The jigsaw classroom is a research-based cooperative learning technique invented and developed in the early 1970s by Elliot Aronson and some of his graduate students at the University of Texas out of what he describes as “an absolute necessity” to help diffuse an explosive situation as a result of desegregation. They found that they needed to shift the emphasis from competition to cooperation.

In the jigsaw learning approach, each student is essential, which makes the strategy effective. This technique is useful in teaching the dominant child, the slow student, the bright student who becomes bored, and the student who has been trained to compete.

The following graphic details the implementation steps of the jigsaw technique:

Aronson identifies several advantages of the jogsaw technique on his website: https://www.jigsaw.org/#tips. Among them are that most teachers find the technique easy to use and enjoy working with it, it can be used with other teaching strategies, and it is free to use.

In the following video, Aronson describes the jigsaw classroom, individuals' roles, and the benefits of the technique.

For over forty years, the jigsaw classroom has been used to reduce racial conflict and to increase positive educational outcomes (e.g. improved test performance, reduced absenteeism, learner motivation), and I will share information about this technique with teachers and parents alike.