Jigsaw Classroom Project

Education is such an important part of our life.  Education begins within the first moments of life.  We have some instinctual knowledge, but we are guided to learn to walk, talk and problem solve.  I work at a private school for students with autism.  Our school includes students from kindergarten through twenty one years of age.  Each student has strengths and weaknesses, just like typical students.  Some are non-verbal, which brings its own unique set of challenges, and some are Asperger students, a high functioning autism and every level between.

During one of my earlier psychology classes I first learned about the jigsaw classroom project.  (Schneider, Gruman, Coutts. Pg. 208). An interactive project that requires cooperative learning to be successful. Our class which was composed of eight male students was experiencing dissention due to the social deficits and varying ability levels.  I thought about applying a modified jigsaw project in our classroom to see if we would see an increase in tolerance levels following the project. I checked with our school psychologist and she thought it was a great idea,  Each student worked independently on a component of their social studies lesson, then they each had an opportunity to teach what they learned to their classmates and the lesson ended with a test. We included a small incentive that would be based on their effort, because most of our students have very low intrinsic motivation, they are not rewarded by internal feelings of accomplishment.  (Schneider, Gruman, Coutts. 2012).  The jigsaw project was a success, the students were motivated to do the research and enjoyed the opportunity to “play teacher” for the rest of the class.  The students learned the material and were a more cohesive group at the end of the project.  This turned a potentially bullying atmosphere into one of cooperation and learning.

 

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Kindle edition.

 

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