Study groups is very important for a distand learner. For me, it helps to retain the information I learned. It is like unconciously applying the learning techniques.
First of all, the study group ‘forces’ me to Study Regularly as it is out of the tutorial class and on top of my usual self studying schedule.
By coming out and meeting with fellow classmates to discuss the ideas not only i have to review & Organise the Information before hand but also motivates me to study better in order to have ‘face’ and keep up with the discussion in the group.
Besides that, the group Make the Material Meaningful, as there there will be group members that always ask about how to apply the information. Either by explaining or listening to the explaination, I got first hand experience on the relevance in daily of the newly acquired knowledge.
More importantly, as our group members are from different industries, this sharing of experience really broaden my view on how the things we learn in class can be applied to fields other than my own.
Combined all the above, all the interaction in the group and preparation need to come to a group, facilitated a environment that truely enables Studying Actively. The group sometimes mixed jokes, gossip and also some lunch/dinner session, whereby all the group members have to participate, think about and discuss (sometimes argue) active about the knowledge they learned. It has become part of our life, the paticipation has make it as if these learning are directly from our live experience.
Most of the time after a group session, though not long due to time contrain, there is a sense of familiar with the topic discussed.
