The collaboration is a great skill for college students to learn and practice. Joining or creating a group study is an easy way to experience the benefits of your peers’ knowledge.
This type of support systems, whether in the form of other students, their families or their teachers, can be an invaluable resource for college students. It seems that studying, traditionally, is an arduous task that should be done alone and armed with a lot of patience, but it turns out that there are good study techniques to practice in groups that are equally useful or more to learn the syllabus, and are much more Entertaining You dare?
Individual preparation
Yes, even if we go to study in a group, there is a part that we will have to see individually, but the time of dedication will be much less. Before starting to study as a group we should make a first comprehensive reading of the whole agenda, underline what is important and make some mental outline or map , but apart from that, the rest we can do with our classmates and it will be much more entertaining and rewarding (provided that we take it seriously and we do not start discussing weekend plans).
Once each member of the group has done their individual task, it is time to group study and, to be effective, we can use different techniques:
Sharing of notes
Teachers give the class at the pace that seems best and while some go so slowly that we have time to make drawings in the margins of the notebook, others seem sports commentators and we end the class with a stiff arm and without being able to write everything what we wanted. The good thing is that each person will take their notes differently and give more importance to some things or to others. For that reason, to begin to study in group sharing the notes is a good idea so that all the participants complete their agendas with what the others have written. Thus, what they have written will be reviewed aloud and the rest will be able to take notes and explain their points of view on the main or accessory parts of the agenda.
Debates
When it comes to matters that can be debated, where different theories formulated by several authors have been studied or there are multiple visions of the same concept, each member of the group can defend a theory and discuss it in front of their classmates in a debate. This will not only help us to memorize better , but having to look for reasons and arguments that support our position, we will achieve a much deeper knowledge on the subject than if we only studied it in the traditional way. If you are going to touch sensitive topics, remember that you must be correct and respectful in your presentation .
Brainstorming or brainstorming
Very useful for example to solve practical cases. This technique for group study is a classic when it comes to preparing group work , but it can also help us learn if we use it to give ideas on how to solve a practical case, to expose the most appropriate research techniques for a sociological study, a diagnosis, etc.
Exhibition of a theme
Each of the participants will present a part of the syllabus as if teaching a class. The rest will ask questions and make suggestions for expansion or relationship of ideas. This group study is very useful, because if we are able to explain something, it means that we know it, and the effort that requires expressing your knowledge aloud and clarifying the doubts of others makes this knowledge take hold, even if we just read them for the first time. In addition, this exercise will make us gain a lot of confidence in our knowledge when we finally face the exam. For the listeners it will also be very useful because they will be receiving an extra class on a topic in a more relaxed environment and where they can ask their questions, so they will also retain much better the information that is given.
Questions and answers contest
This technique to study in a group is, besides useful, quite fun. It is about that, in turns, one asks questions to the rest on the subject or the fixed subjects and turns the roles. You will have to make rounds of quick questions and rounds of development questions, but if you want to set up a “professional” plan, you can do point distribution and the winner takes a symbolic prize (remember that if the motivation does not appear on its own , you have to look for it). This technique is also very practical to review just before the exam . With less competition paraphernalia, but with lots of questions that allow us to do a good review of the whole agenda.
Studying does not have to be as boring as they paint it. If you have a good team that takes things seriously and works well as a group, go ahead. Surely your notes go up and you will have a great time even with the most boring subjects. Getting your title can be much more fun than you think.
Improve your exam score thanks to the benefits and advantages of group study
- With this methodology, you can share knowledge , discuss and solve doubts and find approaches that will help you to better prepare explanations for the exam.
- It has better study materials . Among the different members of the group you can change the notes, complete what is missing, add a book or document that perfectly explains the doubt or remember the annotation that the teacher said at the time.
- You learn to work in a team, fundamental for the professional future.
- The degree of knowledge of each student is discovered . If when we compare ourselves with other colleagues, we see that we are able to follow their conversation, it will mean that we are on the right track. On the other hand, if we see that we are lost before the explanations of others, it will mean that we should still insist on studying.
- It awakens our competitiveness . When we study as a group, we feel compelled to keep up with the best, because nobody likes to be left behind. It is not recommended either to compare yourself with someone with a very different level because instead of motivating us we can end up frustrating ourselves.
