jigsaw maths problem solving

Jigsaw Your Math Classroom

“How does the jigsaw method work in my mathematics class?” asked Jessica. I was standing at the left side of the room. I had asked session participants for questions. The participants had been reading about various evidence-based strategies. That question made my mind go blank. “What did I know about using jigsaw method in a mathematics classroom?” While I could extrapolate its application, I didn’t have specific examples for math like I did for science or history.

How Should I Have Responded?

When you get a tough question you’re not prepared for, it’s an opportunity to invite further discussion and learn more. While I had a response that appeared to satisfy the questioner, I felt like I had responded with less than 100% certainty. For me, the response should have had these three components:

• A quick overview of the jigsaw method, perhaps with a hands-on activity
• A specific example of how a teacher could implement the jigsaw method in their classroom, no matter the grade level.
• Stories from those who had put the jigsaw method into action in a math classroom

In this situation, I didn’t have the second two. So, I wrote this blog entry to deepen my learning. Let’s explore these three specific response components.

Component #1 – An Overview of The Jigsaw Method

On the website, Jigsaw Your Mathematics Classroom , the author shares several goals:

• Learn the jigsaw method and how to implement it in a mathematics classroom.
• Design a jigsaw lesson that can be used in your mathematics classroom.
• Develop an assessment that appropriately evaluates student understanding after the completion of a jigsaw lesson.

“The jigsaw technique is a simple, well-structured cooperative learning structure that emphasizes both individual accountability and achievement of group goals, both of which are critical for improved student learning in cooperative settings.” (Source: On the Cutting Edge course design workshops)

You could walk people through a jigsaw activity, or have them watch “The Gummy Bear” video.

The Gummy Bear Jigsaw

Take a moment to watch this gummy bear video featuring The Jigsaw Classroom:

Then, reflect on these questions:

• What is the significance of the color of the gummy bears?
• What are the gummy bears expected to do?
• What is the difference between the groups before and after they switch around? Why is this important? What did they do after they switched groups?
• What does the teacher do while the gummy bears are working? What suggestions could you make about the teacher’s role during this activity?

What a fun way to introduce students and/or educators to the jigsaw method. Let’s study it a bit more.

How the Jigsaw Method Works

There are multiple types of jigsaw methods. The main problems with incomplete jigsaws techniques appear below:

• Less effective readers share misinformation with the group. Everyone gets the misinformation, interfering with understanding.
• A failure to see how their assigned part fits within the whole
• Critical thinking that results from analysis and synthesis doesn’t happen ( Source: ASCD’s Let’s Get Jigsaw Right ).

The successful jigsaw method takes these steps:

• Home group splits up into expert groups to explore a specific aspect of a topic.
• Regroup into home groups to discuss findings from each expert group.
• Split into expert groups to consider the whole in light of home group insights.

In step one, students focus on exploring the information offered. In step two, students engage in summarizing, questioning, and clarifying content with others. In step three, students bring their insights from the home group back to their expert groups. A critical part of the third step is meta-cognition, synthesis, and analysis. This results from conversations with others in the group.

You can see how this works in this 2011 video featuring Elliot Aronson, credited with the jigsaw method. You can find a bank of activities that rely on the jigsaw method online. Let’s take a look at the structure of one activity,

Why the Jigsaw Method Works

Wondering why the jigsaw method works? Here’s a bit of background on this powerful instructional strategy:

The jigsaw technique is a method of organizing classroom activity that makes students dependent on each other to succeed. It breaks classes into groups and chunks assignments into pieces that the group assembles to complete the (jigsaw) puzzle. The Jigsaw Method enjoys an effect size of 1.20. This makes it one of the most effective instructional strategies you can use.

This effective strategy can accelerate student growth up to three years in one academic year. In fact, the jigsaw method involves students reading new information. They discuss it with others who have read the same information. This allows them to extend their learning. Then, students move to new groups where they teach their peers about what they read. They also learn new information from group members (Source: John Hattie, Keynote address, TCEA 2022 Convention and Exposition).

