Add "Groups" filtering feature to Assignments/Grading

[msscha]

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas

Our instructional model for larger classes is to have a Lead Instructor (in charge of content and management) and TAs who are in charge of grading (this is a writing class). TAs each get a group of students for whom they are responsible, but there is no feature that allows TAs to filter Assignments by their section group (b/w 15-30 students per section group). Currently, we have to manually create section groups, then manually add TAs AND students to section groups so that TAs only see the students to whom they are responsible. Elsewhere in Canvas, it seems like "groups" is an easy function to filter by. I would love to see Grading have a Group Filter added to it. This would make dealing with the work of managing a couple hundred students and a dozen TAs much easier!

Comments from Instructure

For more information, please read through the Canvas Release Notes (2019-06-22)‌

[biray]

Hi  @msscha ​. Thank you for your submission.

Can you help me understand this further by clarifying the use of 'groups' versus 'sections' - since each have a different functionality in Canvas. So, when you say "section groups" I'm a bit confused.

That said, is the course enrollment such that you have one course shell with several sections cross-listed into the course? (refer to How does cross-listing work in Canvas?​ for more details). Or, do you have all your students enrolled in one section, but your are organizing the students by groups? (How do I create a new Group Set?​)

If it's the first option, then when you enroll your course TAs, you can add them such that they can only grade their own sections.

This way, when a TA wants to view and grade assignments from their section, the TA can do so from the gradebook and speedgrader.

Does this help? Or were you already doing it this way and wanted additional filtering options that are not addressed with above mentioned set up?

Looking forward to your feedback.

[msscha]

Hello, Biray.

Thank you very much for your fast response! In our courses, it's the second of the scenarios you mention above -- one large section which is then divided into "section groups", each of which is the responsibility of a TA. (I really don't know the whole history of why it was designed this way!) I know how to organize according to Group Sets and create additional groups, but there is no simple mechanism by which TAs can filter for only their assigned students when grading. To create such specific sections, I have to manually create "sections" within the large section (our university really calls the smaller divisions, "sections"), then add the TA and all the students to that section -- this is done through a university-specific application and not through Canvas itself. Given that the Assignments/Discussions/People/Inbox tool all allow filtering by groups, I was hoping the Grading tool did as well.

[biray]

Thank you for your clarification. I'll go ahead and move this idea forward. Perhaps there might be other elements to consider and additional advantages to being able to filter gradebook by 'groups'.

However, it should be noted that filtering grades per TA is possible through the use of Canvas sections (not groups). In the meantime, I would encourage you to speak with your Canvas administrator to gather more insight and bring your concerns forward. If there are enough large enrollment courses in your school system that require this level of grouping and/or organization, it might warrant considering an alternative solution to create the SIS import to achieve your goals without having to create these groupings manually.

[mjennings]

I would second the groups filter. We have some courses where the section designation does not reflect how the groups are made (often created based on clinical site location. Currently we put the responsible instructors name in the notes column then have them sort the column to group their students. Have it sort-able by group would really help.

[henry_ngo]

This.

Due to large enrollments, some classes have over 200 students and more than 5 teaching assistants (TAs).  It would make grading a lot easier for the TAs if they could split the students into groups (belonging to the TAs) and have this reflected in the speedgrader for easy grading.

Hopefully more people see this idea and vote for it. 

[mjennings]

sadpanda​

[RobDitto]

A very similar idea opened for voting earlier this month:

If you were interested in this archived idea, please consider voting on the newer one!

[kas200]

We're launching an iteration of this idea again! If you're still interested in this functionality, consider giving the new one a vote: https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/8059-filter-grades-by-group 

[Renee_Carney]

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas 

For more information, please read through the Canvas Release Notes (2019-06-22)‌

[Renee_Carney]

 @msscha  Thank You  for submitting this idea, as well as,  @mjennings  Thank You, henry.ngo Thank You ,  @RobDitto  Thank You , &  @kas200  Thank You  for your contributions. Your investment in this idea helped refine a feature which is now part of Canvas!