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Article Series: Online Degrees
Is An Online
Degree Program For Me?
How
To Organize Your Own Online Study Group
Whether you are learning a new skill or studying
for a major exam, study groups can be beneficial in the learning
projects. The ability to bounce ideas off of each other and
get new perspectives on topics can be very helpful while learning.
A good group can help smooth out problems with projects, but
a bad group will only lead to more problems and frustration.
With a little effort, you can conduct your own online study
group. Here are some tips to help you get started.
First, it is essential to choose a good group. Decide
on how large of a group you need. Too few people and it will be difficult
to continue if someone cannot make it to a meeting. Too many
people and everything will become chaotic and difficult to
manage and coordinate. You will also want people who are committed
to the group. You have enough work to do on your own – you
don’t need to be doing anyone else’s as well.
You will want to find
interested and helpful people to join.
Beware of those who would come to try and get an easy way out
of courses. Look for students who ask questions and participate
in online discussions or group emails. Or send out a general
email to students in your class. Or make a post on campus bulletin
boards. Look for students who have similar goals and coursework.
Remember, this is not a social group, and you do not have to
be friends with everyone, just able to work together.
Try a trial run of the study group to see how
all of you work together. If it seems to go smoothly, you can pursue making
the group a regular thing. If it does not, then it is easily
disbanded.
Next, choose
a person to run the group. The person in charge
will need to be someone who is responsible and well organized.
They will also need to be a people person and able to smooth
out disagreements between members and keep the group on task.
They will want to create an agenda for each meeting to help
keep the group focused. This can be the same person every time
of can be a duty rotated throughout the group.
Next, it is important to agree on how
you will run the study group. Will you create a group online? Discuss everything through
a chat room? Use instant messaging to share ideas? Or maybe
just use standard email to get your point across? Finding a
way that everyone in your group can participate in is essential.
You will want to set meeting times during times that will work
for all group members. You will want to decide how long meetings
should go. Creating an agenda for meetings will help things
to run smoothly and keep everyone on task.
Next, decide what
needs to be covered. Are there assignments
that are specifically group assignments? A major exam that
you need to take practice quizzes on? Will you offer homework
help? It is usually more effective to go over topics that have
already been taught than to try and skip ahead in the courses.
Save time at the end of each session to go over questions that
people might have. It will be helpful to be able to compare
notes on topics covered. If several people in your group have
a question on the same topic, elect a group spokesperson to
speak to the professor about it. This person can then report
back to the group the explanation.
At the end of each study group period it is essential for
everyone to know what they will be responsible for at the next
meeting, as well as the specifics of when and where the next
meeting will take place. Make sure that everyone knows what
is going on before ending.
It is also crucial that all members understand that study
groups are tools to help them with classes. Your group members
are not going to take exams for you, so you are still responsible
for learning all of the information. If there are topics that
you are still unclear on after a meeting is finished you will
ultimately be responsible for finding that information out
on your own.
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by SolveYourProblem.com
: 2007
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