Peer Learning Formats

Info

Over a decade, Source has developed several dozen tried-and-test formats. We've only published a few here, but we're happy to share more if you can't find your use case here.

Turning a large group into a community

A conference or a large chatroom is often called a community, but is it? We define community as a place where like-minded people find each other and form meaningful relationships.

Once people are drawn together, that's half the challenge. The other half is helping them find each other.

Flocks (as in "birds of a feather flock together") is a way to help people find their flock in a large space.

Really helping each other

Community leaders and educators often think about inviting experts, either to give talks or answer questions. But often the answers to individual challenges isn't found in an expert, but a peer who's walked down the same road.

Our experience taught us that sharing practical experience (not talking about it, but doing it) is more likely to build connections and knowledge in a community. Even invited experts get better results with practical ways to engage rather than just being a talking head. (And for them, it's both funner and more educational.)

Clinic is a way for a project-based learner to get more apprenticeship-like guidance from someone else. Others can observe and learn, and Clinics can be setup easily for a sequence of different learners, making much better use of busy experts' time.

Show How is a way to transfer more practical know-how, allowing learners to instantly apply what they've learned.