Many students have found an effective way of studying via online study groups to maintain their habitual academic routines amidst the Coronavirus pandemic.

Immaculata-La Salle High School students have been forming Zoom and/or FaceTime group calls to review challenging material together. This has proven to be exceptionally beneficial to extroverted individuals whom learn through communication and open discussions.

Junior Sofia Arteaga believes that it has improved her performance during virtual school.

“FaceTiming my friends to review for chemistry really stops me from procrastinating,” said Arteaga. “I also find myself remembering more of the information since I talked about it with my friends.”

If you are looking to form your own online study group, there are various key factors to keep in mind.

Keep it small! Remember to keep the group to a small manageable number where everyone can contribute equally and schedules are easier to coordinate. Around 3-5 people is recommended for a productive, effective group.

If you have assembled a larger group, it would be best to split it into two or more sessions depending on the amount of people reviewing the material.

• Keep it short and effective!

If a course has extensive material or a looming deadline, it may seem like a good idea to do long sessions. However, regular, weekly study sessions (no longer than 45 to 60 minutes) are more effective and prevent latecomers, people who leave the call early, and no-shows. Make a commitment to come prepared and the group will be much more successful.

• Keep it focused!

Online study groups largely benefit from having a moderator (members can take turns) to manage sessions and keep everyone’s attention focused on the subject at hand. This person can set a group agenda for the session and steer the group away from tangents. It can be too easy to talk about everything and nothing all at once.

• Keep it quiet!

It’s important to log in from somewhere that’s relatively quiet and conducive to learning, such as a bedroom or home office. It wouldn’t be a good idea to log on with your brother screaming at his video game in the background — it would only be disruptive.

• Keep to a plan!

Decide as a group what you would like to cover in an online session. It’s easy to focus on just completing practice questions, but also take time to identify and understand key concepts that are more difficult.

“Online study sessions have helped me a lot this quarter,” said Junior Charlize Ramos. “I believe that everyone should give it a shot because we are finishing school virtually this year and that can be a challenge for some people.”