- It helps us not to precast . If we stay with classmates in the residence hall , we have to go down to it and avoid other types of distractions. So in the end we end up fulfilling some routines that are complex to do in solitude, where we can end up sleeping longer than we should. Does it sound?
Techniques for teamwork
#1 . The teacher asks a question . Each student meets with a partner and has a minute to think and discuss the answer. Then, each pair of students presents their answers in front of all classmates.
#2. Class is divided into groups of 4 people . The teacher raises a subject of the course and delivers material with information where two different points of view are generated. The group of 4 will be divided into two and each pair will work one of the aspects.
Afterwards, they meet again and each couple tells the other the arguments of their position , while the listeners take notes without interrupting. Later, reverse the roles so that each partner learn the two arguments and then return to the groups of 4 to present to the rest of the class the two positions taken and i group export with the findings.
#3. The teacher or students choose a series of articles on an important topic and each student, individually and out of the classroom, writes a reflection on the text.
Afterwards, the students meet in the classroom and two spokespeople are chosen to read the comments of the classmates’ articles . In a group, a comparison is made between the different comments and to finalize, the two students previously chosen, write a synthesis of the conclusions of the whole group.
#4. Students form small groups and sit in a circle to answer questions the teacher will ask. The groups can discuss each topic and write on a paper the summary of the ideas generated, and then present them, in a group, in front of the class.
#5. When classes begin or when you just start to be part of a group, a way to break the ice between your classmates is to generate a kind of interviews. Each student must meet with a partner to interview him for a limited time.
After the deadline, students change roles so that both have the opportunity to be interviewed. Next, each pair of partners will join with another, forming a group of four , for each member of a couple to introduce their partner, summarizing the answers given.
#6. The students come together in pairs to think about the solution to a problem posed by the teacher.
One of them will think the solution and the other will take notes. Then, they will exchange roles so that both can be thinkers and scorers. Later, all classmates will join and each pair will present the solutions found to the whole group.
#7. Students do a written job and deliver it with the identification of a number instead of the name. In turn, the same number is placed in a photocopy of the student’s document so that later the work can be identified with the respective author.
The teacher will distribute the work among the students of the class and each one should edit the work of a classmate. Once finalized, the articles will be delivered to their corresponding authors so that they visualize the generated changes.
#8. The teacher poses an outdoor reading activity and asks the students to put together a list of questions to reflect on the subject. Upon entering the classroom, students meet in groups of three or four people and present their questions.
Keep in mind that students do not have to be able to answer them, but rather to discuss in a group on the subject. Later, each group can present to the rest of the classmates a synthesis of what was discussed.
Pros and cons of group study
Most students think that study is a practice that must be carried out individually, in the privacy of the home or the library. However, group study can have enormous benefits:
- Thanks to this methodology, you can share, discuss and find new approaches to your approaches. Especially useful in science careers, as it will allow you to compare exercise results and find the correct answers.
- People who work in groups have more and better materials . A classmate can complete the notes of the others, add a book they did not know, etc.
- Students working in a group learn techniques to work in teams , one of the most demanded requirements in the workplace today.
- This study methodology also allows you to become aware of your level of knowledge . If you are the one who must explain the topics to your colleagues, you will go to the exam with greater confidence and security. If you have been lost most of the time, you will realize that you should study a little more.
- Working in a group, the feeling of loneliness is eliminated, motivating all the members to study in a more coordinated way. Is one of the students less willing to go to work? Your colleagues will be there to encourage you not to give up.
Disadvantages of group study
- It is difficult to make all the members of the team coordinate , establishing the time devoted to each thing. The diversity of interests or needs can break the group, since each member will need more time in a certain topic or will want to repeat an exercise until it understands it perfectly.
- It is important that all the classmates are more or less at the same level , and none of them is present without having even looked at the notes. Otherwise, some students will have to wait for others, losing valuable study time.
- Working in a team also increases distractions , especially if the members are friends.
Finally, group study can be a great technique, although it is not a panacea. Researchers specialized in this field discovered that students who work in teams achieve better grades , although, of course, the key is study and understanding.
