Studying in groups helps students learn more effectively. But don’t just take our word for it; it’s something that has been backed up by more than 20 years of academic research. “Studying by yourself can be hard,” says Momoko Metham, a senior academic mentor and tutor and now digital marketing manager at Art of Smart Education. “Studying with friends means you get some time to socialise. You also have someone to bounce ideas off, review your work and help you identify any gaps in your learning. By sharing your knowledge with friends, you get to grow your knowledge pool.”
So what makes an effective study group? Here are some tips for high school students and their parents to get the most out of a study group.
How to Start a Study Group
Put some time into planning your study group, says academic and life coach Amanda Lecaude, the founder of Organising Students. “As a group, make sure you plan and establish at the outset the session’s goals and topics and your start and finishing times.” Momoko says meeting once a week is ideal. “If you meet more often, it tends to become more of a socialising and gossip session.” Meeting on the weekend is best as you can allow for longer breaks for socialising. If your group meets after school, she says the session shouldn’t be longer than two hours to prevent you losing focus after an already full day of information.
Arranging a set time to meet each week keeps you accountable, says Amanda, and helps eliminate procrastination. “Having set times when you need to attend and participate means you are less likely to avoid attending or doing the work.” When choosing a place to meet, pick somewhere with limited distractions. “A library tends to work well as it doesn’t have the luxuries of a fridge or a TV,” says Momoko.
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How to Get the Right Mix of People
Momoko advises choosing people for your group who have varied perspectives on a particular subject or topic, or people with strengths and weaknesses in different areas. Why? As researchers have found, students benefit from teaching as well as learning from their peers. “Teaching someone else is a really useful way to reinforce your understanding of information and concepts,” says Amanda.
There needs to be a spirit of open communication and sharing. “Study groups are about give and take,” says Momoko. “You can’t expect to get feedback or have your friends share notes with you if you’re not doing the same.” It’s also important to have someone moderating the session and someone keeping time and to swap these roles each session so that everyone has equal responsibility.
Hot Tip: Both Momoko and Amanda recommend a study group of about three people. “If there are too many people you have less time to contribute your knowledge,” says Momoko.
How to Structure a Session
The group should decide on one or two subjects they’d like to study in that session and create an agenda of what you need to do, such as giving feedback on each other’s work or group discussions.
She recommends using the Pomodoro technique while studying. “Every 25 minutes of study, take a quick break for five minutes and check in with your friends.” As well as giving your brain a breather, it also keeps the group accountable, as you can make sure everyone has completed the work they said they would do. Amanda says it’s also important to monitor the session’s effectiveness. “If one or more of you start to get distracted or lose focus, have a plan for bringing the session to an end, like a signal that you will be winding up in 5-10 minutes.”
Try to strike the right balance between study and socialising. “Rewards are a great motivator for study,” says Momoko. “So, if you have a study group on a weekend, you might want to meet at 10am, work until 12pm, take a lunch break and then study from 1pm to 3pm before hanging out for the rest of the afternoon. It’s about balancing the social aspect.”
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How Involved Should Parents Be?
In the early years of high school, students might need some help – and a push – to form a study group, so Momoko suggests that parents might want to be involved in coordinating things just so they’re aware of where the students are meeting, who else is in the group and when to pick them up. For students in Year 9 and later, Momoko says they are very capable of arranging the group and handling its dynamics. “At this point, I think a parent’s role is just making sure a child has a healthy study routine – that they’re motivated and not stressed – rather than taking in the academics of it.”
