Academic performance, prejudice, and the jigsaw classroom: New pieces to the puzzle

This field study investigated the effects of a cooperative learning environ ment and a Jigsaw classroom environment on academic performance, self-estee m, liking of school, liking of peers, and racial prejudice. The subjects we re 103 children in Grades 4-6, in two separate schools. The cooperative lea rning condition was used as a baseline measure of the effects of cooperatio n, against which the effects of a Jigsaw method, involving both cooperation and interdependence, were compared. The results reveal that Jigsaw produce d significant improvements on measures of academic performance, liking of p eers, and racial prejudice. In contrast, the effect of the cooperative cond ition was to exacerbate pre-existing intergroup tensions. The present findi ngs demonstrate that the Jigsaw method can be applied successfully in Austr alian conditions, and lend support to Allport's contact hypothesis. (C) 199 8 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.