Teaching Strategies

Jig Saw Activity

What it looks like.

A Jig Saw involves students working on a problem individually, then collaborating with classmates to make sure they are experts on the problem, and finally teaching classmates how to solve the problem.

Students
... work on a problem individually,
... become experts on that problem by collaborating with classmates
... and then teach peers how to solve the problem.

Teachers
... choose 4 different problems and put one on each sheet of the Jig Saw Template.
... Make groups and make sure that expert groups have the correct solution before teaching peers.

Click here for a template to make a Jig Saw Activity.  Student instructions included on template.

M20-2 Jig Saw Example:
This Jig Saw had students graph a quadratic function without technology and state the characteristics.  Each separate problem was the same quadratic function but presented in a different form.  When the students got back together they were surprised to see that everyone had the same graph and some great discussions were had related to the different strategies used based on the given form.

Jig Saw Quadratic Function Forms

Jig Saw Quadratic Function Forms KEY

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The Benefits.

Promotes teaching each other and discussion which are key aspects of the process of communication.

This activity promotes understanding a problem very well.  It takes some time but is useful for mastering major concepts.