1. Break into teams of four, and number the members from 1 to 4.

2. Present a mini-project to each team, such as ‘a study of the local community’.

3. Assign specific tasks to each member, such as:

No.1: Collect all available brochures from the local council.

No.2: Research any information available in the school library.

No.3: Construct a large map of the local area.

No.4: Compile a list of goods and services available in the local area.

4. Each of the members then is required to complete their specific task.

5. The team reforms, and the students share their information with each other. This information then can be collated, and the project can be completed.

The most difficult aspect of this strategy will involve the formulation of the specific tasks. It sometimes can also be worthwhile to assign tasks to the students according to the level of difficulty, and the interests of the different students. Extra students could be asked to share a role with someone else in a team. This means that there could be two No.1’s in the team, who could work together on the particular task.

VARIATIONS

One of the most effective variations is known as Expert Jigsaw  and it employs the use of Home Teams and Expert Teams. To implement this structure:

1. Form students into Home Teams of four members, and number them from 1 to 4.

2. Introduce the project or activity to the Home Teams eg ‘Design a future home’.

3. The specific functions of the Expert Teams are then outlined in the following fashion:

Expert Team 1: Basic design layout of the future home.

Expert Team 2: The furniture.

Expert Team 3: The entertainment facilities.

Expert Team 4: The food preparation process.

4. The Home Teams are then reformed into Expert Teams, which means that all of the

Home Team No.1’s move to Expert Team No.1,

Home TeamNo.2’s into Expert Team No.2, and so on.

5. The Expert Teams then research their specialized area, and develop a range of ideas.

6. Expert Teams then split up, and all members return to their original Home Team. At this stage, there then will be an ‘expert’ on each of the areas, such as ‘furniture’, within each of the Home Teams.

7. By pooling their collective knowledge, the team members then can undertake their original task in a professional manner.