Studying with others is a tried and tested strategy to excel in college, yet many students don’t understand how it helps or how to make the most of their assigned group.
So, read this article until the end to learn why group studying works so well as an academic support strategy and how you can make the most of any group you work with!
Why Working With Others Helps
The benefits you can enjoy from working in a college study group are extensive, and its effectiveness has been recognized for decades.
The simple fact of the matter is that working together in a group is a powerful strategy to enhance academic performance for both the group as a whole and its individual members.
Here are some notable reasons why collaborating with others works so well:
Mutual Support
Working together as a group helps facilitate mutual support, both academically and emotionally. Members help each other work through the syllabus and, in a way, hold each other’s hands through the stress that comes with it.
Resource Sharing
Study groups also enable resource sharing. In this context, those resources include materials like personal study notes and helpful articles that students discover independently.
Enhanced Understanding
Each study group member also contributes their unique perspectives, informed by their personal experiences and backgrounds. Sharing those perspectives in a study group enables all members to walk away with a more enhanced understanding of the subject matter.
Better Test Performance
Shared resources, emotional and academic support, and enhanced understandings of the subject matter contribute to each study group member’s self-efficacy. As a result, they have a better chance to perform better during assessments like tests and exams.
Putting Together An Effective Study Group
College students have varying degrees of control over which study group they join. Some groups are assigned to them, while others are formed independently outside class.
Regardless of how your study group was formed, there are ways to make the most of it.
Based on findings by Curşeu and Pluut (2011), here are some ways you could make your study group more effective:
- Leverage Diversity: As you read earlier, one of the advantages of study groups is the diversity in perspectives. So, leverage each member’s uniqueness, whether that’s in terms of race, gender, life experience, or work experience. As the old saying goes, “Everyone you meet knows something you don’t”
- Find A Motivated Leader: Every study group needs at least one highly motivated student to take the lead, as they’ll be the ones to steer the group’s direction and keep it going even when the overall morale might be lower than usual.
- Assign Roles: Everyone in the study group should have an active role, and there are plenty of ways to assign them. For example, each member could focus on mastering one topic in the syllabus that they can coach everyone else on.
- Group Goals, Individual Accountability: A study group without a clear purpose is little more than just a group of kids hanging out. So, set group goals while keeping each member accountable for their contribution towards those goals.
While some study groups end up being ineffective or simply inactive, these tips could help yours move forward and prove useful to each of its members.
Final Thoughts
Remember that participating in study groups remains one of the most tried and tested strategies for performing well in college. For better results, use it alongside other academic support strategies like attending office hours, tutoring with peers, and getting mentorship from Equity Metrics!
References
Curşeu, P. L., & Pluut, H. (2011). Student groups as learning entities: The effect of group diversity and teamwork quality on groups’ cognitive complexity. Studies in Higher Education, 38(1), 87–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2011.565122