I think most of us understand intuitively the value of a group study session.
But let’s be honest, I’m sure we’ve all been in a group study session where it feels like it’s been a total waste of time.
You’ve got nothing done, you’ve chilled out the whole time or you just haven’t been able to get any valuable feedback from your group.
In this video and article, we’re going to share with you why study groups are a SECRET WEAPON and THREE SIMPLE GUIDELINES you can use to make your group study sessions effective!
Tip #1: Why You Should Create a Study Group
Tip #2: Time Management
Tip #3: Planning Your Session
Tip #4: Choosing Your Group
Tip #1: Why You Should Create Your Own Study Group
There are two key reasons why group study sessions are really powerful study technique and should be your secret weapon for studying for exams and assessments…
Reason #1:
You could either be sitting in your bedroom, working by yourself. You’re likely getting constantly distracted and incredibly bored.
Or…
You could be studying with a small group of friends. When you get distracted, one of your friends helps you stay focused and accountable AND you’re in a social environment having fun.
Which one is better?
Group study sessions can enable you to get productive work done, and it doesn’t even feel like study…This also makes your study more sustainable!
Reason #2:
Right now when is the first time you get feedback on the quality of your knowledge?
In most cases, it’s after the exam when you’ve received your marks back. And this is the WORST time to get feedback because you can’t do anything about it now.
But what if you could receive lots of feedback before your exam or assessment? So you could identify where you suck, and what you need to do to improve?
That’s exactly what group study can provide you with…
There’s a constant feedback loop. Your friends can help you identify what you might have been missing out on in your work, as well as what your strengths are!Â
Tip #2:Â Identify a Specific Time to Meet
It’s really, really important to establish both a start time and an end time to your group study session. Without a specific time, it simply won’t happen as something will invariably ‘pop up’ for one of your group members each week.
As well as this, it helps to establish a 15 minute end period so you and your friends can hang out after you’ve finished your studies.
This means that if any time throughout your study you get distracted or start chilling, somebody can call out and say:
Use Your Plan to Stay Focused: Hey guys, let’s focus here, we’ve got 15 minutes to hang out at the end of the session!
Tip #3: Plan Topics to CoverÂ
You need to be really clear on what topics or part of the syllabus you’re going to cover.
It can be damaging to the quality of your session if you go in with just a general plan (or in most cases, no plan at all!)
You should have a specific plan of what you’re going to achieve as it allows you to measure your progress, understand the outcomes you’ve achieved and measure the overall success of your study session.
What does a plan look like?
Pull out your syllabus and identify the key syllabus dot points you want to cover in the session. Mark these down and use this to identify your progress throughout the session.
Measure Your Success: Have you covered the key syllabus dot points you identified at the beginning of the group study session?
Tip #4: Keep Your Group Limited to Three People
Keep the group at no more than three people. More than three members can lead to study time descending into a gossip and hangout session.
It’s also going to reduce the amount of time that you have to teach each other and contribute to the group.
Too many people = less time that you get to contribute = less valuable for your learning.
In saying that, you need to have the right amount of people so that you have some diversity in perspectives and opinions.
Keeping your group at 3 people seems to be the sweet spot that allows this to occur.
What do I do now?
There you go, guys!
It’s definitely possible to stay social and have fun while you study. Just follow these three key strategies, and you should be able to make your group study sessions more effective.
Now, all there is to do is go grab some friends, find a nice spot and get studying! Good luck!
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