Though the idea of studying in groups seems to be kind of absurd at least from the parent’s point of view, it is extremely effective as far as the academics of students studying in groups are concerned. Provided the students don’t misuse time they get for group studying by chatting and gossiping.
If students are serious enough, then it is for certain that they will be able to reap the maximum benefits out of these group study sessions. These sessions are mostly used by students in higher standards as their ordinary studying practices fail to suffice to their needs. Under such circumstances, it is extremely important for the students to maintain a suitable environment while the group study sessions are on.
Types of study practices adopted by students
Well, to be very precise, there are various types of study practices that are adopted by students all across the globe. The suitability of these habits with a particular student greatly depends on the student concerned. If the student isn’t compatible with the practice he or she is adopting, then it is for certain that he or she won’tbe able to make much out of it.
Listed below are the two most common types of study practices that are taken up by students:
- Solitary Study:
There exists a certain type of students who prefer to concentrate on their studies themselves without the intervention of any other student. This practice is perhaps one of the oldest practices as far as study techniques are considered. It has been used by students as well as teachers in order to prepare themselves for the upcoming classes for ages and yes this method is extremely efficient, rather it has proven to be extremely efficient.
- Social Study:
All along we have been discussing about social studying techniques only. Though these techniques haven’t been around for long in comparison to the solitary study practices, these techniques are extremely efficient as far as scoring good marks in examinations are concerned. This without a doubt plays a huge role as far as the results of most students in today’s world are concerned.
Speaking from personal experience, I have greatly benefited from this technique. Back in the 11th standard, I used to face a lot of difficultly as far as the conversions of organic chemistry were concerned. That difficulty, however, went out of the window once I started practicing those chemical conversions along with my friends. Initially, it was indeed a bit humiliating for me as I could hardly do anything.
As time went by, by practicingthe numerous conversions along with my friends over and over again, I slowly picked up speed and at the final examinations I performed quite well.
Things to keep in mind while choosing a study partner
The general practice of students today is to choose a study partner with whom he or she is comfortable, i.e. to choose his or her best friend as a study partner. This technique though extremely effective is not recommended under most circumstances in today’s world.
This is because best friend often turns to chats and gossips amidst serious studies. This is not always bad. Breaks are considered to be a must between long and brainstorming group discussion sessions.
However, if the students participating in the group discussion sessions don’t have their priorities right, there are high chances that they won’t make optimum use of the breaks in between the serious studies. Hence, it is strongly recommendedthat students don’t choose their study partners based on their friendship.
On contrary to this, they might as well choose their study partners based on their compatibility with them. By this compatibility I don’t mean the compatibility in friendship. Instead I meant the compatibility that student share on the study table. You won’t get this idea unless you are well acquainted with studying in groups which is by far one of the best practices astudentcan possibly adopt.
How to help a friend with a difficult homework?
While thinking of helping out a friend with a difficult homework, there are two types of situations that may arise. Based on these situations, the approach andstudent takes towards helping out his or her friend various. Listed below are two of the most common situations that may arise:
- In the first situation, your friend may be fairly good on the subject that the group is sitting with for the day and a situation arises wherein no other student in the group is being able to solve the problem.
- Under such circumstances, that friend of yours who is fairly good in that subject is most likely to try out the problem by himself/ herself. Under such circumstances, he or sheneeds a calm environment in order to think about the problem deeply and thus, solve it in the long run.
- If the others can’t help him or her with the problem, then it is extremely important that they maintain silence as this will let their friend focus on the problem a lot better. If he or she is able to solve the problem, then the entire group stands to benefits.
So, if you consider the benefits of the entire group, it is advisable for the other to remain quiet. I used to face a similar issue as far as mathematics was concerned. If my friends weren’t cooperative enough while I was solving the problem then it did have an adverse effect on my mood which in the long run resulted in the problem remaining unsolved.
We would later go up to our tuition teacher though but for that moment, the problem would have remained unsolved and it would have given us a setback. This isbecause it often so happens that you sit down to solve sum with a lot of enthusiasm but once you get stuck with one of the sums, the entire momentum goes away.
- In the second situation, it may so happen that one of your friends in the group study session is not being able to understand a particular topic that you people are discussing. Under such circumstances, it is the responsibility of the others to ensure that the friend understands the topic. To ensure that he or she does, all the other must try and explain the topic to him or her in a manner that is convenient for both.
So, what are you waiting for? Group studying is of help after all! Get a handful of friends, and get going with a particular subject. Once you people get acquainted with each other, then the group will be able to complete chapters at a pace that no one could have ever imagined when they initially sat down for the group discussion sessions.