Other Benefits of the Jigsaw Method

Wondering if there are other benefits to the jigsaw method? There are. Here are a few:

• Direct engagement by the students with the material . Instead of having material presented to them, they are able to interact with the material directly, which fosters depth of understanding.
• Practice in self-teaching . This is one of the most valuable skills we can help them learn.
• Practice in peer teaching . This skill requires students to understand the material at a deeper level than simply asking to produce on an exam.
• Improvement in social-emotional learning . This includes increased feelings of autonomy, competence, and intrinsic motivation (Hänze & Berger, 2007).
• Speaking the language of the discipline. The jigsaw method helps students become more fluent in the use of discipline-based terminology
• Team-building. Students contribute to the group and take ownership of the work.
• Encouraging cooperation , active learning , and promoting the valuing of all students’ contributions ( source )

Now that you know a little about the jigsaw method , let’s dig into specific examples for mathematics.

Component #2 – Specific Examples for Math

Many of the examples you will find online for the jigsaw method focus on science, history, and/or nonfiction texts. But what about mathematics? Is the jigsaw method only for literacy? Let’s take a look.

Below, you will find two examples. You may find that certain grade levels and types of activities may lend themselves to the use of the jigsaw method. The key is in how you set up the expert group organizers.

Example One: Transformations and Symmetry

As you can see in the example above, Lindsey’s effort employs jigsaw to support a mathematics lesson. The jigsaw method organizer that students rely on differs from the one you might use in a science or history classroom. The questions, as you will see below, are more focused. Sentence stems include:

• In your own words…
• Look…translate…
• Draw your own example

Each organizer specific to an expert group is customized to a specific action that students must take. Each expert group engages in a transformation and symmetry activity.

Example Two: Algebra II

While a lot of time is spent on “organizing a jigsaw,” it’s a lot less time than you might think. Katie Elder, an instructional coach, describes how a colleague led an Algebra II class (edited for brevity):

Preparation

-On the day of the lesson, the teacher shared the learning objective and reviewed the academic vocabulary with students. -Each student received their own organizer with one problem on it, the problem that their expert group would solve. -The students worked in an independent way, without interaction with peers, on their problems.

Expert Group

-They students met together in their pre-assigned expert groups. -Working together, they discussed the problem, shared their responses, and looked for errors in their work. -After five minutes, each student felt sure that they could explain the procedure for solving the problem to their home groups.

Students returned to their home groups to share how they solved the problem. After students listen to problem-solving approaches in their home group, they jot down any insights.

Students return to their expert group to share insights other students in their home group may have shared. After all students have shared insights gleaned from the home group, students leave the expert group and return to home group one last time or engage in a shared activity (e.g. Flipgrid).

The Teacher’s Role

The teacher walked from group to group, paying special attention to the groups who had received the lowest-level problem, but answering questions and guiding all students toward correct solutions.

When students moved again, this time into home groups, each student took a turn using a small whiteboard to write out their problem, wait while the other students copied it onto their organizer, and then “worked the problem” on the board, discussing each step. To lower anxiety and increase confidence, the students considered low in their groups went first (students were grouped into X, Y, and Z expert groups, so these were X students). Then Y students taught their problem, and then Z students. Again, the teacher visited each table, listening to explanations, offering suggestions, and answering questions.

“The lesson went well. Students responded positively, and there was 100% engagement in each of the classes. Although we have not had time to check in with the teachers to look at test score data, the math teachers whose classes we worked with both commented on how glad they were to see some of their low students speak with added confidence and some of their quiet students speak at all! One teacher even commented on how a student who perpetually “checks out” was working well beyond his normal contribution.” (Source: Katie Elder guest post )

Component #3 – Jigsaw in the Math Classroom

Student inactivity in a math classroom can cause low interest in mathematics. One strategy that increases students’ activity is the jigsaw method (Source: Adopting Jigsaw Instructional Strategy for Improving Students’ Interest in Mathematics). One question the researcher in the aforementioned study asked:

“Do students differ in interest towards mathematics when taught using jigsaw, Individual Personalization and Conventional Strategies?”

