Jigsaw Method

I, too, am trying to implement the jigsaw activity into my classes as I thought of it as a fun alternative to lecturing on some of the "less entertaining topics" and something the students could truly learn from. I am currently using it to finish teaching a unit on juvenile justice. It is working OK, but I have seen that there are some kinks that I need to work out. For one, it has taken a lot longer than expected and planned for. I originally planned just to give students one class day (54minutes) to prepare their lesson. Well, that one hour class period has turned into four. I only gave each group about 2 1/2 pages worth of information to teach, yet it is taking them FOREVER to get their lesson together. Maybe this is simply something I can learn from and simply use to plan better int he future or should I have stuck with a one to two day time limit? I know they have been working because I have been monitoring their progress so that is why I have allowed them more time. Is that OK?

Then, of course, you've got those within the group that contribute more than others. I actually had one student suggest that I was making them do this because I was being too lazy to teach the information! This same student, as well as a few others, expressed that they would rather me lecture and have them take notes because they learn better that way...maybe I shouldn't say this, but I've come to learn that someone is going to complain no matter what we do. I have somewhat accepted that and have decided that this will not keep me from doing different things within my classroom, yet it can be quite upsetting to hear at times. I think it is quite common for us, as human beings, to complain about things we are not custom to or things that differ from typical methods.

Overall, I have liked how it has worked and have heard a lot more positive feedback than negative. The groups will begin teaching their assigned information on tomorrow and I am rather anxious to see how they do! I commented on our classmates post who wrote about the jigsaw method as well in hopes that we can collaborate together to perfect the use of this method within the classroom. I think that it is a wonderful way to teach some of the information to students and I think they will get more out of it (in the end) than they would if I simply stood up and lectured.