Create ground rules and discuss expectationsTake time to align expectations, create structure, and work with roles such as facilitator, note-taker etc. Even though it may seem time-consuming, it is well worth it to build a solid foundation for your new collaboration. Agree on the specific frameworks for the group’s collaboration. Topics to discuss:
To sum up: Set your ground rules – and make sure to put them down in writing. |
Exercises and templatesExercise 1: Exercise 2: Exercise 3: |
The Guide for Student Collaboration
The Guide for Student Collaboration
How to help your study group move from good intentions to great teamwork.
Welcome to ”The Guide for Student Collaboration”Group work may feel familiar, but real collaboration takes more than simply working side by side. It requires facilitation skills that will benefit you not only as a student but also in your future career. No matter if your group is brand new or already experienced, this material offers tools and inspiration to help you explore new ways of working together. |
How to use this guideDive into the material and explore inspiration, tools, and exercises that will help you work together more effectively.
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- Kickstart your collaboration
- Study group meetings
- Review your collaboration
- Disagreement within the group
- More on study groups
Find inspiration and resources to design engaging meetingsInclude everyone in the group – and remember that everyone is different. Some people find it easy to share their opinion, while others may need more time to reflect. Allow room for thoughtfulness. Experiment with different methods until you find the one that works best for you. |
Exercises and templatesExercise 1: Exercise 2: |
Ideas that can create structure and meaningful meetingsHave a plan for the meeting: Discuss based on a plan or an agenda that you can prepare either beforehand or at the start of the meeting. Have different roles: Agree on who is the meeting leader to manage discussions and summaries. You may also need a note-taker who writes down the key points from your meetings so you can remember them. Distribute the tasks: Agree on what each of you will take care of before the next meeting. You can contribute input to the tasks together as a group. Spend time evaluating: End your meetings by reviewing key learnings and discussing whether anything should be done differently at the next meeting. It is a good idea to spend time talking about what works well and what works less well. |
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Notice – Say Yes – Make GoodAn important element in good collaboration is assuming that others have good intentions. That way, you bring out the best in each other. To support this, you can use a technique from team sports. Notice: Keep your eyes on the task as if it were the ball in a football match. Be curious, ready, and follow the task attentively with your eyes. Say Yes: Respond positively to the input from others in the team. Rejecting someone’s contribution is like letting the ball go passed you, while saying yes is like stretching to hit it – even if the pass is a bit off. Make Good: Build on the other person’s contribution. Don’t strive for perfection based on your own perspective but add your ideas and knowledge so it supports solving the task. |
No group stays the same – keep evolvingTake time now and then to review how you work together—your roles, routines, and meeting culture. Things may feel like they’re running perfectly, and that’s great. But no study group stays the same forever. What worked in your first semester might need adjusting later on. As AU highlights, study groups can have many different purposes depending on where you are in your studies. That’s why it’s worth checking in regularly: evaluate, adjust, and keep challenging yourselves to make sure the way you work still feels right. |
Exercises and templatesExercise 1: Exercise 2: Exercise 3: |
Explore tools to navigate difficult situations and strengthen your collaboration.Disagreements are inevitable when working with others — it’s a natural part of learning together. What matters is preventing conflicts from damaging the collaboration permanently. If something in your teamwork isn’t functioning, raise the issue openly and discuss it with the group. |
Exercises and templatesExercise 1: Exercise 2: |
5 questions about study groups
Find answers to some of the most common questions other students have about study groups.
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Study group work is a big part of studying for a higher education degree in the Humanities.
Being part of a study group can give you the opportunity to learn the academic material better, motivate you to study, and increase your sense of belonging at university. It also gives you the chance to learn how to collaborate with many different people – something that will also benefit you in other contexts, not least in your professional life.
When you work together in study groups, you use each other’s different skills to achieve better results than you could have done on your own. At least, that’s the idea behind study groups – but we know it takes quite a bit of effort to make a study group work well. That’s why we have created these pages with guides and exercises to help you get the most out of your collaboration in the study group.
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A study group can work together in many different ways and with many different purposes. You can use your study group to prepare for classes, get ready for exams, solve a specific assignment, and much more.
In the study group, you can test and apply what you learn in class. It is when you actively work with the material that you truly learn it.
Read more about the different ways you can use a study group.
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Depending on your program and the purpose of the study group, it may or may not be possible to change groups, and different requirements may apply.
But before you switch, carefully consider why you are doing it. For example, it may be tempting to change groups because you want to be with your friends at university. And it is completely natural to want to seek out those who are similar to yourself.
When we encounter something different, it may feel wrong to us. What we know feels positive, and what we don’t know can feel negative. But in fact, your differences in a study group can also become your greatest strength.
The growing complexity of society and the tasks you will be working on requires us to get better at using our differences. No complex problem can be understood from just one perspective.
Differences can create misunderstandings, poor communication, and sometimes even conflicts. But the positive potential of differences is just as great. Differences can create greater efficiency, new solutions, and innovative development. What matters is how we view, discuss, and handle differences.
So by giving your study group a chance despite differences or disagreements, you actually have the potential together to achieve even better results than you could on your own – and at the same time gain collaboration skills that will benefit you in other contexts as well.
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If tensions have arisen in your group, or if the collaboration simply isn’t working as well as it should, there are three things you can do to begin with:
- You can look at the resources available here under ‘Disagreements in the study group’.
- Reach out to your study group facilitator, if you have one in your program.
- Contact the Student Guidance at Humanities for a conversation – either individually or as a group.
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The material on these pages has been developed by the Student Guidance at Humanities with inspiration from Elisabeth Plum’s book Teaming and Amy Edmondson’s theory of psychological safety.
Most of the exercises are developed with inspiration from the books Studiegruppen by Annelise Dahlbæk and Anerkendende procesøvelser by Pia Halkier Bjerring and Annika Lindén.
If you find the topic of study groups interesting and would like further input, take a look at:
- AU Studypedia
- The General Study Counselling Service at SDU’s podcast NB! It’s in Danish