Peer discussion sessions outside of class allow students to openly disclose what they do and do not know. In this way I believe they learned to think for themselves, take pride in that, and feel good about themselves and hopefully feel more confident. I didn't want to be wrong in front of other people. But, once I got in there, I realized that other people needed help too. But now I can participate and not feel so insecure.
Some educational theorists argue that education is a social process.
My personal observations of peer collaborative learning groups validates the theory for me. Following are quotations from students who share why it is important for them to talk and interact with the course material during the discussion sessions. I think that the best way to learn is if you can explain it to someone else, then you know what it is. Invariably, the students together arrived at the right conclusions. I feel I kept the focus of the conceptual thinking process by encouraging step by step analysis.