Compared to other approaches, jigsaw enjoyed the highest interest of the three approaches explored. Findings suggested these conclusions:

• Mathematics teachers should embrace the use of the jigsaw method, along with traditional methods of teaching math.
• Teachers should not discriminate among students with high, average, or low socioeconomic status.

Another study focused on high school students revealed these findings:

• Teachers should design activities through the jigsaw technique to promote mathematics understanding.
• Students should practice, solve, manipulate, reason, and perform via the jigsaw technique.
• The jigsaw technique helps students make connections across mathematical skills and concepts, and other disciplines.
• After using the jigsaw technique, students should have time to discuss how they perform in solving mathematical activities.

Addendum: My Approach to the Jigsaw Method

Here are the steps I use when relying on the jigsaw method. I put them together after reviewing how others organize their jigsaw activities . You may want to review my steps, as well as how others approach them , then write your own.

Reminder: Don’t cut out those final steps that includes experts returning to and from home groups to analzye and share findings from discussions. The more discussion about insights and additions, the more learning that happens.

In Your Home Group (5-10 minutes)

• Students are divided into groups of three to six people each. This is your home group .
• Number off from one to x so that each person in the group has a number.
• Each member of the home group will be responsible for learning and teaching one “chunk” of content to your peers. Each content chunk corresponds to your assigned number.
• Take a look at your content chunk. Spend about 8 minutes reviewing it (teacher adjusts timing as needed). Jot down the big takeaways or key points in this jigsaw notes organizer .
• When time is up, go join your expert group , the people who have the same number as you, to begin the activity.

Expert Group (5-10 minutes)

• Introduce yourself (1-2 minutes).
• Share your takeaways with each other, with each learner, adding something not previously mentioned.
• Discuss your insights and why you think those takeaways are important.
• Return to your home group when time is up.

Home Group for Reporting (10 minutes)

• You now have just two minutes each to teach the others in your group what you learned in your expert group.
• Use the resources/notes you created as you share.

Expert Group for Reflection

• Take one minute each to share your Home Group’s insights
• What do those insights mean in light of what you know as Experts? Discuss.

Feature Image Source

Photo by Hans-Peter Gauster on Unsplash

Miguel Guhlin

Transforming teaching, learning and leadership through the strategic application of technology has been Miguel Guhlin’s motto. Learn more about his work online at blog.tcea.org , mguhlin.org , and mglead.org /mglead2.org. Catch him on Mastodon @[email protected] Areas of interest flow from his experiences as a district technology administrator, regional education specialist, and classroom educator in bilingual/ESL situations. Learn more about his credentials online at mguhlin.net.

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I love this jigsaw strategy. I frees teachers while the students do the work. Indeed the more students discuss their findings and insights, the more learning occurs!

You’re exactly right, Pauline! How are you using it in your classroom?

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Jigsaw Math

A fun and effective way to practice math flashcards

Answering each flashcard solves a piece of a jigsaw puzzle, giving the student a fun incentive to complete the set of flashcards.

Completing puzzles unlocks new levels of increasing difficulty, and points are scored based on the speed, accuracy, and size of the puzzle.

Teachers/parents:  Track your student's progress with detailed logging of completed puzzles and performance stats.

Import your own photos to make custom jigsaw puzzles to surprise your student!

interactive classroom

• Review the math tables
• Go to the blackboard for a lesson on addition, subtraction and multiplication
• Check out  the calendar to see when puzzles were completed
• Keep track of high scores on the sticker poster

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Track your student's progress with history logs of completed puzzles, and track their accuracy and speed over time.

Stats are available on individual math facts, so you can see which problems your students have mastered, and which ones they need more practice on.   Jigsaw Math adjusts to past performance and automatically builds future puzzles with flashcards that need the most practice.

