Summary
This article describes what groups are, why you might use them, and how to use them in Canvas.
Why use Groups in Canvas?
Set up student group configurations at the course level for both graded and ungraded assignments and in-class work
Facilitate semester-long projects so that students can communicate and iterate on documents together
Facilitate faculty professional development and institutional committees or activities
Within Groups, instructors can:
View all group activity within their course, including groups created by students as noted in the instructor’s Student Groups tab (by default, students will be allowed to create their own groups as noted in the Course Details tab)
View all created groups within the course
Manually or automatically create groups within a group set
Manually or automatically assign students to groups within a group set
Assign leaders to each group
Allow students to sign up for their own groups
Expand and collapse subgroups
Move students into different subgroups
Create group collaborations
How to create Group Sets
Go to the People page in Canvas
Click + Group Set in the top right of the page
Define a name for the group set
Allow or disallow students from signing themselves up for groups
Require all group members to be in the same section if necessary
Define the number of groups created and, if necessary, limit the group size
Allow or disallow the system to define a student group leader
Click Save
How to Edit Group Sets
Click the three dots next to the + Group button in the top right of the correct group set tab within the People page.
Click Edit
Make necessary changes and click Save
How to Create Groups
Click + Group in the top right of the correct group set tab within the People page
Define the group name and member limit
Click Save
How to Edit Groups
Click the three dots to the right of the group set and click Edit
Make necessary changes and click Save
How to add/remove students in Groups
If you decide not to automatically add students to groups, you can manually add them by dragging their name from the Unassigned Students column on the left of the page into the desired group
They will be added to the group immediately
You can remove assigned students by dragging them from a group to the Unassigned Students column
How to make a Group Assignment/Discussion Board
When creating a group Assignment or Discussion Board, select the checkbox next to This is a Group Assignment
Groups that are already created will appear in the drop-down menu to select from
How to create Canvas Journals
Create a Group Set for “Journals” with 1 group per student
Create Assignments or Discussion Boards for this group set, and treat them like Journals
Because they are in groups of 1, they are private between the student and instructor
How to Grade Groups
When you assign a grade to one user in the Group, the entire group will be assigned the same grade.
How to give one student a lower grade in a Group
Grade all the Group Assignments
Return to the assignment and select Edit
Scroll to the group settings, select the checkbox next to Grade Students Individually
Save the change at the bottom of the page
Return to the grades area to alter grades within a group individually