Study Groups: Groupthink
Effective small group strategies to help you study better for exams
Oct 24, 2006
Need some strategies for forming student study groups? Here are some strategies to help you avoid the pitfalls of small groups, especially groupthink.
Groupthink tops the list of pitfalls for small groups. Someone in the group comes up with the idea, and everyone accepts the idea without considering better alternatives. Here are some strategies to help your study group avoid groupthink and get the most out of your study session.
- Prepare a list of questions for the professor. Designate someone from the group to write down anything you aren’t 100% sure of. Then have someone bring those questions to the professor to make sure you haven’t come up with a wrong answer due to groupthink. This requires one important condition: you can’t study at the very last minute! Make sure you have enough time to run questions by the professor. Which brings up a related point:
- Give yourself enough time to discuss the material. If you’re rushed for time, you’re much more likely to accept the first idea on the table.
- Come to the group prepared. All group members should look at their notes and the readings before going to the group. That way, if someone comes up with inaccurate information, the group is more likely to be well informed enough to know better. Of course, this means you have to come to class, read, and take good notes. If you rely on the group to teach you the information, you are less likely to spot groupthink. Which brings up another important point:
- Avoid dead weight. Don’t invite someone to join your group unless they are prepared. Otherwise, they are wasting your time. They won’t be able to contribute to the pool of ideas necessary to prevent groupthink.
- Avoid group members who are too dominant. It’s common for someone to gravitate towards being the leader of your study group, and usually this is constructive. But if that person is unwilling to listen to other ideas, you risk groupthink.
- Don’t be afraid to disagree. The point of a study group is not to avoid conflict at all cost. The point is to make everyone more knowledgeable about the material. Obviously you don’t want to fight about the material, but if someone says something that sounds questionable, it’s in everybody’s best interest that you speak up.
Related articles:
More advice about study groups
How to have an effective study break
The copyright of the article Study Groups: Groupthink in Study Skills is owned by Naomi Rockler-Gladen. Permission to republish Study Groups: Groupthink in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
