Concept of Technique Jigsaw Technique

5. Procedures of Jigsaw Technique

To run a Within-Team Jigsaw, firstly the teacher should divide the class into group of four or five depending on the quantity of the material that will be learned in the class. Each students on the team is given different section of the text or material that consisting different but related material with another team member. Later, every member of the group read and analyze their part of the material individually and try to get as much notes as possible to be explained later to the other team member. After reading the material, each member should answer the questions that provided to ensure their understanding on the material. Lastly, each team member as an expert explains their mastered material to the other team member in certain amount of time. While the expert explaining their material, other team member take notes to get an understanding from the expert. After every team member got their turn to explain the material, the material parts that are given by the teacher should be submitted back to the teacher.

6. Advantages of Jigsaw Technique

Teachers and students can attain some advantages if Jigsaw technique is applied in the classroom activities. Carolyn Kessler as quotes from Aronson identifies many advantages of Jigsaw, such as: 31 a. Jigsaw provides an excellent learning environment for the acquisition of language through relevant content. b. Jigsaw activity allows teachers to use several texts or information sources at different level of linguistic or conceptual difficulty in one class. c. Jigsaw activity allows teacher to maintain the development of students’ academic skills through carefully structured reading and writing activities. d. Jigsaw provide opportunities for students to work in racially and culturally mixed groupings 31 Carolyn Kessler, Cooperative Language Learning: A Teacher’s Resource Book, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1992, p. 137. In her writing Carolyn Kessler also highlights some other advantages of jigsaw technique which can be categorized as cooperative learning in the use in the classroom, for instance: 32 a. Jigsaw activity can increase active communication in the classroom. In traditional classroom, students just listen to teacher’s explanation in all activity. That activity causes students get fewer opportunities for talking in class or participate in class. Jigsaw activity requires student to communicate actively in the group so the group can get a good understanding of the material. b. Jigsaw activity allows students to increase their complexity of communication. Linguistic complexity is increased through various means, such as increased stating of new information, giving explanation, offering opinion and showing integration of information. Complexity of communication is increased while processing group work activity. c. Jigsaw activity can help students increase their comprehension. In jigsaw activity students must learn what other group members know. So they have to understand the explanation from other member of the group.

7. Disadvantages of Jigsaw Technique

Regarding to the theoretical and practical aspects of Jigsaw technique, some disadvantages of this technique may also exist. There are at least three disadvantages of Jigsaw technique, as follows: 33 a. The Pressure of Accountability For some students, the design of the jigsaw process that ensures that all students in the class are responsible for learning and for teaching what they have learned to others may create an overwhelming sense of pressure to perform when they get their opportunity to explain what they have learn. Students may worry about their second-language communication skills, learning difficulties, or social status, blocking their ability to contribute in their group’s understanding. 32 ibid., pp. 5—7 33 Shlomo Sharan, Handbook of Cooperative Learning Methods, Westport: Greenwood Press, 1994, p. 47.