to (Osuala, 1982) Case study typically involves the observation of an individual unit
example a student, a delinquent clique, a family group, a class, a school, a community, an event or even
an entire culture. Case studies are mostly used when the relevant behaviours cannot be manipulated of
respondents’ physical characteristics, social qualities or behaviours.
The Case study design was also adopted for this study because the study is concentrated on one
school and more so because it is an appropriate way of getting information from a specific institution.
The target population used for the study included all pupils and teachers of Holy Child College
Practice Primary. The accessible population consisted of pupils in primary six, teachers who teach
primary six and the headmistress. The sample size was 30 students and 10 teachers. Fifteen (15) boys
and Fifteen (15) girls were selected from the students. The thirty (30) were sampled through a simple
random sampling technique. The researcher used the sample frame (i.e. the class list) of pupils in class
six and from it randomly picked 15 boys and 15 girls for the study. The purposive sampling technique
was used in selecting 10 teachers for the study. The 10 teachers were teachers who have taught upper
primary before or were currently teaching upper primary levels (p4-p6). The total sample size was
therefore 40 (30 students and 10 teachers).The researcher made use of observation interviews and
interventions as the major tools in doing the study. Pupils were observed by watching, listening and
recording what he saw rather than asking questions. The researcher chose observation in the sense
that, it could offer data when respondents are unwilling to cooperate or give information. The
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International Journal of Education and Practice, 2013, 1(6):64-74
researcher played the role of an observer noting down the behaviour and activities of students in class.
The use of observation also offered first hand information without relying on the report of others.
After the researcher had obtained the above information, he selected some questions for the pupils and
teachers in the form of an interview in order to obtain relevant information pertaining to the problem.
6.2. Intervention
After all the preparations, it was time to begin working. During the intervention phase of
cooperative learning, the students played the most important role, some of their tasked at this stage
included;
- Working together
- Listening to one another
- Questioning one another
- Keeping records of their work and progress
- Producing the assessment task (product)
- Assuming personal responsibility being involved in the group
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International Journal of Education and Practice, 2013, 1(6):64-74
6.4. Post-Intervention
The post-intervention was an evaluation of the outcome of the intervention. After completing the
group work and assessment tasks, the student’s job was to reflect on the work that was accomplished
in the group. What worked and what did not work? What would they change or keep next time they
work together. The students also gave feed back to their researcher and this was a sign that showed
that they were really having a cooperative learning. There were able to tell the researcher what
worked or what was good about this unit and they did point out what did not work well. This
information had been written down and informally discussed with them.
Research question 1: What are the steps involved in using jigsaw technique in teaching?
After the activity students were interviewed with regards to the steps involved in planning jigsaw. The
Respondents came out with a number of steps to implement in the use of jigsaw. The steps identified
by the respondents perfectly agrees with the ten steps of Aronson (2008). They are:
1) Students are divided into 5 or 6 people’s jigsaw group. The group should be diverse in terms
of ethnicity, gender, ability and race.
2) One student should be appointed as the group leader. This person should initially be the
most mature student in the group.
3) The day’s lesson is divided into 5-6 segments (one for each member).
4) Each student is assigned one segment to learn. Each student should only have direct access
to their own segment.
5) Students should be given time to read over their segment at least twice to become familiar
with it. Students do not need to memorize it.
6) Temporary experts groups should be formed in which one student from each jigsaw group
joins other students assigned to the same segment. Students in this expert group should be
given time to discuss the main points of their segment and rehearse the presentation they are
going to make to their jigsaw group.
7) Students come back to their jigsaw group.
8) Students present their segment to the group, other members are encouraged to ask question
for clarification.
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International Journal of Education and Practice, 2013, 1(6):64-74
9) The teacher needs to float from group to group in other to observe the process. Intervene if
any group is having trouble such as member being dominating or disruptive. There will
come to a point that the group leader should hand this task. Teachers can whisper to group
leader as to how to intervene until the group leader can effectively do it themselves.
10) A quiz on the material should be given at the end so students realize that the sessions are not
just for fun and games but they really count.
Research question 2: To what extent can the use of jigsaw promote cooperative learning?
Table 1 shows that ninety percent of the respondents overwhelmingly agreed that the use of jigsaw
technique in teaching helps to promote cooperative learning to a high extent. This shows that greater
percentage of the teachers know the importance of using jigsaw technique in teaching. It also implies
that the respondents greatly agreed to what the psychologist (Aronson, 2008) said concerning the
benefits of jigsaw technique. According to him, learning revolves around interaction with peers and
therefore students are active participant in the learning process and this helps build interpersonal and
interactive skills.
Research question 3: What is the relationship between the use of jigsaw technique and pupils
participation in class?
In answer to the research question, the teachers rated the performance of pupils in respect to the use of
Jigsaw.
The analysis shown in Table 2 indicate that the greater respondents representing ninety percent
overwhelmingly agreed that the use of jigsaw technique promote Active students participation and
only one respondent representing ten percent also agreed that the use of jigsaw technique promote
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International Journal of Education and Practice, 2013, 1(6):64-74
Good academic performance than active students participation and this shows that there is a great
relationship between a teaching technique and pupils performance. This is so because if the technique
used in teaching is good it will have good effect on pupils’ academic performance and vice-versa. With
these reasons, the use of jigsaw technique greatly improve pupils active participation in class since
most of the work is done by the students and by so doing this will help improve upon their academic
performance in class. The views expressed by the respondents again agrees with what (Aronson, 2008)
said concerning the significance of the use of jigsaw technique in teaching. According to him, the
significance of using jigsaw technique in teaching is to promote students learning and academic
achievement and this helps increase student’s retention. Also, it enhances students’ satisfaction with
their learning experience which enables them not only to achieve which enables them not only to
achieve good academic performance but also develop skills in oral communication since there is a great
participation and providing of knowledge from them.
Research question 4: What are the challenges involved in the use of jigsaw technique in teaching?
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International Journal of Education and Practice, 2013, 1(6):64-74
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International Journal of Education and Practice, 2013, 1(6):64-74
were able to take active part in the lesson by answering questions during and after the lesson. It is
recommended that teachers should avoid merely using lecture method in teaching lessons at the lower
levels ( Basic level) because it leads to poor participation of pupils in the lessons and poor
understanding of concepts. Teachers should rather concentrate on teaching techniques or teaching
methods like the activity method which will enable pupils to properly understand the concepts taught
in class. The Ministry of Education should organize frequent in-service training for teachers in the
various schools, particularly on the methods of teaching. The Ghana Education Service must make
sure head teachers organise in-service training, at least thrice a term. Resource persons can be invited
from the District Education Offices, the Colleges of Education and the Teaching Universities to help.
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Views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), International Journal of Education and
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