Jigsaw Collaboration

Implementing the Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Technique within a classroom of only five computers would prove to be a challenge (given that one of the proponents of the technique is that all students are actively engaged) but would not be impossible.  I would begin by organizing the students into groups of 5-6 depending on class size and assign each student within each group with one of the five or six topics to be addressed. 

Each student group would then have access to the computer, that day’s discussion leader will act as time moderator for each group (ensuring that each member of the group has an equal amount of time on the computer.  Every member of each group will have access to seven documents on GoogleDocs, one for each expert group and one collaborative document for each research group.  As the first member of each group takes their place at the computer- the other students will work individually on their own text-based research at their desks.  All students on the computers form one expert group, each working on the same collaborative document so that there is a significant amount of information instilled within each student.  The project will continue in this way until all students have had access to the computer to conduct research and collaborate with their expert group at least three times.  As each expert group completes their third computer usage- they will meet to complete their work (the time in which they would have normally been conducting textual research).  After each expert group has met, students will return to their individual groups and present their topic area.  Students will be able to be fully engaged utilizing both physical resources and those accessed online during their expert group research time.

One of the advantages of this method is that through the utilization of GoogleDocs, all students will have access to the same research conducted by each expert group and each individual group- no distraction with note-taking and no competition as all students are contributing their research in real time (more information and less time spent by each individual accessing it).

This method could obviously work even better in a situation in which all students had access to a computer throughout the class.  The disadvantage with this method is that there will be times when students must work with physical materials outside of their online research, perhaps, creating a sense of boredom or impatience as they wait for their opportunity to research in real time with their expert group.