Collaborative studying or group study can be defined as learning tasks or doing activities where students work together in a team. This can be either a joint task where group members do different aspects of the task but contribute to a common overall outcome, or a shared task where group members work together throughout the activity. Depending upon the group members, collaborative study or group study can help a student grow and learn a lot or can pull down a student or distract him from the track.

Research has shown that students who work in cooperative groups do better on tests, especially with regards to reasoning and critical thinking skills than those that do not (Johnson and Johnson, 1989 ).

Group study helps students do in-depth discussion with peers, sharing information and knowledge. As well as sharing techniques and strategies of learning. A subject can become boring or difficult while studying alone, but with peers to help around it can become easy.

ADVANTAGES OF COLLABORATIVE / GROUP STUDY:

Helps in Dealing with Procrastination:

While studying alone students’ might feel distracted and try to find excuses to avoid study before test/ exam night or he might postpone studying until the night before class. When in a study group, meeting at scheduled times can keep the students from procrastinating. Students have to be present at a specific time and complete assignments along with other group members.

Learn Faster:

Students tend to absorb more information when they study in groups. Working together with peers help students learn faster as compared to working alone. Students working in a group can help each other out, exchange ideas, explain the concepts, and find out solutions to problems together.

For example, there may be a chapter which could be confusing for one but easy for another. Instead of spending valuable time puzzling over the difficulty, they can learn quickly by simply asking a question.

Different Approaches:

Every student has his or her own way of learning. Studying alone will give only one learning approach to the subject while in a group when every ones approaches and strategies are discussed, students get fresh perspective of the topic which can help in learning more thoroughly. As students listen and ask questions, they will soon start noticing a wide variety of different viewpoints on the same idea.

Develop New Study Skills:

Studying in groups help students improve studying skills by observing others.  Students will have opportunity to observe a wide variety of study methods in action. Note taking and organization skills are also improved through collaborative study.

Fill in Learning Gaps:

By comparing notes with other students, you can evaluate your accuracy, fix any errors, and get ideas for better note taking and can also help other students who had note taking problems fix their mistakes and learn better techniques.