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Symmetry Jigsaws

Learn about Symmetry by solving Jigsaw Puzzles ... examples from Nature, Mathematics, Art and Engineering

Why Jigsaws? See the University of Chicago research report: " Learning about spatial relationships boosts understanding of numbers "

Adventures in Oceanography and Teaching

Dr. mirjam s. glessmer, using the “jigsaw” method for practicing solving problem-sets.

A method to get all students engaged in solving problem sets.

A very common problem during problem-set solving sessions is that instead of all students being actively involved in the exercise, in each group there is one student working on the problem set, while the rest of the group is watching, paying more or (more likely) less attention. And here is what you can do to change that:

The jigsaw method (in German often called the “expert” method), you split your class into small groups. For the sake of clarity let’s assume for now that there are 9 students in your class; this would give you three groups with three students each. Each of your groups now get their own problem to work on. After a certain amount of time, the groups are mixed: In each of the new groups, you will have one member of each of the old groups. In these new groups, every student tells the other two about the problem she has been working on in her previous group and hopefully explains it well enough that in the end, everybody knows how to solve all of the problems.

This is a great method for many reasons:

• students are actively engaged when solving the problem in their first group, because they know they will have to be the expert on it later, explaining it to others who didn’t get the chance to work on this specific problem before
• in the second set of groups, everybody has to explain something at some point
• you, the instructor, get to cover more problem sets this way than if you were to do all of them in sequence with the whole group.

How do you make sure that everybody knows which group they belong to at any given time? A very simple way is to just prepare little cards which you hand out to the students, as shown below:

Cards to help organize the practice and discussion groups

The system then works like this: Everybody first works on the problem with the number they have on their card. Group 1 working on problem 1, group 2 on problem 2, and so forth. In the second step, all the As are grouped together and explain their problems to each other, as are the Bs, the Cs, …

Jigsaw with 9 participants

And what do I do if I have more than 9 students?

This works well with 16 students, too. 25 is already a lot – 5 people in each group is probably the upper limit of what is still productive. But you can easily split larger groups into groups of nine by color-coding your cards. Then all the reds work together, and go through the system described above, as do the blues, the greens, the yellows…

Jigsaw with 18 participants in 6 sub-groups of 9 students going through the system as described above

This is a method that needs a little practice. And switching seats to get all students  in the right groups takes time, as does working well together in groups. But it is definitely worth the initial friction once people have gotten used to it!

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Multiplication Square Jigsaw

Why do this problem.

This jigsaw is a great way to reinforce children's awareness and understanding of the sequences contained within the multiplication square. The jigsaw format will capture children's curiosity and provides a motivating context in which to practise the times tables.

Possible approach

One way of introducing the task would be to display the jigsaw on the screen, but hide the title and explanatory text at first.  Instead, ask learners to say what they see and by taking contributions, tease out the task. If you have access to a computer suite, or tablets, then you could ask children to try to put the jigsaw together in pairs using the onscreen interactive. Alternatively, you could print off and cut out this  sheet of the grid and pieces .  Ask them to keep a record of the order in which they place pieces so that this can be shared later. Warn them that you will want to know why they made the choices that they did! The conversations the children have amongst themselves as they work will be well-worth listening in on as they will reveal any misconceptions, but also inform you as to how well the children are able to reason mathematically. As hinted at above, in the plenary you could invite some pairs to explain how they went about solving the jigsaw, or at least to go through the first few pieces they placed. How many different ways of starting did the class find?

Key questions

Possible extension.

David Longman, a teacher at Holmemead Middle School, very kindly suggested a  Ripped-up Tables activity which could be used as a follow-up to the Multiplication Square Jigsaw. Not only do pupils have to put the square together, they have to complete it first! Both Mystery Matrix and Missing Multipliers would make good follow-up tasks to this one. The format of a grid is the same, but in these two problems, children are given products and have to work out the row and column headings.

