I'm taking a pretty tough microbiology class this semester. 8 out of 18 studnets have dropped the class. All semester, I have been typing up all of my notes--consolidating his powerpoint slides, his lecture, and my notes from the chapters. And, with two weeks left in the class, I have an A. (Go me!)
Anyway, one month ago, a girl who happened to sit next to me just prior to our lab midterm, noticed that I had typed everything up and even drew pictures, using my kids' markers, of the microorganism.
After our last class a few days ago, she came up to me and told me she is "literally failing the class," and wanted to know if she could get together and study for our Lap Practical coming up this weekend (we meet all day on saturdays).
I reluctantly said "yes."
My concern is this: Not only do I not want to spend my time tutoring her, but I have many reasons to believe that she will ask to read the notes I just spent hours putting together.
I know it wouldn't kill me to help her out, but at the same time, I don't really feel like it's fair for me to do all of the legwork--put all of the time and energy into doing this--for her to come along and just get to do the easy part.
And yes, there is NO question (based on other encounters I've had with her), that she will want them.
I'm with mystiqx on this. I would go ahead and do it, not only for those reasons (especially the part about teaching being a good reinforcer), but also because:
1) if she really is interested in passing, yes, your legwork will help her, you can feel good about yourself, and many prof's look very kindly at students willing to help other students, and are willing to give you things like nominations for scholarships, letters of recommendation for work, recommendations for entry into certain fraternities, etc.
2) if she is just a slacker, not only can you dump her like mystiqx said, but your hard legwork will be completely lost on her. All that meaning and mental exercise you put into your legwork is what makes it useful to you. For her, unless she just uses it as inspiration to do her own legwork, it will be nothing more than like looking at another textbook.
Now, if you do inspire her to do her own legwork, whether in this course or future courses, you may have just made a friend for life who will do you some big favor later on.
DC :)
I agree also don't forget we are all future collegues together so if you help someone do well you are only benifitting yourself later when you have to work with that person or people like it )
Hey there... this is just my ... I don't do well studying with someone else. It usually ends up that we start talking about something totally off topic and get nothing done.
If you are able to learn something while you are helping her out.... then that might be beneficial to you... However... if you feel you are going to get nothing out of it, I would just explain you've got other things going on.
I like to study a certain way and when someone else is involved who does their way a bit different, I don't get my stuff done the way I like to...
hey there... this is just my ... i don't do well studying with someone else. it usually ends up that we start talking about something totally off topic and get nothing done.
When I study, I take notes several times, then consolidate like you (although usually onto notecards). I learn through the process of taking the notes and putting it all together. It's not really the flipping through of my final product that helps me, it's creating it. The few days I miss a class I do usually try to get a classmate's notes, but I have to study those concepts three times as much to learn what we covered since I wasn't there to take my own. I don't see how helping this girl for a couple of hours will hurt - unless you don't have time, then tell her that - and it will reinforce the info for you yet again. You're not doing well because you have great notes, it's because you made them. JMO...
I think you obligated yourself to study with her for a night, simply because you already said so.
Even if she reads the notes over, there is no way she can retain that much information over an entire semester just by looking over your notes unless she has a photographic memory.
I girl in one of my classes said she "lost her chemistry notebook" and wanted to know if she could copy my notes. First of all, I didn't believe she lost her notebook...and I told her, "I hope you don't think I'm being a total b***h, but I never share my notes...just a personal integrity thing. If you talk to the professor, I'm sure he has suggestions."
Copying, is a little different from just looking them over.
This is just my personal opinion. I am a first semester nursing student and I do meet with one or two people once a week. But it's AFTER we have already studied on our own and we just meet to bounce ideas off each other and to do an extensive review before a test. By the time we meet, we all have our note cards made up, I type all my study guides in different colors and we just review each other and to have a clarifying idea of concepts from different prospectives.
I don't think study groups are for trying to learn the material. In my opinion, one should have already done the studying on their own prior to meeting with a group. You can't depend on the group to teach you what you should have already attempted to learn on your own. The study group purpose is to review concepts and materials and to clarify any misunderstanding you may have had about what you have already studied on your own. Everyone must pull their own weight.
This is just my opinion and this has worked so far for me.
... I don't do well studying with someone else. It usually ends up that we start talking about something totally off topic and get nothing done. 
catzy5
1,112 Posts
I agree also don't forget we are all future collegues together so if you help someone do well you are only benifitting yourself later when you have to work with that person or people like it
)