Answer:
When working on a group project, studying and working within a group will be a necessity, so you need to make it work for you! Studying in groups has its advantages and disadvantages, but the trick is to know when to resort to solo studying and when to go for group studying. Studying with a partner is a valuable way to learn as students help one another at overcoming weak points.
Advantages of Studying in Groups
1. Brainstorming
Studying in groups allows students to share their different thoughts with one another. This notion usually leads to a better learning process, since brainstorming generates new ideas and thus, students learn the same thing but with different perspectives. Open discussion enhances thinking skills and will give you access to others information and as a result, broadens your mind.
2. Clarification Discussions
Students are different and they perceive the same information differently. You can always ask your study mate to clarify a vague point for you and vice versa. Also, this action increases retention and reinforces the ideas, because the more the information is repeated the stronger the memory will be.
3. Motivation Booster
Group studying is the best procrastination solution as it breaks the monotonous learning process and it makes you attentive to what the others are saying. Mock tests and trial quizzes assist those struggling with course materials and those extracting tests and quizzes from them as well.
Disadvantages of Studying in Groups
1. Distraction
The benefits of group studies are a lot but there are also some cons to group studying. You may find it tiresome to stay focused when studying in a group. Sometimes the conversation shifts from studying to trendy events maximizing distraction. Studying alone might be helpful if you need undivided attention to the materials at hand.
2. Lack of Efficiency
Group studying hampers creativity and efficiency and when there are exams on the horizon, efficiency should be the priority. Studying alone will give you time and space to do your personalized studying. Also, when alone, you can focus freely on a certain part because you know you need to and skip other parts that you have already mastered. This allows you to manage your time wisely and prioritise your tasks.
3. Impersonalized Learning
Our brains conceive information differently, and in order to digest information correctly, you have to do it your own way, not another’s. When studying in a group, you might be studying at someone else’s pace, whether it is too fast or too slow, it will not help you with learning. Also, you might lose track of your own questions and the difficulties you might be facing with the subject at hand because students mostly do not want to diverge from the group. Creating personalized study plans for suture references will also save much time if the student loves to follow a plan and a schedule while studying.
Preferring one way over another does not necessarily mean that it is better; however, it simply means that people choose what suits their characters best. For example, a social person might find it difficult to study alone and find it more appealing to talk to people to learn and on the other hand, another social person will choose to study alone because he gets distracted easily with people and he can focus better when alone. In a nutshell, there is no way advantageous than the other; everyone has his own studying methods and each has its advantages and disadvantages.