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When I was in High School, it was so tempting to tell my friends to get together and study. Besides being a huge morale boost, it made me feel productive to even reach out for one. However, when the time comes to actually do group studying, often I look back and think… I just wasted a lot of time! Talking about random things, getting distracted and complaining were the big 3 that made me feel that way.
However, some of the good study sessions I had were amazing. It reinforced my study motivation, pushed me through difficult content and allowed me to gain some valuable information (for example, sharing different ways to approach an English Advanced question). So how does one go and get a good study session going? Here are the 3 ‘rights’ I propose to power-up your next study sesh.
1. Pick the right time
Choosing the time for a study session is critical. You don’t want to pick a time when everyone is still in the heavy phase of learning content, as that won’t allow group members to make the most of the main benefit of being together - collaborating. Hence, the 2 valuable times to have one can be:
- Before content learning: Discuss module/syllabus expectations, how everyone will study for this term, study strategies and their review
- Close to/after the endpoint of content learning: In this phase the main review resource now is questions, essays, active-recall etc. Here, you know there are gaps in your knowledge, and discussing questions together can reveal weaknesses that you can note down.
This approach is mainly for study sessions where the intention is collaborative learning. However, study sessions where you are there just to study in silence is also valid! However, there are a few factors to consider for both of them.
2. Choose the right crew
Arguably the most important factor to productive group studying. You would want to pick members who are open to ideas and are conscientious of their education. A lot of students pick study partners based on their perceived ‘smartness’. This is deeply flawed, as we have no idea of how smart someone is holistically. Furthermore, including members who know they lack some knowledge but are comfortable enough to ask good questions is an amazing opportunity. You can take a shot at teaching them (Feynman’s technique) and further refine your understanding in the process!
You do not want to pick members who are:
- Complainers: We are significantly influenced by the attitudes around us. In the Solomon Asch Conformity Line Experiment Study, people in a group were asked to answer how long a line was. The trick here was that everyone else besides the participant was ordered to choose the wrong answer. Even though the person had it right, nearly 75% of the participants in the conformity experiments went along with the rest of the group at least one time. What this can tell us is if we pick people who constantly whine about their situation, we will similarly do so and feel helpless in studying, greatly demotivating us.
- Negative attitude/ fixed mindset: Similar to the last point, surrounding your study group with individuals who don’t think they can improve runs the risk of you adopting that philosophy too. If you think you can’t improve at all, this can lead the session awry and into ‘nothing done’ zone!
- There to ‘flex’: Unfortunately, there are students who like to share that they are knowledgeable more than they’d like to actually study. These students could be under the Dunning Kruger effect, and you definitely don’t want to be under it too. Statements like “This is so easy”, “Do we even need to study for that” or “Isn’t that just basic?” could be true, but the possibility of them being wrong won’t look good for your score.
Of course, it goes without saying that you shouldn’t embody these ideas either. Best to practise what you preach!
3. Plan, plan, plan! (right)
Every collaborative study session needs a plan. Without it, you risk wasting time (e.g. spending half of the session on something insignificant). Plan using the Pareto Principle ( roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes), where you define what the ‘vital few’ activities that can produce the most good comes from. This could be practice questions, exchanging essay feedback or brainstorming essay plans.
After the ‘vital few’ planning is established, work to find a place where the study session can best take place. Preferably it would be a booked study room at a library (someone has to book in advance) where you all brought your own equipment. Block out time for study breaks/meal times as well, to ensure optimum efficiency!
“For every minute spent organising, an hour is earned.”
Want to discuss the next step? Reach out to Concept at https://www.concepteducation.com.au/enquire or email us at admin@concepteducation.com.au - we're always happy to help!
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