Canvas - Groups Overview

Tags canvas groups

The Canvas Group Sets / Groups tool allows instructors to split students up into smaller working groups for collaborative assignment work and discussions. When you set up the groups, each group is provided a “Group Site” with various tools that they can use to facilitate collaboration. Instructors can create and assign Canvas Discussion and Canvas Assignment activities to a group set for the purpose of collecting and monitoring group work.

Table of Contents

Why Use Canvas Groups?
Use Cases for Canvas Groups
How Do I Use Canvas Groups in My Course?
What Will My Students See?
• Group Assignments: Best Practices
• Additional Resources

Why Use Canvas Groups?

Canvas Groups is a way to facilitate small group work within Canvas. Groups each receive their own Canvas workspace or "Group Site" which functions almost like a mini Canvas course for group members. Within their Group Site, members of the group can create and manage asynchronous Discussions and can collaborate on digital content via their own Group Files and Group Pages.  

Canvas Groups also integrates with Canvas native tools like Assignments and Discussions so that instructors can assign graded (or ungraded) activities for group members to work on and submit as a team. Groups also integrates with the Canvas Inbox tool so instructors can send targeted messages to group members.

Use Cases for Canvas Groups

Canvas groups can be used for any type of small group activities. Below is a non-exhaustive list of some examples of how Canvas Groups could work in your course.

  • Collaboration for group projects/presentations
  • Splitting large enrollment courses down into smaller segments for asynchronous discussion assignments
  • Community building
  • Study groups

How Do I Use Canvas Groups in My Course?

To learn more about how to use Canvas Groups to facilitate your online coursework, please reference:

What Will My Students See?

Students can access their group sites in one of two ways:

Option 1

  1. Go to the Groups button in the left-side navigation menu.
  2. Click on the appropriate group name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Option 2

  1. From within the course, navigate to the Home page.
  2. Select the appropriate group from the Course Groups area on the right-hand side.

Once the group site is open, the student view will display similarly to a full Canvas course page. In the group page, students can create and upload content, much like instructors, but only within this specific Group Space. Below is a link for students on how to upload and create content in their shared group space.

Group Assignments: Best Practices

Group assignments are set up so that one person submits the assignment for the entire group. Grades are typically assigned to the entire group, but in some cases, instructors will need to adjust scores for individual students. To ensure a smooth grading process, some best practices can be found below:

  1. Introduce group assignments after the add/drop period to ensure the course roster is correct before assigning students to a group.
  2. Group assignments must be set up correctly, requiring your course to have a group set with groups. It’s important to set up your groups before students submit work. If groups are not set up before submissions, your assignment might not behave as expected.
  3. In the Assignment settings, the Group Assignment box should be checked, and the “Assign Grades to Each Student Individually” should be unchecked (unless the students will be evaluated individually, then the box SHOULD be checked). Think of the box unchecked as group grading mode.
  4. Make sure every student is in a group. If you have individuals working alone, creating a group of one for each of those students will prevent grading issues in the future. 
  5. Grading group work
    1. For offline submissions: Click on grades and enter a score for one member in the group. It will be copied to the other group members.
    2. For files submitted on Canvas: Click on the assignment, and click on Speedgrader.
    3. Score the submitted assignments changing between groups with the arrows by the group name (where students' names show for individual assignments)
    4. NOTE: Students not in a group will also appear in the group list.
    5. Submit the scores as you complete them.

If you need to adjust grades for individual students after the group submission:

  1. Click on the assignment and edit the settings.
  2. Check the box for “Assign Grades to Each Student Individually” and Save. Think of the box checked as group assignment/individual grading mode.
  3. Click on Grades in the Course Menu.
  4. Adjust the scores for individuals in the group.

NOTE: You can toggle the box for “Assign Grades to Each Student Individually,” and the individually assigned scores will be retained, even if you go back to group grading. However, if you change a group score while grading groups where one person had an individual score, then that individual score will be overwritten. You would need to return to assigning grades to each student individually to re-enter that individual score.

Additional Resources

Student Resources

Instructor Resources