When is group study a good thing?

During my early years of university life my peers often wanted to form study groups. Personally I was not fond of them and thought them to be a grand waste of time. However as the years progressed I occasionally succumbed to the pressure and joined one or two study groups here and there. Upon reflection I now see some of the benefits that can be derived from group study. In my opinion, for group study to be effective there needs to be certain group dynamics in place for it to be beneficial to you. Here are some scenarios in which group study may be beneficial to you:

You are totally clueless.

Even though being clueless literally means that you cannot contribute anything worthwhile to the group, there is much to be gained personally. You will be able to learn the content from your peers who quite often are more adept at explaining the content than your teachers because they can break it down to your level of understanding. When you are clueless you are normally in a state of desperation and it is in this state that learning in a group can work wonders. You can learn in a matter of hours what was taught in an entire semester.

When you are the expert in the group

It is a well known fact that if you want to learn something, teach it. If you have a deep understanding of the content that the group wants to cover, then I would strongly recommend that you take on the role of teacher. Teaching and explaining the material will force you to think about it in ways you probably never did before. Being forced to break the information down into bite size pieces will will help you to make connections that you weren’t previously aware of.

The group consists of students who are serious about their work

This is a ‘no brainer’. If your peers are not serious about their work, then your group study session will inevitably turn into a lyme. This defeats the entire purpose and you will end up wasting precious time that could otherwise be used more productively. However, if the group consists of likeminded individuals who have the same goal, then group study can be exceptional as the synergy created and the diversity of ideas generated can benefit each group member significantly.

Personally I prefer individual study because I am in control of my time and the direction of my study session. However, if I am totally clueless or on the other hand happen to be the group’s expert, then group study may be a worthwhile option provided that the group members are serious about their work.