How do you do a study group?

GraduateNurseMom · Aug 12, 2012

How go you form a study group? Do you just ask someone if they want to join your group. I am starting A/P in 10 days and definitely think I will need a partner or two.

Sugarcoma, RN · Aug 12, 2012

I also do not do well in study groups. For reasons others have posted. And because the stronger in the group always ended up carrying the weaker ones and then they would accuse you of being the reason they got a test question wrong. If you do want to give groups a try I recommend trying to find people with similar study habits. That is really the only way the group will work. It can take you quite a while to find people you are in tune with but when/if you do, it can make studying much more enjoyable.

mom_coach_nurse, LPN · Aug 12, 2012

How go you form a study group? Do you just ask someone if they want to join your group. I am starting A/P in 10 days and definitely think I will need a partner or two.

This is exactly what I was going to ask, lol. I'm not one to take the lead & form a group myself. I'd like to try one. How do you know who to study with when you're all new & just beginning? It's been 20 years since I've been in school, lol, I've forgotten how this all goes :)

keepmovingrn · Aug 12, 2012

I do study group with 2 other girls, so its just 3 of us and its the same girls in it. I would say dont do more than 3 in a study group bc study group take alot of time and if you have 4 more ppl in your group it takes up to much time and there may be to many oppions in the group. I dont think I would have did as well in my 3rd semester (this summer) if it had not been for our study groups.

Also I'm a single parent and all 3 of us live in 3 different areas, so meeting up face to face wouldn't work well for us. So we do 3 way on the phone for 2-3 hrs 2 days before we have a test, that way we have the night before the test to regroup our thoughts etc for the test. We have done it this way from the beginning (same 3 girls).

So I think they help but keep down the group number to 3 ppl and if you dont feel like its helping you stop doing them bc you dont want to waste good study time.

Pick01 · Aug 12, 2012

I suggest no more than 4 people for a group, any larger is too much. Make sure it's to study, and everyone needs to be prepared ie... have read the material, listened to lectures etc... and have notes ready. The benefit actually comes from one person being stronger in areas than the others, and you assist each other for understanding. Get a recorder for lectures and listen to it when driving, helped me. This would be good for the person that said they live a 1/2 hour away from others, as I drove 45 minutes to my study group, and it worked well for me. Like prevoiusly said, it doesn't work for everyone, but if the group is prepared, it can increase your understanding alot. It happened to work for me, and I graduated with honors, but just as a side note, I also studied alot on my own, the study group was NOT the only studying I did, just so that is understood. Now, the hard part........if a person or persons are not participating, or doing the notes, in otherwords their part, you need to cut them out, or drop from the group, because it WILL draw you down. This is not to socialize or being best buddies, it's to learn, and if done right will help the whole group excell, it did for our group, and we all passed NCLEX first time. I hope this helps, and good luck to you all.

PNicholas · Aug 12, 2012

We literally formed our group just by seeing who was at the school studying before a test and willing to stay after class to study. It didn't happen the first week or even month. This group started with two girls and they added me and 2 others. We are very similar with our study habits. We don't really assign work to teach each other. We just start with our power points and work through each concept, asking questions, clarifying, and even calling our instructors for clarification. You will be amazed that no matter how good your notes are some one always catches something you missed! We make up crazy little phrases to remember signs and symptoms and do group projects together. No study group will be alike and you have to find what works for you!

Daisy_08, BSN, RN · Aug 12, 2012

This is exactly what I was going to ask, lol. I'm not one to take the lead & form a group myself. I'd like to try one. How do you know who to study with when you're all new & just beginning? It's been 20 years since I've been in school, lol, I've forgotten how this all goes :)

You can just chat someone up who you think will be a good fit for you and mention the idea of a study group, and see how receptive they are. Or send out an email to your class stating that you would like to start a small study group and see who responds. Once you have three people, you can direct anyone else to each other to form their own.

Good luck, I have had pretty good experiences with study groups, especially in classes where there is a lot of reading. That way you can split it up and teach each other.

smusher83 · Aug 12, 2012

I am in my 3rd semester. I have participated in different study groups & here are a few tips that I found to work very well.

1) Try to participate in as many different groups as you can. This will help you learn more because you can gather the knowledge of your fellow students that may understand different topics better than others.

2) Read the material before you meet. Write down any parts that you don't understand, so that you can get further clarification on it. If there is a specific topic or concept that many of you don't understand ask a faculty member to facilitate and participate in a study group. (My teachers were great at accommodating this, and were happy to see the effort that everyone was putting in to learn)

3) Assign an "expert" for each section that you will be studying. This person should read and understand their section and seek help if further clarification is needed, they should also answer any study questions in the book related to their section. (Works very well for pharm)

4) For students that don't live close to school (I myself have a 90 minute one way commute to school). Study on the phone with someone. I have spent hours and hours on the phone with another student studying.

Hope this helps!!! :)

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Aug 12, 2012

I also didn't do well with study groups because there was too much socializing going on. I found it better for me to study on my own. Don't let that discourage you, though! If you want to go for a study group than by all means, try it out!

Melissa0181 · Aug 12, 2012

Many of my fellow classmates did study groups but I chose not to and for me it worked best. It largely depends on your study habits. I found that I study best when I'm relaxed and in a quiet atmosphere. My experience of study groups include those one or two people that expect the rest of the group to teach them or worse the group that meets to "study" but talks about everything except schoolwork. Hopefully you'll get into a better group if you chose to. I managed one B and the rest A's without a group so it's not impossible to do well on your own.

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Aug 12, 2012

I dont do study groups. Too much time goofing around with little actual benefit. I did a lot better on my own. I knew my strengths, my weanesses and I knew how I learned best.

RNMES · Aug 12, 2012

If study groups are done correctly each student can bring something to the table so to speak. They require that everyone studies and then compare answers the homework and to NCLEX questions about the material that has been covered. Each person in the group can do parts of a case study and compare answers to enhance critical thinking.