Possible support

At first, children may want to use a ready-made table square to help in doing the jigsaw before trying to do again (or trying later stages) without this aid.  

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August 5, 2013 / 0 Comments

Jig-saw problem solving

Today in a workshop with Sally Keyes of the Silicon Valley Math Initiative , we started off the day with what I would call a jig-saw problem. Each of us was given a clue, and the instructions that for this activity we could not use pencil or paper, or share our clue card directly with our group members, but that we could talk about our clue. We sat in a group, and had some counters, beans, and paperclips we could use if we wanted.

The problem we were given was called Four Kids with Figs . Each of us had one card with one clue on it, and together we tried and figured out how many figs each kid had. During the problem solving, Sally walked around the room and listened to us work, but she very rarely interjected any of her ideas, she mostly just listened and used what we said to debrief the problem afterward.

Not having pencil and paper (or access to any other recording devices) meant that we couldn’t easily record what each other said, and this led to increased discussion between us, and the need to use the manipulatives we were given to create a shared representation of the problem. We also had a discussion around what makes collaborative groups work better, which probably helped our group work be more focused. Having ownership over a clue meant that each of us had to interact with the others at least enough to ensure that our clue was interpreted by the other members of our group.

We had a very interesting problem solving session, and I attempted to capture a snapshot of our work above. It was fascinating to me to see how we ended up representing our solution for the problem using the manipulatives we had, and how the constraints of the task influenced our work. I could see this structure being a really useful way to facilitate mathematics discussions and problem solving in a classroom setting.

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The Jigsaw Method Teaching Strategy

Misty hance.

• October 18, 2016

The jigsaw method of teaching is a strategy first developed by Elliot Aronson in 1971 and further advanced in assessment practices by Robert Slavin in 1986. Aronson developed this method as means to assist students overcoming learning gaps in recently desegregated schools in Austin, Texas (Teaching Methods). For the past 50 years, teachers have been utilizing this method and its various components to promote collaboration in early grades through post-secondary classroom settings.

What is Jigsaw Method of Teaching?

Just as a jigsaw puzzle is a collection of various pieces that come together to make a complete picture, the jigsaw method of teaching is a collection of topics, which will be fully developed by students before coming together to make a complete idea. To be more specific, this type of cooperative learning strategy allows individuals or small groups to become responsible for a subcategory of a larger topic. After researching and developing their idea, each individual or small group then has the responsibility to teach it to the rest of the group or class.

Benefits of the Jigsaw Method in Education

There are many benefits to using the jigsaw method in one’s classroom. For starters, in most instances, students who take ownership in their learning will better understand the material. As active learners, students are directly immersed in the information and material, which promotes a deeper understanding of that material.

When students are given the opportunity to contribute to a group , they also learn life skills such as communication and working within a timeline. This method also promotes collaboration and discussion, as well as self-motivated learning strategies. Students who work together learn to ask questions to clarify their understanding and provide critical feedback in appropriate manners. In addition, the jigsaw method in education effectively produces academic gains in problem solving and analyzing, two important cognitive skills.

What Material can be Used in the Jigsaw Method?

While most think of the jigsaw method being used to teach subcategories of a specific overarching lesson, it can be even simpler than that. Each group could be responsible for a section of the textbook chapter, a specific strategy for a math concept, the culture of a county within a region, a chapter of a trade book, or even analyzing poetry or other works of art.

Jigsaw Method Examples to Try in Your Classroom

Individual pieces.

For virtual classrooms or younger students, it may be easiest to start using this method as individuals who then come together to present their piece of the puzzle. A teacher would start by assigning each student a subcategory to research. The teacher may ask each child to create a slide presentation to then share with the class that fully develops their subcategory. This can also be done within the traditional classroom if the overall lesson has enough subcategories, or if the teacher chooses to let two to four students work independently on the same subcategory and share separately to provide a more in-depth look at each subcategory.

