This is from Jane's post dated May 5, 2009 in response to Bruce Richardson's summary of his jigsaw event.
What was your experience in the role play, did it provide opportunity for interaction and collaboration? It was quite an early start for a Saturday morning - Jakarta time.
I admit I started a little late, I was recovering from the flu and forgot to wake at 6. Time differences are a factor – my fault.
I read your links about jigsaw being used for group research and realized that I am already using this strategy with my Grade 5 students.
My class interacted with an 80 year old Dutch author from http://www.dutch-east-indies.com from Holland earlier in this year. They were able to gain valuable insights about her life in the former Dutch East Indies. The kids used a combination of emailing and chatting using MSN. We projected the laptop screen so that they whole class could participate. Each group had a special focus into life in the Dutch East Indies and within each group the kids chose a specialized focus. They had to research individually but then meet back in groups and brainstorm their questions for the author. Each group emailed their set of questions and set a time for synchronous discussion with Elizabeth.
The groups had to present their results to the whole class. As each group had a different focus, this saved time yet covered so much more. My class still emails Elizabeth van Kampen (the author) from time to time even though that activity is over. What has been established was more than just research, but a personal connection. I believe that these kids will remember this
experience for years to come. It’s amazing how technology – when used properly – can enable such deep learning.
Usually this kid of history lesson would mean reading a book and learning about dates and events for a test or looking up Wikipedia for facts to make a project poster. The Dutch Colonialism of Indonesia is a part of the national history curriculum that every Grade 5 student must learn about.
An example of one of my student's reflections has been posted to her blog using Voicethread http://swaadelle.blogspot.com/
You can click on this link to see an article that was published about this activity in a children’s newspaper. Elizabeth has put it on her site.
http://www.dutch-east-indies.com/story/index.htm
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