JigSaw in the Classroom

There are many approaches and methods used to engage students in learning cooperatively in the classroom, an effective one is the JigSaw method.

You begin by dividing the students into small home groups of about 5-6. Each home group member then attends or participates in an expert group on a given topic. They research and share within their expert group until they feel comfortable enough to go back to their home group and share their expertise.

This strategy teaches students how to work effectively in a team. It provides variety for the students and the teacher from direct instruction. They appreciate the hard work and the depth of knowledge required to become a subject matter expert and have a responsibility to their home group to provide them with all of the necessary information. This cooperative environment also makes students appreciate and value the work that other members of their home group contribute. They must rely on the other members of their home group to provide them with the necessary information.

The JigSaw method does have its challenges as well. If an expert group member does not learn their topic completely then the entire home group will suffer. Members of the home groups will also have varying degrees of retention for the information that their other home group members presented depending on their engagement and the expert members effectiveness.

Technology can be incorporated into the JigSaw approach as well. An example of this would be... A class would be divided into 5 groups, each expert group would work together to create a PowerPoint presentation outlining their assigned expert topic, when they return to their home groups each expert would present their PowerPoint to the home group.

Assistive Technology in the Classroom

Below are two short videos that show how one technology application helps two students with completely different disablilities have a positive interatction with reading. Because of this technology both students are able to access their education independently; without the technology support both would have to rely on other people to help them.

This technology application provides audio access to books and electronic documents to students with learning disabilities, reading disabilities, and vision imparements. This technology would be extremely beneficial in the classroom, it would provide access to students with specific disabilities without relying on additional resources which can be scarce sometimes. It could also be used to provide all students with a variety of learning options, this would be a benefit to students who are naturally audio learners.

Educational Game

Giving students a variety of options to engage their brain in the classroom is key to providing a well rounded learning experience. This is a fun, fact-paced game that students will love. Shape/color recognition (matching) and strategic thinking are two skills that students will have an opportunity to work on while playing this game. This game could be used as a reward for work completed early.


Play Games at AddictingGames

All About Me

Hi there! My name is Rebecca Newcomb and I currently studying to be a educator at Northwest Nazarene University.

I personally LOVE education and would happily be a lifetime student myself if it wasn't for the complication of needing to earn a living to pay my bills. I spent the last 12 and 1/2 years working for UPS and gained a lot from my experience there, one of the things that I learned during this time is that life is too short to do something you don't enjoy. Teaching has always been something that I thought I would enjoy and earlier this year I made the decision to leave my job and return to school to pursue this dream. I have certainly had to adjust my lifestyle and getting used to living as a student has been an interesting transition, but after spending quite a few hours observing classrooms this semester I am more convinced than ever that becoming an educator is what I want to do.

At this point I am thinking that I want to teach upper elementary when I am done with my certification program, specifically 5th grade. I like the idea of working with younger children, but would like to spend the majority of my time teaching subject specific content, not reading and writing.

I am really enjoying my experience of being a student again, but can not wait for the day when I am a teacher in my own classroom.