How can AU create the best conditions for study groups, and how can these groups most effectively support learning, collaboration, and student wellbeing? These are questions that many teachers and departments have asked themselves.

The CED report Study groups – how do we do it? was published back in 2023 in response to requests from several departments for examples of how study groups can be organised and supported in different ways. The report has now been translated into English and continues to serve as a source of inspiration for developing teaching practice.

Through interviews with teachers from all faculties, the report offers insight into the wide variation in practice across AU. It shows that study groups can be designed and used in many different ways, depending on purpose, subject area, and local traditions.

The report presents six factors that are useful to consider when planning and supporting study groups:

1. Objective: What is the primary goal of study group work?
2. Framework: What frameworks are set for the work of the study groups?
3. Content: How is the content of study group work defined?
4. Assessment/evaluation: What is being assessed?
5. Learning processes: What learning processes take place in study groups?
6. Learning prerequisites: What prior knowledge and skills do the students bring to the study group work?

The report is a research-informed study that combines practical experience with relevant insights from existing studies in the field. It does not provide ready-made solutions but instead poses questions that can encourage reflection and support local development within degree programmes.

A central message in the report is that effective study group work requires attention and deliberate choices. When the purpose is clear and students are given the right support to collaborate, study groups can become powerful learning spaces in which they develop both academic knowledge and collaborative skills.

• You can find the report in an easy-to-read online format here.