Group assessments

Groups can be used in Canvas to create group assessments, weekly group tasks, provide different assessment pieces to different sets of students and create a space to facilitate collaboration. These groups can be formed by section, randomly or using student self-enrol. These spaces can be used by students to discuss work and hold discussions, work on documents simultaneously and share files.

For further information on creating a group set, see Groups.

For a broader understanding of how group work could be implemented into your teaching, find out more on the Group assessment and online tools workshop page.

Assigning groups automatically

1. Choose whether you would like to create a set number of groups or number of students per group.
   1. If you would like to set a number of groups, select Split students by number of groups
   2. If you would like to set a number of students per group, select Split number of students per group
2. Select if you would like groups to only be formed by those in the same section
3. Select if you would like to automatically assign a group leader
   1. Select if you would like the group leader to be the first person to join a group or randomly assigned
   2. The only function a group leader has is the ability to change the name of a group
4. Click Save

Bulk importing groups via spreadsheet

1. Click the People link in the Course Navigation
2. Click + Group Set
3. Name the set of groups
4. Click Create groups later then Save
5. Click + Import
6. Download Course Roster CSV

Once the CSV has downloaded, you can assign each student to a group name in the group_name column. Once each student is assigned, save the csv file, and select ‘Upload CSV File’ in Canvas. This will import the CSV file you edited and sort the students into groups.

More information on how to use the spreadsheet is available here Group Import API Documentation (Canvas LMS Help).

Creating a self sign-up group set

1. Click the People link in the Course Navigation
2. Click + Group Set
3. Name the set of groups. Each group will be given this name and a sequential number
4. Choose whether to allow student to self sign-up to this set of groups

It is possible for students from different tutorials or workshops to join the same group, which may cause issues when marking group assessments. While Canvas does include a "Require group members to be in the same section" checkbox when creating a group set, courses can have overarching sections (e.g., by campus), still allowing students from separate workshops to join groups together. If you use the self sign-up function, we recommend clearly communicating specific group requirements to students to avoid this issue.

Setting up an assignment as a group assessment

When creating an assignment, tick the box labelled This is a Group Assignment. This will then provide you with further options to allow you to mark students individually within their group, or as a collective. You will also need to choose which group set you will be using for the new assessment. For more information, see How do I grade group assignments in SpeedGrader? (Canvas Guides).

Assessment cover sheets are no longer required as we move to teaching in Canvas from T3, 2022 — find out more about how to support students with the change.