Big Question~~study Groups

I wish I could be of more assistance here, but I haven't had the opportunity to be in a study group yet. I have heard others talk about carrying notecards and studying in line at the grocery store and other places.....hope you get some good answers....then I can write them down.......lol

Good Luck in your quest for a study group. I have found that I personnaly study better on my own.

I find all that "visiting" counter-productive, and it seems to me that I have been doing better than the folks that study in groups, but everyone is different and you have to find what works for you.

I am in A&P right now and I am pulling an A- and I think it is because of my study group. We get together once a week and talk out our notes and the chapter summaries.

I have to agree that sometimes we get sidetracked and socialize but I am serious about school and try to get us back on the right path. We might chat for a second and then I start back on the subject that we were discussing.

I have also found that using a dry erase board and taking turns basically teaching the lessons over again to each other helps to reinforce what we have learned. Right before an exam we study for a few hours for the two days before. It helps to rely on short term memory!

We were also told by our professor that if you use things to remind you of what you are learning, it's best to do it in a funny or personal way. For the cranial nerves we have to remember if they are sensory or motor and he said to go from I. to XII. by (S=sensory M=motor B=both) ssmmbmbsbbmm. Some salesmen make money but my brother says big boobs make more. So I know that cranial nerve number VIII is sensory. It's what I do for a lot of things.

I hope that can help you a little!

julie

it's great that you're thinking about getting a study group together. your concerns are all valid. it's important to have a study group in which its members collectively wish to stay on topic and not pass the time chatting. however, i must mention that i think it's perfectly ok and beneficial to share an abundance of laughs and chatting while you study provided that you successfully move through the outcome(s) you wish to address in the allotted time.

first, does anyone else in your class have a study group? how is it working for them? look around, who do you want in your study group? are you the type of person who is very self-confident or someone who never shows their weakside? then find likeminded individuals. if you can laugh at yourself and share weaknesses and tips with others, find those types of people. i say this because i've done many study groups this 1st quarter of nursing and the people i do best with are a select few that i feel have "their feet on the ground." they aren't afraid to admit their weaknesses or learn together. they don't jump ahead but like to make sure everyone is on the same page.

as for what to study, do you have outcomes that are preprinted that you are supposed to go over for each test? if so, then study those at each study group session and have each person give their comments on the outcomes. if not, look at the readings for the week/test, and ask each person to express viewpoints/summaries on what they read. i would also suggest having a "gatekeeper." someone who can kind of lead/monitor the topic/conversation and keep it moving. sometimes the gatekeeper can become a different person during the course of the session. it just depends on what is happening in the group dynamics.

i know this is really wordy, but that's me..i ramble on and on!!! but at least i'm not afraid to admit it! :) seriously, study groups really help and when i first started nursing school, i was worried that i wouldn't find like people to study with that i would benefit from. well i found quite a lot! so search out those "deserving" ones ;-) and invite them to be a part of "julie's road to success" study group!!

zach

Hi Julie!

A couple of ideas that I used when I had A&P might help.

First, I found ONE person that was on the same page as I was to study with, then a couple of other people joined together.

Second, we had one person that actually ran the group and kept things on track. If someone kept getting off track then it was the "leaders" job to ask them to leave the group or leave the "social" stuff outside. We only had to ask one person to leave the group and the rest of us pulled A's and B's.

Do you have one particular person that you get along with well that might have an hour or so free during the week to study with?

Hope this helps.