Though geometry seems to lend itself to more hands-on exploration and activities, the instructor must take care that the discussion and activities help learners' understanding. The instructor not only must have a good handle on the content of a lesson, but also know the standards which apply to the concept and common difficulties and misconceptions that might pop up for a given topic. As learners "gather around" a problem and discuss possible solutions and the thinking processes that brought them to those solutions, understanding and retention can be increased. Sharing amongst learners can help them and the instructor learn common pitfalls, the thinking processes that lead to them, and ways to avoid them. Learners tend to use methods which suit them best, but sometimes, knowing a different way to look at a problem can help a learner think out of their "box" for subsequent, similar problems.

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