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Figure 2.3 Grouping in Jigsaw Technique
This technique is not only aimed at motivating and helping the students in generating ideas but it is also to make students feel enjoy during
the teaching and learning writing process.
2. Procedure in Jigsaw Technique
The general procedure to follow when using the jigsaw technique in the teaching of writing includes the following steps: 1 Divide students
into 5 or 6 person Jigsaw groups. The groups should be diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity, race, and ability. 2 Appoint one student from each group
as the leader. Initially, this person should be the most mature student in the group. 3 Divide the day’s lesson into 5-6 segments. 4 Assign each
student to learn one segment, making sure students have direct access only to their own segment. 5 Give students time to read over their segment at
least twice and become familiar with it. There is no need for them to memorize it. 6 Form temporary ―expert group” by having one student from
each Jigsaw group join other students assigned to the same segment. Give students in these expert groups time to discuss the main points of their
segment and to rehearse the presentations they will make to their Jigsaw group. 7 Bring the students back into their Jigsaw groups. 8 Ask each
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student to present her or his segment to the group. Encourage others in the group to ask questions for clarification. 9 Float from group to group
observing the process. 10 At the end of the session, give a quiz on the material so that students quickly come to realize that these sessions are not
just fun and games but really count.
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Procedure in implementing the Jigsaw technique according to Parker is: 1 Students are divided up into groups. The number in each group
depends on the number of subtopics. 2 Each member of the group is assigned a section or portion of the material. 3 Each student meets with the
members of the other groups who have the same assigned section forming an expert group. 4 The expert group learns the material together and
decides on how to teach the material to the original groups. 5 Students later return to their original groups, whose members are each now an expert
in one of the different areas of the topics being studied, and teach their area of expertise to the other group members. 6 A quiz is given in the end. At
that time no team members may help each other.
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3. Advantages of Jigsaw Technique
There are several benefits of applying Jigsaw technique in language teaching and learning activities. First, the Jigsaw strategy supports
the communicative approach in language teaching because it offers a highly interactive learning experience.
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But even more important, the jigsaw process encourages students work cooperatively by giving each member of
the group an essential part to play in the activity. Group members must work together as a team to accomplish a common goal; each person depends on
all the others. No student can succeed completely unless everyone works well together as a team. Also it is a remarkably efficient way to learn the
material.
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http:en.wikipedia.orgwikiJigsaw_teaching_technique
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Jill_parkerceo.cudenver.edu
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Carolyn Kessler, Cooperative Langua ge…p. 137
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Second, it improves students’ motivation. Related to the technique, the students achieve success as a consequence of paying attention to their
peers, asking questions, helping each other, teaching each other, and helping each other to teach in a small-group work. The affective benefit of small-
group work is an increase in students’ motivation. For instance, if group and individual performances are components of the final assessment, individuals
are motivated not only to learn the material but also to encourage all group members to understand the basic of the knowledge. No student can succeed
completely unless everyone works well together as a team. Being motivated, students will participate actively during the lesson.
Third, it increases enjoyment of the learning experience. There is less boredom in Jigsaw classroom than in traditional classroom. Students in
Jigsaw classes report better while being in the position of the teacher and it can be an exciting change of place for all students. If smart students are
encouraged to develop ―the intellect teacher”, the learning experience can be transformed from boring task into an exciting challenge.
In the Jigsaw classroom, an additional benefit to teacher and students is availability of study materials at different levels of difficulty.
This technique allows the teacher to use several texts or information sources at different levels of linguistic or conceptual difficulty in one class.
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4. Disadvantages of Jigsaw Technique
Many researchers demonstrate numerous advantages of Jigsaw technique; this does not mean that implementing Jigsaw is problem free.
The problems are considered as the disadvantages for carrying out the technique. According to Aronson, there are several disadvantages of using
Jigsaw technique;
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a. The problem of the slow student. The slow student need more time than
others to understand and absorb the information. The problem for the
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Carolyn Kessler, Cooperative Langua ge…p. 138
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http:www.jigsaw.orgsteps.htm
