Create Canvas groups to connect students and speed up grading.
There are several good reasons for creating groups in Canvas if your course involves group work.
- If you make a group assignment, only one group member needs to upload the group’s work. The grade for their work then automatically fills into the gradebook for each group member. (You may over-ride this setting to give individual grades as needed.)
- Each group gets its own mini Canvas course space where they can upload files, have discussions, and see their group’s submissions to assignments. If you make a discussion topic a group discussion, that means they will discuss individually within their group. This can help larger classes feel smaller.
- You can assign groups automatically, manually, or through student self-signup.
When creating groups, keep in mind:
- Students see the name of their group along with any other Canvas groups they’re a part of. Name groups carefully, including a course identifier (“ME 200 Group 1”) or specific project name (“Olbrich Park Redesign”).
- If a student changes groups, and you’ve already given grades to a group assignment, don’t move students around. Instead, clone the original group set and make the adjustment. Then assign subsequent assignments to the new group set.
- Groups are not sections. Read more about the difference.