How to start a study group, part II

A reader writes:

"I have always wanted to form a study group on my own, perhaps around a group of 4 - 8 people.  I have replies email from them (all of us do not know each other, rather we have the initial course that we have in common) but didn't know that what to do after that.

Can you give me hints to start the ball rolling? I have an assignment with me, apparently not sure should I just type out the question and email to the group and wait for any reply?"

I've written about starting a study group before, so please check out that post for additional hints to getting the ball rolling for your study group. But I must say congratulations, you have already done one of the first steps to forming a study group by emailing a few students in your class.

Now that you have already contacted a couple of classmates, what you do next will largely depend on what you want out of the study group itself.

If you want to use this as an opportunity to get to know other students and/or discuss the assignment with other students, definitely try to arrange a time for everyone to get together to go over the assignment you already have. Keep in mind the due date and how much time you think the assignment will take when thinking about a meeting time.

When it comes to getting everyone's available times and setting a time for everyone to meet, try using a handy scheduling tool like Doodle to make it easy on yourself. If your campus uses an online student calendar, that might be a handy tool to use for study group scheduling also.

If you want to get other students' input and perspective on the assignment, but don't necessarily need the face-to-face interaction, you can email them your questions, comments, and concerns about the assignment and ask for their feedback. This can be a good way to ease into having a study group without the pressure of coordinating a group.

If you are really unsure about what you want out of the study group, it would be appropriate to email your fellow study group-mates and let them know that you are open-minded to how the study group should function and you want to get their input in forming the group.

Remember, it's okay to let them know that this is the first study group that you have formed. Chances are that another student with more experience working with study groups will help you out. If that is not the case, check out your campus' tutoring center. Often, tutoring and study skills centers have more information about forming study group.

Really, it boils down to being clear about what goals you have for the study group and plan according to that. Good luck with your study group!

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.