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It wasn't until I realized that he was
picking the dirt from under his nails with a paper clip that I
realized I made a big mistake. I've never been a huge fan of studying
in groups. That has nothing to do with the results though. Studying
in groups can provide amazing results. There is nothing like a little
social pressure to improve your focus on studying but there is one
major challenge that I've had to face virtually every time I tried to
study in groups.
Most people are not good at studying.
Really... studying in a group with certain kinds of people will do
nothing but limit your ability to learn. You need to know to avoid
certain kinds of people in your study groups. In most cases, given
the choice between studying in a group with one of these people, or
studying alone, you should pick alone. At least you can predict your
results when you're studying alone.
Here are the 7 people you don't want in
your study group:
1. The Story Teller
No... I love people that can tell a
good story too but that has nothing to do with studying. I can
remember one of my study groups spending 20 minutes listening to this
one guys story about this night he was at a bar. Notice how miserably I tell
that story? That means I'm the kind of guy you want in your study
group.
You cannot let your study group get
distracted by stories that aren't related to the study material. Good
story tellers are fun to listen to but if they can't restrain their
story telling through study time then you're not going to get any
studying done.
2. The Gossiper
If someone says even two words about an
ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend during the study time then you might as
well leave. I'm sure you can recognize a gossiper. When someone
gossips they're showing that they have absolutely no interest in the
material being discussed. More importantly, it can drag everyone else
out of the study material as well. (Well... when they tell you what
they think, you gotta tell them what you think... It's a dangerous
slope.)
3. Answer-It-All
Don't mistake an answer-it-all for the
classic know-it-all. The answer-it-all has very little connection to
that. A know-it-all knows the answer to every question being asked.
That is not necessarily a bad addition to the study group. An
answer-it-all thinks they know the answer to every question being
asked and insist on proving it to everyone else in the group.
If there is anyone in your group that
answers all the questions being asked without letting anyone else
have a turn then you've gotta get away from them. Study groups need
to offer everyone in the group the chance to answer questions.
Hogging the questions is no different than hogging anything else.
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4. The Hopeless
“There is no way I'm going to pass
this...”
“I'm totally going to fail.”
“This is soooo hard...”
Imagine it's one of these lines being
said by someone with a horribly depressed face. Some people feel the
need to express their lack of confidence at every chance they get.
Now... we all feel that way sometimes. Heck, we probably even express
it but it doesn't help anyone get anywhere.
Expressing a lack of confidence hurts
everyone in the study group. When one person feels hopeless they drag
everyone else down with them. It doesn't matter how right they are
about the challenges of the test. No one needs more insecurity. One
of the biggest advantages of a study group is the projected
confidence of the group. A confident study group is a productive one.
5. Too Cool To Study
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Some people are more worried about
looking good than passing the test. They go to the study groups just
to hang out with friends and maybe... occasionally... remember a
thing or two. These people are poison for a study group.
First of all, they're terribly
disruptive to real studying. They're generally pretty polite with the
whole format but they'll still break character and have unrelated
conversations whenever they feel like it.
That isn't all that deadly but it is
disruptive. The biggest problems come when you get two or three of
these people in a study group. A once productive study group turns
into a social gathering with the occasional person trying to ignore
conversation while they try to study.
You're there to study. Make sure the
people you're with have that on their mind too.
6. Give Me Perfection Or Give Me Death
While people that don't care much about
improving their grades are bad, you also don't want people that
always need perfection in your study group. These are the kinds of
people that get 99's and cry about it.
People are not machines designed to
learn everything and anything. They have limitations and that's okay.
People that can't accept that project their neuroses with them
everywhere they go. You don't want those neuroses spreading to
everyone else in your study group. There is an appropriate amount of
stress to have for a test. Don't let those that could pull a train
with the knots in their neck study with you.
7. People You Hate
I've tried studying with people I don't
like too many times. (I don't like many people. Eventually it became
sort of a necessity. That's, sadly, partly true.) It offers some
advantages to your study time. Specifically, when you're dealing with
someone you don't like in your study group, you don't need to worry
about mindless friendly conversation distracting you. Both people
know why they're their and stick to the subject.
That doesn't make up for the
pre-studying problem though. When your study group involves people
you don't like, you're going to have to force yourself to go. You'll
need to discipline yourself to follow through despite thinking, “I
really don't want to see that person again...”
It's okay to study only with people you
like.
Notice how difficult it is to find
people that are good for a study group? You'll find that 9 out of 10
people fit into one of these categories. That's generally why I never
enjoyed any long term study groups. They're absolutely amazing when
they work but you need to find and hold onto the people you want in
your study group. To those not inclined to do it, that can be a real
challenge.
Do you want to learn how to study
faster than ever?
Check out my books on the subject.
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