School of PE Blog

In his 1992 article “Team Learning: A Comprehensive Approach for Harnessing the Power of Small Groups in Higher Education,” Larry K. Michaelsen describes an approach to group learning in a class setting based on a decade of evidence stating the superiority of group learning opposed to class instructional time. In a corporate setting, it’s often expected that teams work together to collaborate on projects and study for certification exams together, the reasoning being that the collaboration leads to better subject matter retention. Review courses themselves are difficult to do alone while working full time, and working as a team enables the group to retain more information with a deeper understanding than they would have otherwise. In this post, we will get a brief overview of the benefits of collaborative learning and how to harness the power of teams within the exam review course experience, with methods to try in your own exam review study group.

In a corporate setting, you’ll often find yourself working as a team to reach a specific outcome. While group assignments are the bane of most student’s existence, the benefits far outweigh the negatives in terms of what you’ll actually get out of the experience. As you learn to work together in a group the way it’s intended- with each individual pulling their weight and contributing to the overall outcome- you’ll also find that the group has changed the way you operate personally. Here are a few benefits of collaborative learning.

Sharing thoughts about the material as you go- As teams work together, an open and communicative team will bring questions to one another and answer those questions as they come up. This allows each individual to share their thoughts and personal insights into the information, which leads to a better understanding for them personally.

Learning together is active learning- We have all been there: the cart with the really old TV gets wheeled into the classroom, and we all collectively check out of our brains for sixty minutes. We loved these days, but it also didn’t do much for the actual learning experience. Taking the group approach, even in this situation where most of the study material will come in the form of a video, requires the worker to be more actively engaged in their learning experience. It forces them to learn in a way that actively puts information in their head.

Naturally enhances presentation skills- Presentations are an important part of corporate life, and they actually play a huge role in collaborative learning as well. As students read and gain a deeper understanding of the material and subsequently share what they’ve learned, they build those presentation skills without really knowing they are. Sharing helps them quickly organize their thoughts and forces them to share their newfound knowledge as if they’re teaching it to somebody who has never heard it before.

Teaches new study strategies- Study strategies are important in collaborative learning. Simply putting a few people into a group and then telling them to work together doesn’t work so well, as any high school graduate can surely tell you. It can actually prove to be a detriment to the experience as a whole. However, learning new strategies for collaborative study (see next section) can teach the group how to operate together to find new ways to share information in an engaging way.

Creates better study habits from accountability- Working alone, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of, “I can do that later.” Without the constant dependence upon and from others in the group, it’s easy to save things for later or prioritize life or entertainment over the exam review. A study group helps alleviate the stress of decision-making when considering taking a different route. Instead, you almost automatically create a daily commitment to the course because of the group that depends on the information you’re learning. Collaborative learning helps build better study habits due to the accountability factor from others in the group.

Pulling from a wider knowledge and experience base- Diversity in collaborative learning isn’t just a nice perk; it’s essential to the group’s ability to fully thrive in this setting. If one person excels in one subject, and another excels in the opposite subject, you’re not only learning another set of information. You’re also able to debate points, change opinions (sometimes your own), and develop a better system of information gathering than simply reading/watching and internalizing.

There is a learning curve to learning together. Bringing people into a group to share their experiences (even if it is just in regard to the review course) can be difficult, especially when you consider all of the different personalities and backgrounds in the learning pool. To get you started, here are a few ways that it can work for your team.

Think-Pair-Share- This technique involves learning about a subject individually (preferably different aspects of the same subject or a different subject entirely), then coming together and sharing the information they’ve gained with one another. Typically, in a classroom setting, the teacher would ask a question, give the students a minute to come up with an answer, and then pair the students up so they can share what they know with each other.

Jigsaw Method- The Jigsaw method of group learning is, in essence, taking the subject into sections and assigning each person one. This person would study that subject, and after some time, each individual would come together to share what they learned and piece together the information to form a cohesive whole puzzle.

Popcorn Share- This method of information exchange turns into a bit of a fun game that the group plays together and turns into a productive discussion of the subject material by the time they’re through. They discuss a problem or conflict within a given subject, and each person can take turns sharing what they know and how it helps understand the information as a whole. They bounce around until the discussion is over and a better understanding is reached.

Go Fish- Another game-like study technique, this involves a bag and strips of paper with questions on them. One person pulls out a paper and answers the question on the paper, proving their proficiency on the subject. Go around until all the questions are answered.

Study Card Swap- In this instance, the idea behind this practice is to make the job of learning easier. As a working person with a life who’s also trying to advance their career via certification exams and exam review courses, there’s not much time to create your own study material for an entire course. By taking sections of text, writing up the most important points, and sharing them with peers, your ability to retain the information is heightened (because repetition is king), and each person in the group took the opportunity to aid in the knowledge pool of the whole.

Peer Training- Peer training is for those who are specifically gaining certification in their current career and goes back to the diversity aspect of group learning. Choosing one person to teach the group about a specific facet of the job in which they’re proficient not only helps them understand the job better but also creates a whole new group of people just as proficient as them.

Collaborative learning for exam review courses is one of the most beneficial ways to participate in the course. It creates a shared experience for workers to bond together, helps with subject matter retention, and naturally enhances presentation skills, among many other benefits. While certification and career advancement exams are difficult due to the large amount of information and stress built into a person’s life, they don’t have to be lonely. In fact, according to the research done by Michaelsen, collaborative learning is the most beneficial way to learn. By harnessing the power of your built-in team, you’ll be able to learn everything there is to know about the subject material and create a clearer path to your dream career.

Ready to boost your career with professional development? Check out School of PE’s exam review courses today.