Forming Groups In Class – Beneficial Even If They Aren’t Required

While you’re in class at some point you’ll come to realise a few things:

• Class can be boring
• The coursework can be difficult
• Most of the time, the prof will not notice that you are even there

Forming Groups In Class

Having a buddy system is much better than venturing out on your own.  By having a system in place it will help because it will force you to go to class more since you don’t want to let your buddy down and sit by themselves.  It is also helpful to form groups to brainstorm on assignments, as well as share textbooks.

It can be a little intimidating to form a group if you don’t know anyone in class.  To make things easier try sitting in the same spot every class.  After a few weeks people will have a claim to their seat and you can start to get comfortable with the people around you.  You can try to break the ice by borrowing a piece of paper, or an extra pen for notes.  When an assignment gets handed out, ask the person beside you if they would be willing to work on it together.  Chances are the person beside you is looking for help/motivation as well.   I’m talking from experience here and I never had a problem implementing the buddy system, but then again, we didn’t get the nickname “Friendly Manitoba” for no reason.

Assignments Will Be A Whole Lot Easier

With your new-found group, your assignments will get done in half the time.  When you work together, chances are you will split up the assignment by question numbers, and just share ideas if the concept is easy enough.  With the harder assignments, there is usually one person in the group (this was likely some of you bloggers out there) that can figure it out and can explain it to you in “student terms.”  You can also split up responsibilities by someone going to see the prof, and another seeing the TA, to understand multiple concepts, then bring back the information to share with the rest of the group.

Good Way To Meet People And Make Class More Exciting

Having a small group makes class a bit easier to attend because you can always make small talk before and after class.   It’s also a great way to meet people in the same boat as you.   If you are in a new city and you don’t know anyone, then class is probably the best place to meet people your age.   If you’re still having a tough time forming a group, my suggestion would be that during the boring parts of class make fun of the prof’s 70’s suit jacket or the keener in the front row that constantly challenges the instructor.

I met some pretty cool people in class and I still keep in touch with them once in a while.   Don’t forget, if you are having trouble, you probably aren’t alone, don’t be shy and put your name out there!

Do you still keep in touch with anyone you met in classes?  Anyone out there meet their significant other in class by chance?