Jigsaw Learning

What is Jigsaw Learning?

📌 Jigsaw learning turns students into both teachers and learners through a structured cooperative approach where each person masters a distinct piece of content before sharing their expertise with peers. Students first join "expert groups" to deeply explore their assigned topic segment, then return to their original "home groups" to teach what they've learned - creating interdependence where every student's contribution becomes essential for the group's complete understanding[1][2][3]. This method shifts classrooms from teacher-centered instruction to student-driven collaboration, making learning an active, social process rather than passive information reception.

🌱 ORIGINS: Social psychologist Elliot Aronson pioneered this technique in 1971 at the University of Texas, Austin, specifically to address racial tensions in newly desegregated schools[2][4][5]. Rather than allowing competition to fuel conflict, Aronson designed jigsaw learning to create positive interdependence among diverse students, requiring them to depend on each other for academic success and thereby fostering cooperation across racial lines[2][4].

🔄 PROCESS: The method operates through a two-stage structure where students first convene in expert groups with peers studying identical content segments, then return to mixed home groups to share their specialized knowledge[6][7][8]. Educators divide content into distinct sections, assign students to diverse home groups, and provide resources for expert group research before facilitating the teaching phase where each student becomes responsible for their peers' understanding of their topic area[6][8][9].

🎯 BENEFITS: This approach simultaneously enhances academic achievement and social development by requiring students to communicate effectively, collaborate meaningfully, and take ownership of both their own learning and their peers' success[2][10][11]. Research demonstrates that jigsaw learning increases student engagement, deepens comprehension through peer teaching, and builds essential skills like communication, cooperation, and critical thinking while reducing intergroup conflict and promoting empathy[10][11][12][13].