Cooperative Groups

As with any group activity, the teacher will divide students into groups of four or five students. The number of groups should be based on the number of subcategories that fit into the overarching lesson; then divide the number of students into groups accordingly. Each group would then be given a subcategory to cooperatively research and develop . As with the individual’s approach, each group would then create a presentation and share it with the entire class.

Jigsaw within Groups

Similar to the cooperative group approach, this example allows each member of the small group to develop a subcategory and share within their small group. In order to start this method, the teacher would divide the lesson into subcategories. Then each small group would be created with one student receiving one subcategory of the lesson. For this method, each small group gets the same set of subcategories.

Once individuals have researched their own subcategory, they will meet with individuals from the other small groups with the same topic to better develop their understanding and become experts of the subcategory. Each student would then return to their original group and teach their subcategory to the rest of their small group. Students within the group take notes or fill-in a study guide to fully understand all subcategories. This also works well for students who are learning to work with a group but may not yet be comfortable speaking in front of a whole class.

Assessment Guidelines

No matter the type of jigsaw method used, all students will need to be assessed on all subcategories at the end of the lesson so that the teacher knows what material might need to be retaught by the teacher. This assessment is also meant to ensure that all students gained an understanding of the entire content, not just their expert piece of the puzzle. In most instances, the teacher will most likely choose to give each individual their own individual score based on their assessment. However, for the jigsaw within groups method, the teacher may take each student’s individual score and average it with the other members of the small group. Each member of the small group would then receive that average in addition to their own individual score. This helps ensure that all students work cooperatively to teach the material and hold each other accountable. This method of scoring is more suitable for higher grades and for students with a full understanding of their role in the jigsaw method.

It is a proven understanding that anytime someone is given the opportunity to teach information, they personally gain a deeper understanding of the material. The jigsaw method, whether used at an individual or cooperative group level, allows for this peer-teaching opportunity. Students become invested in what they are responsible for teaching and for what they learn, which deepens their knowledge and application of the skill. The jigsaw method is a valuable educational strategy to use at any grade level.

Teaching Methods: A Collection of Pedagogic Techniques and Example Activities. Retrieved 1-7-2021: https://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/teaching_methods/jigsaws/why.html#:~:text=The%20group%20task%20that%20follows,an%20efficient%20cooperative%20learning%20strategy .

*updated january, 2021.

• #JigsawMethod , #TeachingStrategies

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SEND inclusion jigsaw: a teaching strategy for all learners

Editor’s Note:

This is an updated version of a blog post originally published on June 19, 2019.

Up to 1 in 4 learners in your class will struggle with maths. Help support them (and everyone else) with the SEND inclusion jigsaw teaching strategy.

Think about the pupils in your class who struggle with maths. What are the barriers to their learning?

Some pupils have gaps in their knowledge and others might misunderstand core concepts such as place value. Others struggle because they have a special educational need or disability (SEND), for example: a moderate learning difficulty, a speech and language need, or a specific learning difficulty .

Inclusive high-quality teaching is the first step in responding to pupils who have SEND (and those who don’t).

The SEND inclusion jigsaw makes sure planning and implementation meets the needs of all learners, and builds in high expectations for everyone.

What is the SEND inclusion jigsaw teaching strategy?

The SEND inclusion jigsaw teaching strategy looks at lessons like a jigsaw containing multiple pieces. If pieces are missing, the lesson is likely to be incomplete.

When we tackle a jigsaw, we often start by identifying the corner pieces. The corners are the foundations that need to come first — they are the elements we build the lesson on. The piece in the middle of the jigsaw (developing independence), completes the picture and is the final piece of the puzzle.

After all, our aim as teachers is to develop children who are independent thinkers and learners.

What does the jigsaw look like in practice?

The jigsaw diagram below outlines nine key elements of the SEND inclusion jigsaw teaching strategy. It fosters inclusive high-quality teaching for pupils with SEND.

