Teaching Routines / Expert Circles
Expert Circles
Each group learns one part properly. Then everybody regroups so that each new group holds exactly one expert on each part — and the only way anybody gets the whole picture is if all four of them teach.
A timer for each stage, with what the children do in each · free to try · no sign-up
The sheet it prints — optional
What are expert circles?
Expert circles is a cooperative learning structure in which a topic is split into parts, each group becomes expert in one part, and then the class regroups so that every new group contains exactly one expert on each part. Each expert teaches their part to their new group.
It is the jigsaw structure, developed by Elliot Aronson in Texas in 1971 to reduce conflict in newly desegregated classrooms. The design is deliberately interdependent: no child can succeed without the others, because nobody has more than a quarter of the material.
How do you run expert circles, step by step?
- Expert groups (about five minutes). Four groups, four parts. Each group studies its part until every member could teach it — not just the fastest reader.
- Mix (about thirty seconds). Regroup so each new group has one person from each expert group. Number them beforehand and this takes seconds; improvise it and it takes five minutes.
- Teach (about four minutes). Each expert teaches their part in turn. Everybody takes notes, because the whole is only assembled here.
Thirteen minutes if the regrouping is planned. The single biggest time saving is giving every child a letter and a number at the start: letter is your expert group, number is your teaching group.
How do you split the material?
Into parts of roughly equal difficulty that do not depend on each other. If part two only makes sense after part one, the child teaching part two will fail through no fault of their own.
Four parts is the practical maximum in primary. Good splits: four causes, four characters, four countries, four stages of a process, four sources about the same event.
The bit that goes wrong and nobody warns you about is that the expert stage produces experts who cannot teach. My first attempts had four groups who genuinely understood their part and then delivered it to their new group by reading their notes aloud at speed. Now the last minute of the expert stage is spent on one question only: what are the three things they must not leave without, and how will you explain the hard bit? That is on the sheet, and it changed the teaching stage completely. The other thing is the regrouping — I give out letters and numbers on lolly sticks at the start, and I say “numbers move, letters stay”. Before that I lost five minutes and most of the goodwill every single time. With Year 3 I use three parts, not four.
What usually goes wrong with expert circles?
- The regrouping eats the lesson. Assign letters and numbers before anybody studies anything.
- Experts read their notes aloud instead of teaching. Make them plan how to explain, not just what.
- One part is much harder, so that expert fails publicly. Check the split yourself, and give the hardest part to the strongest group.
- Nobody checks the assembly. Ask a question at the end that can only be answered using all four parts, or the interdependence was theoretical.
Which year groups is it for?
| Year group | US grade | What to change | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years 3–4 | Grades 2–3 | Three parts, short and pictorial. Model the teaching stage first. | 12 min |
| Years 5–6 | Grades 4–5 | Four parts. Use the expert sheet to plan how to explain. | 15 min |
| Year 7 and up | Grades 6–8 | End with a question that needs all four parts to answer. | 20 min |
Expert circles compared with the other teaching-each-other structures
- Envoy sends one traveller per group instead of regrouping everybody — far less disruption, less interdependence.
- Quiz & Swap also has children teaching each other, but one fact at a time and constantly moving.
- Explain & Record is the version for when you want the explanation captured rather than spoken once.
Free to try · no sign-up · the sheet is optional
Written by a practising primary school teacher, and part of the free-to-try Teaching Routines set on Sage Teachers. Last checked August 2026. Everything here is free to try.