Instructor Guide Assigning Group Work in Canvas

Use the information below to support effective group work in your class, through the use of Group assignments and resources within Canvas:

Overview

Students grouped in a mazeOnline group work is a great way for students to engage with each other and the course content. In theory, group engagement makes sense, but in practice, students may not be eager to engage group work. Why is this? How can we help students resolve their concerns so they can fully benefit from working together as a collaborative group?

The problem: Students don't want their grades attached to anyone else's work (or lack of work). Producing an assignments as a group is often accomplished by individual group members producing separate pieces, that are sequenced and compiled to submit for credit. Often, this ineffective approach to group work leads multiple outcomes:

  1. Lack of cohesion in work produced, group membership and learning.
  2. Lack of collaboration, due to insufficient communication and common work-time.
  3. Inequitable responsibilities for the workload, among group members.

When group work is not effective, it is understandable to develop negative perceptions and great frustrations.

 

Solutions: Here are two ideas to help address these issues intentionally when designing, creating, and monitoring group work.

  1. Give students access to online tools that help them work together, in real time and asynchronously. Provide and remind students to use guides and/or training so they know how to use these tools. Troubleshooting technology should not be a major focus of group work. Suggestion: Show students these Canvas tools in class... try giving a few minutes to practice a task & ask questions (e.g., find your Group Homepage, Send an Group Announcement, Create a Group Collaboration doc)

  2. Actively help students connect with their groups. Try an Ice Breaker or group focus discussion prompt, to help students build connections with their group through a structured activity. Suggestion: Ice Breaker group prompt- Share with your group members why you are motivated to take this course?  Group Focus prompt- As a group, discuss which idea, concept or perspective is most interesting to you. As a group, discuss which one will be best for the assigned project.

  3. Help groups establish Group Roles. Roles enable more effective and cohesive collaboration within a group. Some students will be stronger with the course technology, and others with deadlines and assignment details. Group roles enable group members to collaborate more effectively by structuring clear tasks and responsibilities, when possible, align with each member's strengths. Suggestion: Decide which roles could be appropriate in your course and ask groups to discuss which roles with suit each member. (e.g., Technology manager- canvas group tools, collaborative docs...; Communication manager- group announcements, scheduling common time, facilitating meetings/zooms...; Project manager- syllabus expectations, rubrics, deadlines...) 

 HOW TO ASSIGN GROUP WORK: 

Explore the steps below to set-up Groups and assign group work.

Step 1 – Create Groups

There are multiple ways to create student groups in Canvas, within the People section of the navigation bar on the left of the page. You will see tabs for different types of Groups (e.g., Discussion & Project). You can edit these names or add a +Group Set, if you need more types of groups for different instructional purposes. Please note, students do not see tabs, they only see a long list of groups, and can use the search function with the correct group naming conventions. 

In each Groups tab, you can allow students to self-select a group, or you can assign members to specific groups. Each Group has access to a mini-canvas group workspace, called a Group Homepage. These function like a mini-classroom, with tools and resources the Group Members can use to collaborate (e.g., Group Announcements, Group Files, Group Collaboration documents, Group Zoom meetings). These are useful resources for student collaboration, IF you encourage your students to use them. You have access to all interactions within Groups, so you can monitor group collaboration and progress, as appropriate for your course. 

Step 2 – Establish Group Membership (Options)

Student Groups (Informal) - after student's join an informal group, if you approve, re-create an assigned group with the same members and delete the Student Group. OR- Allow Student Groups for informal student collaboration like interest in a study group.

Student Self-Selected Groups (Formal) - Create and name Groups within each Group Set and determine the membership limit, if any. In the Group Set menu (three dot menu by +Group), Allow self sign-up, and select your group leadership preference.  Give students the group names (e.g., Discussion Group 1-4 or Project Group 1-3), and allow them to join groups as desired.

Student Group Preferences (Wiki) - Create a Wiki page (Canvas page students can edit), with headings or tables for each Group within the Group Set (e.g., Discussion Groups = Group Set, Group 1 = Group within set). Share what students need to know about the group work expectations, and allow students to add their name to the group of their choice, on the Wiki. If you approve, create Groups within the Group Set, based on Student Preferences shared in the Wiki. This is great for specific parameters, such as groups by themes or topics of interest.

(Alternatives- Canvas Survey with ungraded "quiz" questions; Course Discussion with student introductions and group work preferences)

Assigning Students to Groups (Formal) - Create specific Groups within the Group Set. Drag student names from the list on the left, to their assigned group, or allow Canvas to Randomly Assign Students (three dot menu by +Group). 

Please note - "Student Groups" created by students are Informal and cannot be assigned work for Grades in Canvas. Instructors must create a Group Set, and Groups within the set, to assign group work for grades. Group membership can still be student self-selected (see above).  

Step 3- Set Up Group Assignments

Any Assignment can be set as a group assignment in Canvas. Once you have created the Assignment or Discussion appropriate for your course, Edit the assignment and go to the bottom of the page. Select your preferred options for Grading, Points, Assignment Group (e.g., participation v final project), and your Assign preferences, including at least a Due Date. If appropriate, assignment availability and Due Dates can be set for different groups (e.g., Weekly Group Presenter- Group A = Due Week 5 v Group F = Due Week 10). 

Check the box This is a Group Discussion, and select the appropriate Group Set in the dropdown menu (e.g., discussion v project). The assignment will appear for all groups (and group members) within the Group Set.

If you assign different projects to different groups, you can edit Assign to to reflect the appropriate Group(s). Then create additional Assignments for other Groups.  

If giving different Assignments to different groups, please verify they are appear appropriately in Canvas Grades, so groups are not penalized for not submitted work you did not intend to assign to them! 

Please note - All Content loaded directly into a Group Homepage, or posted by students cannot be reused nor imported.

Tool Suggestions

Pre-load & Reuse Content for Groups - Any content needed by groups should be set up as a class assignment or discussion and assigned to Groups (i.e., graded or ungraded), or as pages within a course module. Group Assignments and Discussions that can be assigned by the course instructor, and pages for course modules can be imported and reused in future course shells. (Note- All content posted into Group Homepages, or by students anywhere else in the course, cannot be retained for future use. Canvas will expunge this during course content imports

One Project, Multiple Groups (Consistent Expectations for All Groups) - Set-up one assignment, assigned to all groups. Add group-specific resources in class discussions or assignments you will assign to specific groups (these can be excluded from grading), or in pages within a designated module. (e.g., Group-Specific Project Resources - Impressionism; Expressionism; Surrealism)

Different Projects, Different Groups (Expectations Differentiated by Group) - Set up each project as a separate assignment to enable different rubrics and other grading details. Once Groups are established, assign each project only to the appropriate group. (e.g., Group-Specific Project Outcomes - Digital Production Expectations; Acoustic Production Expectations; Electric Production Expectations)

Large Class? - Try "Launch Gradebook by Groups" in Settings on the Left menu. This can be very helpful! (e.g., Large Lecture course with TA's supervising students in lab groups.)