###The Problem It's hard to balance the varying levels of preparedness in a study group. Many times, there are a number of individuals who understand the content more, know more content in general or have prepared more thoroughly. At the same time, there are a number of individuals who understand/know relatively less. The former group will spend much of its time sharing its own notes and studying from them; they have little to gain from studying with the latter group. Meanwhile, the latter group will spend much of its time catching up to what the former group has already prepared. In a sense, the latter group will free-ride for a period of time before beginning to contribute at a meaningful level. Often times, this group won't even get to contribute meaningfully.
This discourages the well-prepared students from studying in groups. This also allows some students to slack off during the quarter, knowing that they'd be able to catch up by free-riding. We need a way to improve accountability so that everyone benefits by being in a study group.
###Elements
- Penalty for not contributing meaningfully AND/OR reward for doing so. What's suitable?
- Students in the group should be able to rate contributions to decide who gets the penalty/reward
- What are students measured on? Do we measure by "commits"?
- Should anyone be able to join a study group? Should we require a form of contribution (+ current members rating the contribution) for someone to join?
- What do we do about students that don't do anything at all?