Collective case consultation allows a question/problem (a "case") to be dealt with based on the knowledge of the group. Each individual gets the chance to ask for help in quick rounds of consultation and immediately receive advice from two others. Peer-to-peer coaching helps participants to identify solutions, insightful patterns and innovative approaches suitable for their daily lives. This is a simple and effective way to extend coaching support for individuals beyond formal communication channels.
For collective case consultation, at least three people should be brought together into a group room (groups of 4 also work, in any case there must be more than two people). If several cases need to be dealt with, the group should stay together for the role change. That is, each person in the group is the case provider at one point and the counsellor at another.
One person describes the question/problem as the case provider, the others listen to the "case" and discuss it among themselves and give advice. At the end of the session, the case provider draws his/her conclusions and gives a short feedback to the counsellors. Then the roles are exchanged and the case provider becomes the counsellor, a previous counsellor becomes the case provider and so on. By assigning the roles of case provider and counsellor, it is possible to discuss several cases in turn and experience a change of perspective due to the role switch - at times you ask for counselling, at other times you advise others.
A case lasts about 25 minutes, the process follows a pattern of 4 steps:
The provider of the case presents the topic to the case counsellors. The counsellors mute their microphones, listen attentively and take notes, if necessary. 5 minutes
The case counsellors ask questions of understanding, answered by the case provider. 5 minutes
The case provider mutes the microphone. The case counsellors share their thoughts on the case. The case provider listens attentively and takes notes, if necessary. 10 minutes
The caseworker joins in again, summarising and giving feedback on what he/she has heard. 5 min
It is important to appoint a timekeeper in advance who uses a mobile phone timer to ensure that the respective work steps (ideally, they are visualised in a shared document) are followed.
The World Café is a method to discuss a topic in alternating groups and thus come to new insights. In the analogue format, participants rotate around tables at set times; in the digital format, this can be simulated by "topic rooms" each equipped with a DINA project pad to record the discussion allowing the new group to reflect on what was previously discussed.
A "topic room" is created for each topic/aspect to be discussed (group room function) and named accordingly. In order to ensure that an equal number of participants ends up in the topic rooms, the maximum number of participants in the rooms should be limited - if a group is full, the person has to look for a new topic room. If a person sometimes stays in the same topic room, he or she will still talk to new group members there!
Currently, BigBlueButton does not allow a technical limit on the number of participants in group rooms (if self-selection of rooms is allowed). You would therefore have to announce this in your moderation.
First, consider which topics or aspects of a topic are to be discussed in order to determine what will be discussed in the respective topic rooms. You can install a moderator in each topic room, although an unmoderated discussion can also be exciting. In each topic room, the discussion should be documented on a DINA project pad - it is always best to find someone to take the minutes beforehand.
The links to the results documentation - either a longer DINA project pad or a separate one for each aspect of the topic - should be sent electronically in advance so that everyone has the link available.
If the discussion is unmoderated, a person should be appointed at the beginning, in addition to a minute taker, to keep track of time, otherwise this is the moderator's task.
Each topic room should be given at least 15 minutes of discussion time, 20 minutes if the schedule allows for it. If each participant is to take part in each topic room, four topic rooms need to be created - in that case the format will last 60-80 minutes. Before the participants go into the topic rooms, they can be introduced briefly so that everyone is aware of which topics/aspects are up for discussion. In order to move the discussion forward - especially if it is to be unmoderated - you can think of a few guiding questions for each topic/aspect beforehand and write them on the prepared pad. The format begins with all participants moving from the main room to a topic room, discussing there, then being brought back to the main room and then moving back to a new topic room. At the end, a moderator can look at the documented results and draw a conclusion and/or write down next steps.
At conferences, topics can be dealt with from different points of view developing concrete results. If the results are to be processed further at a later stage, it is particularly important to ensure that the results are documented (e.g., via a linked DINA project in a results room). If the group is to take notes in parallel to the work process or if the documentation is to be used for visual support in the process, this can be done, e.g., on a collaborative tool such as a DINA project pad which can be accessed live by the participants. Ideally, before starting a work session, one should determine who will log results and appoint a responsible person. The rest of the group can then get fully involved in the work. The moderator holds the room for the group and should make sure that everyone gets a chance to speak. Depending on the setting, you can also ask rather quiet participants to participate in the chat, if they do not want to speak in front of the large group. Remember to always emphasise that every viewpoint is valuable and should be heard!