Whenever students get together for group studies, the main aim of that will be lost. There will be some tangential discussion which will most of the times result in the group not having done any studies at all. This is not always the case, there are some were group studies will be the most beneficial for everyone taking part in it.
These are some of the points which must be kept in mind.
- Set a goal. It is vital to set a goal for the session. It doesn’t matter if it is small or big. A goal will result in the students having to focus their minds on that and this will result in them having a fruitful session.
- Do not talk unnecessarily. When friends sit to have a group session, the main thing that distracts them is the unnecessary talk that comes in the way. Be it rumors or gossips or even headlines of the day, these are all distractions which should be avoided. Hence, one person should always remind the entire group to get back on track and to not talk about things which are not related to the topic they are studying.
- Make sure that every person is studying at the same pace. Some may study the topic quicker than others. This may trigger an uncontrolled response in the others where they also feel that they should finish the topic quicker. This will result in the others not having studied the topic clearly. Hence, it is important for everyone in the group to study at the same pace.
- Discuss questions often. This is the best way for the group studying sessions to be fun and fruitful at the same time. It is important to discuss questions, then the members of the group will feel an innate pull towards the topic and they will understand the concepts more clearly. When a question related to the topic studied is asked in an exam, it would be much easier to answer as the questions related would be discussed.
- Do not keep a group session for more than 3 hours. A group study is best if and only if it is kept for a maximum of 3 hours. Any more than that and the group will lose interest in studies. And if a break is taken, then that break will be extended well beyond the intended break time. Hence, it is important to study for no more than 3 hours at a time as a group.
Overall, group sessions are extremely useful if and only if the group studies seriously. More progress in terms of syllabus completion can be made in group studies than in normal single study sessions if and only if the group is completely focused on their tasks.
