Study Groups | Pros and Cons

Once you enter your college grades, you should be able to sail into an open horizon. It means you should be confident to take responsibilities on your own as well as capable enough to deal with them. Studying for college years is not a piece of cake, it demands time, skill, dedication, understanding and serious attention.

Every individual has his own personality and style. Some prefer to study in a quiet atmosphere while others need friends around. Studying alone is a very effective method as you can completely focus on your lesson but when you are in higher grades, you have to take some assistance. The curriculum is a bit difficult and to comprehend well it is better to join a study group for added support.

Study Group:

A study group is generally a small group of students from the same field or subject. The students in the group study together on a regular time to discuss and learn the specific lesson or subject. Study groups are created in college. Yet, high school or middle school groups are also not uncommon in today’s learning environ.

Formal and Informal Study Groups:

Many college study groups are formal and these groups are set up by the institute to distribute shared learning experiences. Each group is constituted to convey the real concept and understanding of the selected lesson, and later discussions are conducted to resolve difficulties in the subject. These groups are also working efficiently online. A tutor from senior grades supervises the group to help students. Besides, these officially created study groups, there are several informal groups who just get together to discuss some lessons .Such casual learning groups met at any friend’s place, in college library or at a public spot to study.

It doesn’t matter what all that jazz be, the real consideration is that whether this type of group study is productive or not? Study groups work effectively if all the members show positive attitude and are ready to take their responsibility.

Pros:

It’s quite obvious that ideas are shared among the group members on the selected topic or lesson this sharing will help to resolve the difficulties. When one student explains something in a group, he represents his concept. It may be possible that he is missing something which is comprehended by the other member who adds to his point during the discussion.
Group study also built a sense of responsibility among students as they are bound to reach the venue on time, and are committed to meet deadlines for their group work.
Group study is very influential for an unsocial student, as he gets a chance to socialize and develop skills to cope with others.
One of the valuable scientific benefits a student can gain from group study is that, when you speak loudly and explain something, the more you repeat your words, the stronger long-term memory will save it.
Group study is the most crucial methodology for students who are studying science subjects involving practical experiments. For a medical student, group study become vital to understand and to locate the diseases and organs .Likewise students with maths or other numerical based subjects have to share their solutions with others to get better understanding of the formulas and step by step solutions.
The students in a group can benefit from learning resources of every member, for example if your group member has the latest digital device then you can get a chance to learn from multiple learning styles.

Cons:

As there are many advantages of group study, there are certainly some cons associated with them.

If any member shows a non- serious attitude, the whole group is affected.
It would be difficult for some students to reach the spot and some can’t give extra time for group studies.
The class difference among the students can develop inferiority /superiority complex among students.
Difference of opinion might spark a quarrelling fire.
If the objective is not reached successfully group study is a mere waste of time.

Hence an effective group study demands a serious attitude!