Tonight’s class taught me another great strategy to use in my classroom. I have used the jigsaw strategy before, but never as explicitly as I did tonight. By being able to become an expert on my document, I was able to have a greater understanding of the dust bowl. Honestly, I never learned about this in school so much of the information was new to me, just as it would be for my students. Listening to what other “experts” had to say as well helped me to fit all the pieces together to see the big picture of what was going on in the Midwest during the Great Depression.
I would love to use this strategy in my classroom, but don’t know how often it is realistic to use it. There are so many great strategies to use and I understand the benefit of mixing it up for all of my students. Would I use this once every 9 weeks, more often, less often? I could also use this across the content areas, as well, as a way to differentiate for my high-level learners or my low-level learners. I really love this strategy. I just need help to figure out how often to fit this in to my curriculum.
Chandley, you will eventually make this call yourself. However, I can offer a recommendation at this time. I recommend trying this strategy during the middle to end of the first nine weeks. This will be your trial, or practice, run. Then, continue this practice at least one time per nine weeks. Students will get really good at the jigsaw by the end of the school year. I am so glad you found this strategy to be of some merit! Thank you for your reflection.