Forming a study group is a great way to challenge yourself to learn new material. Have you ever heard that to teach about a subject you have to know it very well yourself? The same premise applies to study groups. Study groups are about students teaching what they know to their peers.
1) Choose carefully: Decide who would be a good fit in your study group before approaching them to join. You want a dedicated student who makes his own weight within the group; don’t pick someone who is popular but lazy about their work habits. Small groups work best, usually no more than six to eight total members.
2) Divide to conquer: Decide what material the group will cover in the next study session and assign individual members to cover a section of the material. This way, you only need to study an overview of the material, rather than studying it all in depth, as each section will be covered in more depth within the group. Have the person assigned to each section take notes for the other members of the group.
3) Challenge each other: Begin each study session with a brief review of the material covered in the last session. Have the student who covered the material in depth in the previous session create a series of questions about the material for others to answer. Use these questions to help you prepare for the exams.
4) Stay on topic: Try to stay on topic and don’t let the study session deteriorate and criticize your instructor’s sauce-stained tie, or too-short skirt that the most overweight woman in class was wearing yesterday. It might even be helpful to designate a group member to help everyone focus on the task.
5) Meet regularly: For best results, meet with your group two or three times a week. Keep sessions for 60 to 90 minutes. Too long study sessions result in exhaustion of everyone involved and reduced material retention.
Good luck forming your own study group. You will enjoy studying more when you can share the trials and tribulations of learning new material with others.