Here are some examples of how you can put each of the elements of the SEND inclusion jigsaw teaching strategy in place to support all the pupils in your class, including those with SEND.

1. High expectations

Learners who struggle with maths often have a belief they ‘can’t do it’ and can develop maths anxiety as a result of this thinking. A good way to tackle this is to set high expectations and demonstrate them in a positive way.

Don’t just tell your learner you have high expectations for them, show them. Set a goal and support the learner to work towards it.

For example, expect a child with language difficulties to use precise mathematical vocabulary and support them by providing visual prompts such as mathematical word mats.

2. Developing relationships and knowing pupils well

Never underestimate the importance of developing positive relationships with your pupils. Make sure you’re well-informed about your pupils and that you know them as individuals. Find out what their needs and strengths are and what interests or motivates them.

For example, at the start of the year, ask your pupils to complete the following statement:

“One thing I would like my teacher to know about how I learn best in maths is…”

The responses can be enlightening!

3. Inclusive learning environment

If you have a maths working wall in your classroom, check that it’s accessible to all pupils. Too much information on a working wall can be overwhelming for pupils with concentration difficulties.

For example, provide a distraction-free space (such as a workstation) for pupils if they need it.

4. Age, interest, and ability appropriate curriculum

Regular revision and repetition of concepts will be useful for pupils who have cognitive challenges. Check that your maths curriculum takes a cumulative, ‘spiral’ approach to learning , where key concepts are revisited and built upon.

For example, a maths mastery approach to the curriculum, can be particularly useful for pupils with learning difficulties due to the way it uses the concrete, pictorial, abstract approach ( CPA ) to support inclusive high-quality teaching and a deep understanding of mathematical concepts.

5. Quality feedback

To achieve mastery in maths, it’s essential that pupils having difficulty grasping any concept are identified quickly and provided with extra support. When you identify particular misconceptions, be specific, accurate, and clear with your feedback.

For example, say to the pupil,

“You have completed step 1 of the problem but you now need to check steps 2 and 3.”

Provide guidance on their next steps rather than simply highlighting errors.

6. Engagement through hands-on approach

The CPA approach provides the ideal opportunity for pupils to learn maths concepts using hands-on, physical resources at the concrete stage. Some pupils will need to spend longer at the concrete or pictorial stage, or will need to continue having these stages reinforced alongside the abstract stage.

Make sure you don’t remove concrete materials too early when pupils need to carry on using them to secure their conceptual understanding (it is okay for KS2 pupils to be using Unifix!) and know the misconceptions associated with the approach .

7. Questioning and modelling for challenge

Part of the modelling process involves using the appropriate mathematical vocabulary . Make sure you explicitly teach the vocabulary that pupils will need to access the lesson and check their understanding of it.

Pre-tutoring before the lesson can provide a good opportunity to introduce and explain mathematical vocabulary and often gives less confident pupils a knowledge boost!

8. Scaffolding learning

Scaffolding involves using a range of strategies to provide temporary support for pupils, moving them towards increasing independence.

For example, when pupils are tackling maths word problems, you can scaffold their learning by providing visual clues to help them understand the instructions, or by pre-highlighting the most important words within the problem.

9. Developing independence

To encourage more reluctant pupils to independently overcome challenges when they get stuck with their learning, try introducing the 3 B4 Me strategy. Before the pupil goes to an adult for help they must try the following:

• Brain (think for themselves)
• Buddy (ask a peer)
• Book or board (e.g. textbook or working maths wall)

What are the benefits of the SEND inclusion jigsaw teaching strategy?

The SEND inclusion jigsaw teaching strategy doesn’t just benefit pupils with SEND, but allows you to meet the needs of all pupils. Ask yourself, are the pieces in this jigsaw different from what makes inclusive high-quality teaching for any pupil?

The answer should be a resounding no!

Simply put, good teaching meets the needs of all learners and enables all learners to make progress. That’s what makes a really inclusive maths lesson .

Natalie Packer

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