PEER-LED WORKSHOPS

DESCRIPTION
A peer-led workshop is a friendly and supportive place where a group of school teachers
meet weekly or monthly to exchange ideas and learn from each other. Teachers can join
many activities such as demonstrations, role-plays, case studies, discussions, follow-up
activities, and action plans.
OBJECTIVES
● Give chances for teachers to share their good teaching practices with others
● Gain new ideas/ new practices that teachers can apply in their own classrooms to
improve student learning
● Share examples of learning and teaching outcomes from different classrooms
● Practice presenting workshops to others in a safe, familiar environment
PROCEDURES/STEPS
Step 1: Pre-workshop
● Form a group of school teachers who can participate in organizing the workshop
● Identify a colleague who is willing to lead the workshop
● Agree on a focus/ topic/ theme for the workshop (e.g. how to give supportive
feedback to students in class, developing students’ reading habits)
● List clear objectives for the workshop
● Decide on the agenda, participants and plan for the workshop
● Prepare for the equipment and materials for the workshop
● Send information to workshop participants
Step 2: While-workshop
● Warm-up the workshop with a task/ question/game to lead in the topic
● Show teaching practices (with your actions, don’t explain or lecture), new
teaching and learning ideas
● Guide school teachers how to apply new ideas or teaching techniques into
practice
● Interact with participants to draw their attention and awareness to the topic
● Follow the model: Think-pair-share; move among participants and talk to them.
Step 3: Post-workshop
● Q & A session
● Keep notes about questions/ concerns/ ideas related to the topic
● Identify possible new practices/ ideas/ teaching techniques
● Summarize the main points and close the workshop
● Conduct a survey to get more comments/ feedback from participants (if possible)
CONSIDERATIONS
A peer-led workshop should be ideally done by secondary and high school teachers in
the same school. In addition, consider organizing the workshop on a larger scale by
inviting teachers from outside your school to join in. For example, this activity can be
organized by a group of teachers from different schools in the same locality. By doing
this, the peer-led workshop can be appropriate for primary school teachers, as well.
You could also create an online presentation and offer it as a webinar. It’s advisable to
always think of ways to sustain the learning as well, so end your workshops with action
planning and follow-up steps for participants.
You should use these “Essentials of Planning Peer-led Workshops” as a guide:
 You’re the Expert! Essentials of Peer-led Workshops

Clear objectives What will participants be able to do as a result of your workshop?

Use action verbs and focus on 2-3 objectives in your session.

Agenda Provide a clear agenda of the activities in your workshop. Have a

clear plan for the timing of each activity/stage in your plan.

Opening Have an attention-getter. This can be a short warm-up,an ice-

breaker, or image to engage the audience. Elicit audience input
right from the start!

Audience Consider your audience and their background. Include

awareness opportunities for them to share their expertise.

Demonstrations Show, don’t tell people about promising instructional practices.

Interaction Have plenty of interaction among participants.

Application End with an activity where participants can apply their learning to
their own context.

Closure Provide a quick assessment of learning, for example, “fist to five”

or exit tickets. See Appendix___ Tips and Tools for Assessing
Student Learning.

Questions If possible, welcome questions throughout and always leave time

for questions at the end.

Resources Share resources and handouts or links.