Creating Successful Study Groups

Step 1: Talk with your classmates

• Invite 3-5 dedicated classmates to form a study group.
  • Look for students who attend class, take notes, and contribute to discussions. (Don’t overlook students who are quiet, but make valuable contributions to class discussion.)

• Choose a time and place.
  • When are you on campus anyway? (Ex:before/afterclasstime,tests,orrequired meetings)
  • Where can you talk on campus? (Ex:librarystudyrooms,emptycafé,emptyclassroom, public areas in buildings, etc.)

Step 2: Prepare

• Which topics will your group cover?
  • Does the course build on itself or just cover recent information?
  • Break down the information (Ex: by chapter ,process, date covered in class, etc.)

• Develop a plan
  • Divide the topics and decide who will cover each topic.
  • Determine the amount of time for each topic.
  • Decide the total time for the study group, then divide it by the total number of topics + 1. (Ex: If your group will meet for 60 minutes & there are 4 topics, divide 60 by 5. This will give each person 12 minutes per topic, with 12 minutes for the wrap-up.)

• Send a reminder email or text about the study group meeting place & time.

Step 3: Meet

• Start on time.
  • If one person is late, start on time & cover the other topics first.

• Stay on topic.
  • Stick to the plan! Share copies of notes if a group member runs out of time.
  • Stay on track so that all topics get covered without going beyond the meeting time.

• Wrap-Up.
  • Plan the next meeting at the end of this first meeting.
  • Decide when and where to meet again
  • Decide which topics to cover at the next meeting & who will prepare for each.

©UAMS Student Success Center/January 2016