Events and Peer Learning
Choosing a small-group format for peer discussion
Compare pairs, case groups, peer clinics and rotating groups by the task members need to complete together.
Choose a small-group format by deciding what each person needs to do with the others. Use pairs to test a first thought, a case group to compare decisions, or a peer clinic when one member has a defined problem and wants questions before suggestions. Group size alone cannot make an unclear task work.
Start with the output
Write the question participants should answer when they return to the whole room. “What would you do first, and what information would change that decision?” gives a group a job; “Discuss onboarding” leaves them to invent one.
The output can be a proposed next step, a comparison of options or a list of unanswered questions. It need not be agreement.
| Format | Choose it when | Give the group |
|---|---|---|
| Pair exchange | People need to form an initial view or rehearse a question. | One prompt and a way to bring a useful point back. |
| Shared case | Several people can examine the same situation. | A short case, a decision to make and known constraints. |
| Peer clinic | One participant wants help with a specific challenge. | Time for clarifying questions before advice, and room for the case owner to decline suggestions. |
| Rotating groups | Several perspectives need to meet. | A distinct question for each round and a way to carry learning forward. |
Decide who should meet
Put people together for a reason you can explain. Similar roles may let participants reach detail quickly. Different roles may reveal a handover problem or assumption. If the aim is to compare levels of experience, give newer and experienced members a useful role: one can describe where the task is unclear; the other can describe what changed with practice.
Avoid making a senior participant the automatic judge. Ask everyone to describe the conditions behind their advice. If someone is new to the topic, a brief glossary or case summary before the event can make the discussion easier to enter. Offer time to think or write before speaking.
Give the group enough structure
Before people split up, state the question, how long they have, what they should bring back and how to ask for help. Put the instructions where participants can still see them during the activity.
A facilitator can invite quieter voices while allowing anyone to pass. A note-taker should record ideas and open questions without assuming every remark may be attributed later. For online activities, see the separate guide to remote meeting logistics.
Bring the learning back without flattening it
Ask each group for its reasoning and one unresolved point, rather than a long report of everything said. Where groups disagree, compare their circumstances. A difference may be the most useful result. Give the original questioner a chance to say which suggestions fit and which need more information.
Afterwards, ask whether the format helped people do the intended work. Did pairs give people enough to say in the full room? Did a case produce usable options?
Did the clinic protect the case owner’s choice? Revise the format when the task and participation show a mismatch.
