I've been accepted to an LPN program and start classes August 20th. In orientation I heard a lot about how important it will be to have a study group. While I'm not a loner socially, I have always preferred to study alone, in the same place and with all my own materials around me, usually listening to one of my many customized study stations on Pandora.
I think of study groups and imagine the time eaten up driving to meet each other, sorting out who will be in charge of what, contacting and setting up dates to meet, etc as time wasted that I could be studying.
I do not underestimate, however, the difficulty of the next 9 months ahead of me and can appreciate the idea that having a group of students with different strengths and study habits can be of benefit. So I'm on the fence about whether to engage in a study group at this point.
What has your experience been with study groups? Did you feel it was a lifesaver or did you feel it wasted your precious study time? ANy tips on ways to maximize the experience and minimize distractions like chatting during a study group?
Hate 'em. The bowels of academia for me, right along with group projects. Really wish instructors would stop trying to guilt students into forming them.
Too much misinformation flying half the time and confusing talk which breeds test anxiety. "I heard from so and so who had her last semester that the final was a killer." Yeah, it really wasn't.
Study groups help when you already have read and studied the material. I only use them when there is a couple of days before an exam and we meet up to brainstorm and put out information that we might have missed. That helped me alot because things I might have thought are not important or missed in a chapter but was talked about during the group would be on an exam. That saved me from messing up on a question and missing out on possible points so I would do group but just to brainstorm.
I tried study groups and found it to be a huge time-waster. A lot of time is lost trying to get together, and sometimes we have the tendancy to gossip instead of doing work.
I found that studying with just a few people helped. They might have ideas or remember things that you didnt. I just finished my program and I must say that I too like to study myself but I did keep a study group of just a few folks ....Best of luck to you!!
I like to study on my own and then study with a group of a few people either to A, get help on something that I didn't understand or B, help others out. My experience with a study group has been good for the most part HOWEVER, there were times when people talked about bs instead of focusing on the material and have confused me the way that have done certain things and or told me Ive gotten an answer wrong so depending on who you are studying with, it could help and or hurt you BUT, always study alone first. I plan on keeping my group small and tight when I start school August 8th with one of my friends being one of the people I do so with.
I just graduated from a 10 month nursing program in May. I was also warned by my instructors that a study group would be helpful in getting through it. However i tried it at least 3 different times and found it was worst than studying by myself. The problem I often found was that eveyone had different interpretations and ways they went about understanding a specific subject. Another problem was that some of my classmates was not as serious as me and spent a great amount of time wasting time. It was just a mess! Even though I had to read certain chapters maybe 3 times or more to fully understand it, I found better success by studying alone. I made it through the program and August 17th is the date I sit for my boards..and guess what I am still studying alone lol. I would recommend trying it out but if you start to see that it's not working run for the hills!
RescueNinja I would really appreciate it if you would make your document available to me as well, [email protected]. I can't thank you enough for turning us on to Nurse Nacole, she's a gem and you are AWESOME!!
I had an amazing study group for my microbio and chem classes and it was so useful but I'm scared I won't find it again in nursing school! I start this fall and I find myself strategizing over which students I should make friends with! Thinking thoughts like "I bet I'd get along with her but she doesn't seem like a good student'" and "they are so motivated but I don't think we'd get along that well!" how awful is that?? Haha anyway a good study group can be so useful but I agree with earlier posters, you need to study before you meet with the group. Otherwise it's the blind leading the blind and it can become stressful and overwhelming.
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QuarterLife88, MSN, RN, NP
549 Posts
Hate 'em. The bowels of academia for me, right along with group projects. Really wish instructors would stop trying to guilt students into forming them.
Too much misinformation flying half the time and confusing talk which breeds test anxiety. "I heard from so and so who had her last semester that the final was a killer." Yeah, it really wasn't.
If I need help, I will get a trained tutor.
I do better alone.