Canvas Groups

The Groups Links to an external site. feature allows you to facilitate and support student group work. Both students and instructors can create groups in Canvas to serve various purposes. Students may want to set up study groups or workspaces for a team project on their own. Instructors can also set up more structured Groups for assignments or team projects. Please note that this groups feature is different from creating a discussion or assignment and selecting the group option.

Assessment Group Strategies

  • Student-run Study groups
  • Workspace for semester-long project
  • Group discussions and activities

Info Features of Groups in Canvas

  • A variety of tools for each group to communicate and collaborate (e.g., discussions, chat, files, pages, collaborations).
  • Students can create their own groups to work together or share resources.
    • Students may create an open group where the entire class is free to join or they can restrict it to just those who are invited. 
    • Instructors can disable the feature that allows students to create their own groups, but it is available by default.
  • Group Enrollment: You may allow students to sign up for groups themselves, assign them randomly, or manually assign individuals to groups.
  • Group Monitoring: Once the groups have been created, you may want to monitor their progress. Instructors do have the ability to access the individual subgroups to see what students are doing in their groups Links to an external site..  

Strategies Logistical Considerations

Before adding group activities to your course, consider the following:

  • Determine if Groups is the appropriate tool to use to support your course objectives.
    • Would a group assignment or group discussion be a better fit?
  • How will you use the groups feature in your course (e.g., formally or informally)?
  • How will groups be formed? Will you manually assign groups, or will students be able to form their own groups?
  • Will you monitor group spaces?
  • How will students use groups? 
    • What types of guidelines will you provide your students to ensure that the groups function effectively?
  • Will you provide a group ice-breaker or team-building activity?
  • Will you provide intermittent deadlines to help the group stay on track and meet a larger activity/project deadline?
  • What kind of support will you provide to ensure that groups can work effectively together?

Syllabus Grading Considerations

Group projects, whether face-to-face or online, can be challenging to plan, organize, and manage. Ultimately, the outcomes are often worth the input and effort. We recommend providing students with clear instructions, detailed grading criteria through the use of a rubric, a framework to track individual contribution to the group, and resources to help the group work effectively together.

Grading considerations include:

  • Will you provide a detailed grading rubric?
  • Will the grading rubric allow for individual student participation?
  • Will students provide a peer review of their group members?
  • To avoid grading burnout, think about when you're likely to grade the group activity and offer an assignment during that time period that will be less time-consuming for you to grade (a quiz with automatic feedback for instance).