{"id":1780,"date":"2026-04-20T18:29:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T18:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/ltrc\/?page_id=1780"},"modified":"2026-04-20T18:39:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T18:39:43","slug":"studying-with-other-people","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/ltrc\/peer-academic-consultants\/pac-study-tips\/studying-with-other-people\/","title":{"rendered":"PAC Tip: Studying with Other People"},"content":{"rendered":"<!-- Inserted by Dropdownizer plugin. Forces video embeds contained in dropdowns to have a size --><style>.dropdownizer__dropdown iframe { width: 100% !important; height: 100% !important; }<\/style>\n<p>Our Peer Academic Consultants can help with a variety of skills, including studying with other people. Here are some useful tips on how to effectively memorize information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are some useful study activities for multiple people?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Teaching Each Other:<\/strong> Take turns teaching concepts, vocabulary, or information to the people you are studying with. This is particularly helpful if you are all studying for the same class because you get to study by both teaching and listening. Consider combining this activity with creating visuals on a whiteboard or doing practice problems.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Testing Each Other:<\/strong> Use flashcards or verbal questions to test each other\u2019s knowledge.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Creating Visuals:<\/strong> Work together to draw diagrams, pictures, graphs, or timelines of the information you are studying. A large whiteboard or chalkboard is helpful.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Discussion:<\/strong> Talk with a friend about what you are learning. What interests you? What are your opinions on the material? What connections have you made? What questions do you have?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Peer Review:<\/strong> Swap papers or projects and give each other feedback. This is a great way to see if you have effectively communicated your ideas. It can also help you identify potential problems or gaps in your work.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Practice Problems:<\/strong> Everyone creates a couple of practice problems for the group. Then, you can work together to solve them.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reviewing Notes:<\/strong> After class, meet with your classmates to review your notes. People may have written down different points. By sharing notes, you can make sure you have all recorded any important information. You can also ask each other questions. Someone else may be able to answer, or you can work together to figure it out.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Key Concepts and Vocabulary:<\/strong> Choose a unit or topic to study. Without using notes, work with your group to create a list of key concepts and vocabulary for that topic. Afterwards, you can compare the list with your notes to see what you missed.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Body Doubling:<\/strong> Body doubling refers to people working on separate tasks while in the same physical space. For example, you might do your biology reading in the living room while your friend folds laundry nearby. Body doubling can provide accountability and emotional support for challenging or overwhelming tasks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are the benefits of study groups?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Study groups can be an enjoyable way to combine the academic and social sides of college life. They can provide support and motivation for your schoolwork and reduce procrastination by making you accountable to others for studying at a set time. Besides providing accountability, study groups also allow you to develop soft skills such as organization, teamwork, time management, and social skills. Study groups encourage more active engagement with the material, which helps you gain a deeper understanding. Hearing others\u2019 ideas and questions can also contribute to a more concrete understanding of the material.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do I form an effective study group?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Find a small group of people<\/strong> who are interested in forming a group with you. Be thoughtful about who you include\u2014you want people who are committed to getting work done and won\u2019t be distracting for you.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Choose a meeting time.<\/strong> Your group should meet regularly, such as once a week.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Find ways to stay on track.<\/strong> Consider appointing a facilitator for each meeting who can track goals and keep people on task. Once you arrive at the meeting, it may be helpful to use a timer to separate studying and socializing time. For example, you might agree to 5\u201310 minutes of socializing at the beginning before dedicating the next 30 minutes to work.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>At the beginning of each meeting, set a goal for what you want to accomplish.<\/strong> This will focus your efforts by giving you a tangible and specific goal rather than a vague intention to \u201cstudy.\u201d\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Start with a review of past material<\/strong>, such as what you covered in the last meeting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Use active study strategies<\/strong> like the ones listed above.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>At the end of your session, recap what you covered and reflect on how it went.<\/strong> Did you meet your goal? Were the environment or people distracting? Were the activities effective?\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Taking your reflection into account, make a plan for next time.<\/strong> This will allow everyone to come prepared with the proper materials and any questions they may have.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Need more help?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Check the <a href=\"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/ltrc\/peer-academic-consultants\/\">Peer Academic Consultants main page<\/a> for more information on studying with other people and other academic skills. Our Peer Academic Consultants (PACs) also offer <a href=\"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/ltrc\/peer-academic-consultants\/\">study buddy and accountability groups\u2014learn more here<\/a>! PACs are also available for individual consultations during which we can discuss your academic skills and personalize these strategies to be most effective for you! If you would like to sign up for a one-on-one consultation with a PAC, we invite you to do so online by logging into <a href=\"https:\/\/vassar.mywconline.com\/schedule\/calendar?scheduleid=sc695d286c30034\">WCOnline<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fnu.edu\/10-reasons-form-study-group\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.fnu.edu\/10-reasons-form-study-group\/\">\u201c10 Reasons Why You Should Form a Study Group.\u201d<\/a> <em>Florida National University<\/em>,\u00a0Accessed 20 September 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newportinstitute.com\/resources\/empowering-young-adults\/body-doubling\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.newportinstitute.com\/resources\/empowering-young-adults\/body-doubling\/\">\u201cBody Doubling: How It Works and Who Can Benefit.\u201d<\/a> <em>Newport Institute<\/em>,\u00a0Accessed 20 September 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unsw.edu.au\/engineering\/study-with-us\/young-wie-club\/women-in-engineering-blogs\/study-tips-tricks\/how-study-well-friends\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.unsw.edu.au\/engineering\/study-with-us\/young-wie-club\/women-in-engineering-blogs\/study-tips-tricks\/how-study-well-friends\">\u201cHow to Study (Well!) with Friends.\u201d<\/a> <em>UNSW<\/em> <em>Sydney<\/em>, Accessed 20 September 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/learningcenter.unc.edu\/tips-and-tools\/study-partners\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/learningcenter.unc.edu\/tips-and-tools\/study-partners\/\">\u201cStudy Groups.\u201d<\/a> <em>The Learning Center<\/em> <em>University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill<\/em>, Accessed 20 September\u00a02025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/effectiveu.umn.edu\/tips\/study-group-activities\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/effectiveu.umn.edu\/tips\/study-group-activities\">\u201cStudy Group Activities.\u201d<\/a> <em>University of Minnesota<\/em>, Accessed 20 September 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our Peer Academic Consultants can help with a variety of skills, including studying with other people. Here are some useful tips on how to effectively memorize information. What are some useful study activities for multiple people? Teaching Each Other: Take turns teaching concepts, vocabulary, or information to the people you are studying with. This is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":853,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1780","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/ltrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/ltrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/ltrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/ltrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/ltrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1780"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/ltrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1788,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/ltrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1780\/revisions\/1788"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/ltrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/ltrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}