One of the essential skills for thriving in college is the ability to create an effective study group. When study groups work well, you gain a diverse perspective on your class content, which can help you learn new ways to approach problems and improve the degree to which you deeply learn. To get you started, we have tips to both form a study group and establish norms to maximize your team's potential.

Talk to people

Talk to students who are sitting in class before it gets started or private message people during your Zoom class. Ask if they would be interested in joining your study group. If so, great! Get their contact information. If not, ask someone else. Hint–the earlier you do this in class, the better!

Decide how and where you will meet

Would you prefer virtual or in-person? In the library, a coffee shop or somewhere else?

Schedule a time

Choose a time frame that is convenient for all study buddies (e.g., 6 - 8 p.m.).

Get to know each other

Spend a few minutes during your first session just getting to know one another. This will help you feel more comfortable in the study session and you will also get to meet some new people. Some icebreaker questions: 

• Why are you taking this class? 
• What are you involved with on campus? 
• What are your plans after college, if you know? 

Choose a study location that will help you focus

For some groups, this may mean getting together at a coffee shop. Other groups may prefer quieter locations with less distractions. Talk about these options as you set up your study location. 

Create a plan during your first meeting

Share ideas on how you might go about studying for this class. Consistency is key. 

A sample plan might include: 

• We meet once for two hours at the same time and location each week to review content from the previous week.
• We meet twice a week at XX times and discuss the lecture notes, chapters and/or problem sets. 
• We do our homework on our own first, then review as a group to better understand the concepts.

Bring your materials to the study session

This includes the textbook, lecture notes, practice problems or sets, quiz questions, study guides, etc. 

Diversify how you study

• Teach one another content that you are more familiar with.
• Work out problems on your own.
• Ask each other questions from the learning objectives or at the end of each chapter.
• Discuss the bolded concepts throughout the chapter and try explaining these concepts to one another.
• When you don’t understand something, ask your group to explain it to you in a different way. 
• Adjust! If you don’t feel like the session was helpful, talk to the group. Then see how you can move forward together.

Ask for help

If the content is a challenge for all study buddies, ask for help. We recommend the following options: 

• Schedule a meeting and/or attend office hours with your professor or TA as a group. Come prepared with questions, problem sets or concepts that are confusing. 
• Find out if there are free tutoring options.
• Consider expanding your study group. Are there other people in the class who would want to join? Ask around.
• Email asacademiccoaching@colorado.edu to request an academic coach as a group. They can help you strategize how to better approach your study group and share some learning strategies that can elevate your learning.

Focus

Finally, refocus when you get distracted. Focus on learning the content. You can always hang out with your study buddies after you study!