The 5 key benefits of learning in groups

“More hands make for lighter work.”

Groups of students are naturally competitive. These maxims illustrate the potential that groups are more motivated, productive, and creative than individuals alone.

Learning with Peers

Getting together in a group and teaching others is a wonderful way to

expand a student's learning quotient. Together, students can get a fresh perspective about a topic or figure out something much more easily when they get together in a group. Some of the advantages are:

1. Self- Motivation: Students studying in a motivated team naturally tend to learn better and cover more topics as part of the group learning.

2. Deeper Understanding of Subjects: As topics get discussed and various examples explored, the team gets benefitted from a shared understanding of the subject and gains greater insights.

3. Reduced Anxiety: Takes the spotlight off the student and allows the student to grasp the topics discussed.

4. Develop Soft skills: Students learn to interact and express their views in a safe environment.

5. Accountability: Peer pressure pushes students to hold themselves accountable to come prepared and contribute to the discussion

How To Collaborate

Few suggestions for collaboration are as follows:

• Ask another student to help you understand course material

• Explain the course material to one or more students

• Prepare for exams by discussing or working through course material with other students

• Worked with other students on course projects or assignments

Etiquette for learning in groups

For group learning to work well, it is important to have an agreed set of expectations and behaviors. This is likely to include the following:

1. Ensure that the learning session has a purpose, not only a title

2. Circulate the topics/lessons/subject well in advance, giving everyone time to process it

3. Read topics/lessons/subject sent in advance, and be prepared to comment on it

4. Be on time for group learning sessions.

5. If meeting online is involved, schedule at the time convenient for the group and notify in advance

6. Leverage Whiteboard during learning sessions to enable different people to lead different parts of the learning session

7. Actively participate

8. Break the ice! When you do not know each other well, make a point of during the initial sessions to get to know each other well

9. The person running the meeting should make a point of bringing other people in to participate. Ensure everyone gets a chance to share their views, politely cut off people who are getting too dominant.

10. Respect other people’s opinions

11. Wait for others to stop speaking before starting to speak

12. summarize learnings at the end of session

13. Learning session should end when the topic chosen is is well understood, rather than stretch it out to fill the time that has been booked.

Have fun Collaborating!