Short intensive working periods guided and observed by the instructor as opposed to long divide-and-conquer group project work. Dojo sessions are designed to help students achieve work outcomes during a period of time when their collaboration is structured with the instructors, questions or prompts are provided, and the instructor is available for answering questions students may have. What differentiates Dojo sessions from common group projects is the immediacy of the work at hand, which requires real-time interactions with peers and demands continuous attempts to construct and maintain a shared meaning throughout the problem-solving efforts.

See this example project here, and scroll down to see the instructor's suggested questions for each Dojo session.

See also this article on the topic.

In my Python programming class, in lieu of service-learning in the community with K-12, I asked students to invite and bring an ISU friend to class; for the 'Bring a Friend to Class' day they were given a challenge activity ahead of time, they were asked to work on it, received a few hints over a 3-week period, and on the service-learning day, they were asked to work with their friend in a pair-programming manner to complete the activity. The service day started 30 minutes earlier than the regular classroom with my instruction, then, the regular classroom time was spent on completing the programming challenge activity.

Pros: avoiding background checks, spreading the word on IT adventures among other majors and possibly non-majors

Cons: ample time must be given so students can actually book a friend for the date and time; at least two class sessions must be allocated so friends with different weekly schedules can attend; extra time is required on behalf of the instructor to get the guests started.

See a sample announcement and activity here.

For courses where a broad set of concepts are explored, concept maps could be a very effective tool for helping students connect the pieces and create an overall mind map of what they have learned and worked with during the course of the semester.

For more background information see this collaborative short presentation.

Also, see this DIY guide.