Study Groups - Overview

There are a variety of different methods that an individual might use to study for a particular examination, interview, or other similar purpose, but one of the most effective ways of studying a particular subject is to study with a study group. A study group is simply a small, organized group of individuals that usually consists of 3 or more students or employees that are all studying the same subject. Study groups allow students or employees to work together with other individuals that are attempting to learn the same material so that each individual in the group can help the other members of the group learn the material. Each individual within the study group has his or her own strengths and weaknesses and each member can usually help the other members of the group with topics that he or she understands while the other members can help that specific member with the topics that he or she does not understand.

For example, an individual in an entry-level computer science course may understand all of the computer science terminology and be able to identify all of the various data structures that are used in a particular computer program, but he or she may not actually be able to understand how to design an algorithm that tells the program to create the data structure. On the other hand, another individual may understand how to find a suitable algorithm, but may not understand all of the terminology or the differences between different data structures. Since each individual will probably need to know the terminology, the differences between different data structures, and how to design an algorithm in order to pass the class, each individual may find that he or she can teach the other individual what he or she needs to know.