First published in The Hindu, 31 May 2026
Given that working in the real world usually involves cooperating with individuals and even teams, educators are increasingly giving students group assignments to foster skills of collaboration and communication. While professors may provide detailed instructions on their expectations regarding a project, often little or no guidance is given on how the group should function or approach the project. As a result, contributions of members are often highly skewed. A few motivated students may end up doing the bulk of the work while the quieter or less driven ones make minimal contributions. Though the project submission may seem fine, at least from the professor’s viewpoint, the learning and inputs of individual members is very lopsided. More importantly, the assignment did not facilitate optimal group dynamics.
On the website of Jigsaw Classroom, psychologist Elliot Aronson and his team, outline a tried-and-tested method of getting students to work more seamlessly in groups. Though the Jigsaw Classroom was originally crafted for school students, it can be adapted to higher education settings and involves the following steps.
Suppose the project involves making a presentation on the impact of social media on the mental health of college students. The instructor along with the students may divide the main topic into subtopics. In this case, the subthemes may include social media practices, positive effects, negative effects, evidence-based research findings and ways to mitigate the cons.
Then the class is divided into groups of about five students each. Each student in a group is assigned to learn about one subtopic and become the ‘expert’ on it for their group. Students regroup again based on their subtopics. So, one member from every group who is studying the positive effects of social media will sit together, brainstorm for ideas, read articles or watch videos that shed light on this specific issue. They may take notes to share with their team members. Students who are less proficient on a topic benefit from learning from skilled or knowledgeable peers.
The third step involves the students regrouping with their original groups. Now, every student in the group is an expert on a different facet. Each expert shares their learnings with other group members. The groups sort through all the information, identify key points and integrate their learning. Finally, they may write a paper, create a booklet or make a presentation.
Deep dive
The Jigsaw Classroom works well when all the groups are working on the same topic. How can facilitators ensure more even participation when every group works on different topics? Instructors can provide the following tips on effective teamwork.
Alert groups to the fact that they have to take active measures so that some students don’t dominate while others stay silent. To minimize this tendency, group meetings may follow a format. Every time the group meets, a different person can be assigned to be the facilitator. First, everyone jots down what they think should be discussed at the meeting. Then the facilitator picks one person at random to share their points. If anyone has additional points to make, they take turns making suggestions.
In a similar manner, the rest of the meeting may be led by the facilitator, ensuring maximal participation. Of course, there may be times when one person has more expertise in an area and may have more to contribute. However, listening to that one person should be an active choice taken by a majority of group members.
The instructor may also ask every group to maintain minutes of meetings. Groups may also be tasked with providing a table with all the subtasks that a project was divided into and the contribution of each member towards a subtopic. While this method may not entirely eliminate uneven contributions, group members will at least be more mindful of avoiding unhelpful dynamics by both seeking and making more even contributions.
The writer is visiting faculty at the School of Education, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, and the co-author of Bee-Witched.