RSG Leader Resources

    Planning Your First Recognized Study Group

    1. Find a study space for your group. Choose your own favourite spot or book a room:
    2. Reply to each person who contacts you about joining your study group. Tell them the date, start and end time, and location of the first study group. Remind them to bring their textbook, any notes from class, and any other course material needed.
    3. Fill in your online attendance form as people join your study group so you have a record of their names and email addresses.
    4. Plan your first meeting using the First Recognized Study Group Agenda.

    Planning Subsequent Recognized Study Groups

    Once your group is established, it's time to think about making it as effective as possible. Use the following guidelines to keep your group on track:

    1. Always create an agenda. Email, text, or connect quickly after lectures to set goals for what to cover in your next study session. Or you can ask each person to come to each study group prepared with a few topics they want to discuss. Within the first five minutes, you should discuss and know exactly what you plan to cover during that session.
    2. Keep track of time. Take study breaks if you are going to have a session longer than 1 1/2 hours.
    3. Use the last five minutes of the session for housekeeping:
      • Review what you covered in that session
      • Make note of any topics you didn't get to so you can start with those topics next time
      • Establish the date, place and time of your next session
      • Remind your study group to track their attendance on their RSG Participant Tracking Sheet
      • Enter the group's attendance on your online attendance sheet

    What if I don't have enough participants in my study group?

    Reach out to your peers and ask if they'll join, ask your instructor to help announce your study group time, or if there are multiple groups in your class, contact other leaders in the same class to combine groups. You can also contact the SSSC and we will do what we can to encourage others to join.

    Tips for Running a Study Group

    If you are interested in making your study group effective, review the resources below:

    Also try these activities with your study group:

    • Ask each person to bring 1-2 questions and create a quiz using the questions.
    • Go over the questions found at the end of the chapters of your textbook.
    • Assign each person a certain chapter to review and have each person present to the group.
    • Have each person create a study sheet of important concepts from a specific chapter.
    • Go around the room and ask each person what they would like to cover in that session. Then work as a group to prioritize the list of topics to cover.
    • Work in pairs and have one person ask their partner to explain specific concepts and ideas.
    • Use a free online tool such as Kahoot! to create a fun trivia game for your group to play. You can even award a prize or candy to the person who wins the game.
    • Create online flashcards using a free online tool such as Cram.
    • Draw a diagram or image and take turns labeling parts of the image.
    • Write a song or mnemonic device as a group to help you remember key concepts.
    • Make a list of key concepts you want to cover. Then toss a ball around the group - whoever has the ball has to explain a key concept.

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