Learning styles change over the years, and even those among us who prefer to study alone may at some time decide we would like to form a study group. In my opinion, study groups are great in secondary school, and they are even more useful when we get to college and university, due to the sheer volume of reading and research required.
People always think that they should be in a study group with someone whom they close to. For me, it is good to have close friends whom I can discuss with, in a study group, but then, having a group with some close friends doesn’t mean that I can study comfortably as my friends and I may have different learning styles or different needs. Thus, I must choose people whom actually I can study with or whom I think can study with me. For me, it’s afraid to imagine that my friendship might become worse if things don’t work out as I expect. So, it does need me to have someone that I comfortable to study with. In addition to that, I prefer to just have a group of three or four members because it will be difficult for everyone in a large group to participate with some may simply sit there soaking in the work that the others have done while the rest might get bored and become disruptive.
Other than that, I prefer a place which is comfortable to study at; somewhere in a library that I can access to resources and materials in case I need them. Before starting the discussion, sometimes, I will remind everyone in my group to put their mobile phones on “silent” because I do hate people who do not respect others, talking on their phone while having a discussion without any emergency reasons. I can tolerate members who bring food and drink in a reasonable amount but not computer games and comics as I don’t want the study session turns to be a “coffee afternoon” where my members and I getting together just to socialize and eat. It is just a waste. For better solution, I think it is good to have a moderator who can keep the discussion relevant and reminds everyone to get back on track whenever we begin to stray from the assignment or topic.
At the same time, I prefer someone that can consider others’ opinions and ideas without boasting or taking over the group. In my opinion, it does suit the “study group” term which is helping one another to understand lessons better. If there is some work that needs to be done together, my members and I would like to share out the work fairly, assign each person a task and do it well. When the person does a good job, we will ensure that we are publicly appreciative and use the results well. But then, before starting our own work, the most important thing is my members and I will always come out with a specific agenda or goal for each task which needs to be done at the end of the meeting so that we know what are we discussing and sharing about.
On top of that, I never let my study sessions drag on for more than three hours. I simply believe more is not always better because it doesn’t rate the quality of the ideas in the meeting. For last words, I do believe that study groups can save us when we feel overwhelmed with information to learn. They can also be our downfall if we are caught in too large a group socializing. Therefore, it is important to pick and handle our group wisely. :)
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