Some teachers say students should be organised into groups to study. Others argue students should be made to study alone. Tell the benefits of each study method. Which one do you think is more effective?

Some educationists hold the view that studying in groups is better for students while others believe that studying alone is better. This essay shall delve into the benefits of each study methods.

There are many benefits of studying in groups. To begin with, when you work with other students you are able to share your ideas and experiences, and have more time to do this. For example, if every student spends just two minutes talking individually to the teacher, the class time is soon finished. However, if students work in groups they can spend much more time talking to the teacher than just two minutes.

Secondly, when we study in groups this helps students practice negotiation skills like making a contribution, agreeing or disagreeing with someone and asking a person to give examples of their point. Finally, we can put forward working in groups as an example of what happens in real life, in work situations and say that studying in groups in class prepares us for this.

On the other hand, when students study alone then they have no distractions and they can concentrate better on study. This is especially helpful in subjects like mathematics and physics. Studying alone also increases the confidence and ability to solve problems on one’s own. Students become more competitive which is a necessary virtue in the competitive era of today.

I feel that teachers should mix and match both these methods depending on the subject and the situation. For boring subjects like history and philosophy students should be organised into groups but for subjects that need concentration, individual study should be encouraged. Both methods have own importance and should complement each other rather than being treated as rivals.