Chapter 15 page 375
The example above shows how a jigsaw format is used to solve a problem. There are other
applications of jigsaw, however. Research has demonstrated how jigsaw is used to help students learn one
topic in groups and then teach that material to others. For instance, in one project,
Students are assigned curriculum themes (e.g., changing populations), each divided into approximately five
subtopics (e.g., extinct, endangered, artificial, assisted, and urbanized populations). Students form separate
research groups, each assigned responsibility for one of the five or so subtopics. These research groups prepare
teaching materials using commercially available, stable computer technology .... Then, the students regroup
into ... seminars in which each student is expert in one subtopic, holding one-fifth of the information. Each
fifth needs to be combined with the remaining fifths to make a whole unit, hence “jigsaw.” All children in a
learning group are expert on one part of the material, teach it to others, and prepare questions for the test that
all will taken on the complete unit. ...All children are responsible for mastery of the entire theme, not just
their fifth of the material. So the burden of teaching others from expertise is a real one....” (A. L. Brown &
Campione, 1994, pp. 233-234)
In this example, each student’s newly acquired expertise is necessary so that each student in the group will
be fully prepared for exams and other class activities that use the information. Positive interdependence is
explicitly structured into the task. Research on jigsaw has found positive effects (Aronson, 1978;
Lazarowitz, Hertz-Lazarowitz, & Baird, 1994), although in some studies positive effects were found only if
jigsaw was combined with group rewards for individual learning (R. E. Slavin, 1984).
Problem 15.9. Designing Instruction. JigsawChoose a future class and topic that you expect to teach someday in the future. Outline a
jigsaw activity that you could use to promote learning.Response: As you create your activity, be sure that the task in Step 2 really requires
students to pool the information that from Step 1 to solve a problem or reach a decision.Constructive controversy. As you learned in Chapter 12 (discussions and questioning) productive
argumentation promotes learning by building on and challenging ideas. Johnson and Johnson (D. Johnson
& Johnson, 1992; D. W. Johnson & Johnson, 1995, 2000) have developed a method called constructive
controversy, based on productive argumentation. Constructive controversy encourages students to present
reasons and evidence for positions, but in a way that is open-minded. Constructive controversy is unlike
debate where opponents are at opposite sides of an argument; students participating in constructive
controversy build knowledge together, present reasons and evidence for their positions, and are fully willing
to change ideas.
To promote constructive controversy, teachers select a topic for discussion. They assign students to
heterogeneous groups of four, and each group is further divided into two pairs. Each pair is assigned to a
position on a particular topic for which they are to become expert and develop persuasive arguments for
use when the entire group of four gets back together. For example, in one experiment (K. Smith et al.,
1981) students considered the issue of the advisability of strip mining for coal. One pair of students read
texts providing arguments for strip mining, and the other read material against strip mining. Students work
together to learn their assigned positions and the evidence for those positions. When the pairs reconvene,
they then present their position and arguments to the other pair. The group of four then discusses the issue,
both arguing for their position and listening carefully to the other side. As one pair presents their position,
the other pair is instructed to take careful notes so that they understand it well. Students are then asked to
reverse positions and present the opposing position as if it were their own. Finally, the students each