Why become a Study Group Facilitator?
Facilitators play a critical role in the Study Group Program because they serve as knowledgeable peers who engage members with each other to promote active learning. They also:
- Help other students enhance their understanding of science and math subject matter through collaborative group discussion.
- Gain valuable management experience as a facilitator in a peer-based group.
- Develop excellent facilitation skills.
- Maintain familiarity with course content for tests like the MCAT, DAT and GRE.
- Develop strong communication, problem solving, and organizational skills.
- Earn hourly pay of $16/hour.
What do Study Group Facilitators do?
- Facilitate a group of up to 15 students who meet weekly to study in a structured, collaborative environment.
- Set the group agenda and make sure group members stay on task.
- Maintain accurate study group attendance.
- Be a collaborator in meetings with other facilitators to create new course specific resource materials.
- Recognize the importance of building a strong sense of community where all members feel comfortable taking intellectual risks, making mistakes, and having fun while learning.
- Create and provide supplemental materials, that may include worksheets, problem sets, practice exams, and review sheets that help members to master course material.
- Utilize collaborative learning techniques and activities that encourage members to teach and learn from each other.
- Work 3-4 hours/week (includes 2 hour/week study group meeting and preparation time).
- Participate in training sessions 3-5 times per term, utilizing a variety of resource materials.
- Encourage members to seek out their GSI or faculty instructor when they are unable to reach consensus on an answer or understanding of a concept.
Who gets hired as a Study Group Facilitator?
- Applicants who have earned a B+ or higher in the course(s) they wish to facilitate and have taken the course at the University of Michigan.
- Applicants who have exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.
- Applicants who will embrace and support the philosophy of the program, meaning facilitators use facilitation techniques to help study group members teach and learn from each other and, in contrast to an instructor or GSI, do not directly instruct, tutor, or give answers.
I want to apply. Now what?
If you have the course knowledge and strong communication skills necessary to become a Study Group Facilitator, click here to apply for a Winter 2025 position. Applicants will be contacted in late October/early November 2024 if they are selected for an interview.
The SLC receives a large quantity of applications, so we always expect the process to be extremely competitive. Applicants will be contacted only if we have available positions for the courses they list AND they are selected for an interview.
Please note that we do not maintain applications from term to term, so anyone who has previously applied for a position and was not offered an interview will need to reapply during future application cycles to be considered.
If you have questions about becoming a study group facilitator please e-mail us at slcstudygroups@umich.edu.
Ellen was a fantastic study group facilitator! She is extremely knowledgable about the material. Ellen is also very personable and friendly and I felt very comfortable asking questions in study group whenever I was confused on a concept. She made the study groups fun and engaging and I looked forward to going every week! My performance on the exams definitely improved because Ellen was super helpful during study group! She created a sense of community throughout the group and made the study group fun to go to every week! I would recommend Ellen as a study group facilitator to all students taking Organic Chemistry!!
