As NSW COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease, we encourage students to study with a peer. A ‘study buddy’ can be a fantastic resource, and provide you with motivation and fresh ideas. By comparing and contrasting your study with someone else, you may be able to pinpoint topics that you could improve upon. Often, a personal learning weakness may be another’s strength, and vice versa. Study buddies can help students review areas that they are not confident in, or can cement one’s learning by acting as a ‘teacher’ when explaining content that your study buddy finds difficult.

It is very important that students choose a study buddy who is motivated and keen to succeed. Studying with your closest friend may not be the best idea, especially if likely to cause distraction. Creating a timetable can help reduce distraction and maximise collaborative study. For example, you may want to set a 40 minute timer dedicated to individual work, and then set anther timer dedicated for group work. Students should complete activities such as past papers individually, and then swap papers with their study buddy to ‘mark’ and review each other’s work.

Collaborating with a peer provides a fantastic opportunity to share learning resources and knowledge. Many students find studying by themselves to be isolating and unmotivating, but introducing another person can vastly improve this environment. It is important to motivate each other to succeed academically, and provide incentives to keep studying. For example, you and your study buddy may agree that after a 90 minute session of work, you will go to the beach together or play a board game.