The problems contain information, some of which is important, and some is not. Students brainstorm about the problem and form a hypothesis about the cause of the problem. They examine the problem for facts that support their hypothesis. They also determine what additional information they need to solve it. Then students in the group decide how to find that information.
Some information is central to the problem and everyone is responsible for looking it up.
Other information may be important and individual students take the responsibililty for researching those issues. Students adjourn and spend time, maybe several days, researching the topics that may prove valuable to solving the problem. At a time that they determine in advance, students return to the group conference. Each student contributes to the discussion what they have learned. This process leads to a group report that presents the best group solution to the problems.