This article has been syndicated from The Blonde Lifestyle, an InfluenceHer Collective Member. Read the full post here.
Study groups can be a true blessing or your worst nightmare. Creating study groups may help you with a certain class or subject, but without the right guidelines or processes in place, they can end up being a disaster! My freshman year first semester I had a study group for an astronomy class. There were things we did that worked, while other things not so much. Being a journalism major, I have to work with multiple different people in different areas. I’ve worked in a lot of study groups and a lot of group projects so I know what works! Here are some things to think about when making the most productive study group!
Find Your Group
This may possibly be the hardest choice of your college career which is making the ultimate choice of who is going to be in your group. Although you may want to include your best friends, if you don’t study well together, I wouldn’t suggest it. Try looking at the people who sit around you, or the people you know who are good students in the class. By scoping those people out, you know they’re going to know the most information and help you get the best grades.
Keep the Group To a Good Size
Another thing to think about is keeping your study group to a minimum size. Not enough people limits the knowledge from other sources you’re taking in, while too many may distract from the ultimate goal: studying and trying to get a good grade. I recommend about 3-6 people for a study group to ensure the best academic growth.
Gather Contact Information
It’s important to take down everyone’s contact information for the study group just so everyone can communicate regularly and let people know of any plan changes. Either creating a text group chat works well, a Facebook group or GroupMe are the best ways I’ve found to communicate with other people.
Create a Schedule
How often is the study group going to meet? What’s going to be discussed? What is everyone going to be working on? Creating an agenda keeps everything for the group organized, and keeps you from wasting time deciding on what to work on.
Some ideas of things to work on in study groups include:
- Reviewing class notes together
- Discussing unclear information
- Ask questions you couldn’t in class
- Working on homework
- Quizzing each other to prepare for the test
- Complete study guides
Find an Appropriate Location
Now is the time to set up the meeting location. Depending on where everyone lives, finding the easiest accessible place for everyone is key to getting the most done. You want to make sure everyone can get to the location easily and won’t put them out of the way or at a disadvantage compared to other members. You also want to think about if the space can fit everyone so they can work at their highest potential. I suggest your college library, student union, or another member’s house.
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