Fishbowl with Experts

summary	put experts in the spotlight
time	20’-40’
preparation	5’
group size	20+
material	chairs and space

Many times, the teacher will not be the person who has all the knowledge. The moments when a participant turns out to be an expert in a particular matter are valuable, an opportunity worth seizing. Give them space to share their knowledge.

Sometimes the majority of your participants will know your subject better than you. These moments can be scary, and you might feel you are in the wrong place. But your role is still important as someone structuring the process – give them more space to share the experience, but keep in control of the process.

But most of the time, your experts will be participants who are just a day or an hour ahead of the others. Their first-hand experience is very valuable, because they can relate to beginners problems more easily than someone with years or decades of experience.

The methods below facilitate mutual sharing of experience.

The fishbowl is a classic facilitation method. Place the experts in the center and let them discuss a given topic. Place the other participants around them. This is a great method for knowledge transfer from a more experienced to a junior group.