Assignment with some students working independently and some in groups

[HeidiOberrieder]

For an assignment where students can choose between working in small groups or working independently, I need to know how to set-up the assignment in Canvas.  Should I select "Group Assignment" with students self-selecting groups? How would those students working in a group know which group is theirs since students created their group on their own outside of Canvas earlier in the semester? Would students working independently need to create a group of 1?

Another nuance is that I need students to individually be assigned 5 submissions to peer review.  Those 5 submissions should not include their own group's submission, but instead will be a submission by any of the students working independently or other groups' submission.  Does checking the "Allow intra-group peer reviews" button help me achieve what I want?  For those students working in a group, will the automatically assigned 5 submissions go to their group or to each group member independently? I would love it if the students working as a group to complete the assignment, would be assigned a different 5 documents instead of the members of the group all receiving the same 5.   

My main goals are to have:

* those working in a group to all be able to see my grading and comments on their group submission

* each student in the class automatically assigned 5 submissions for use on a review process done independently.  

[SusanNiemeyer · Accepted solution]

@HeidiOberrieder  My thought is that this set-up is just far too complicated to pull off on Canvas. You have apples and oranges in terms of group work vs. individual work, and then in terms of the number and types of assignments. 

First, If you would like your students to work in groups, have everyone work in a group. Is there any reason why some of your students can't work in a group? You can make a group project, but still grade students individually based on their participation.

Second, I would strongly encourage you to create the groups and place the students in the groups yourself. You can randomly allocate students to groups, or you can create groups based on your knowledge of the students. The idea of having the students self-select groups is just going to create problems. Either cliques will form, or some of your students won't figure out how to join a group.

Lastly, this complicated scheme is going to be a real pain when it comes to your Gradebook.

Make this assignment simpler for yourself and your students. I don't think the time and effort you're going to spend trying up different configurations in Canvas will be worth it in the end. 

[SusanNiemeyer · Accepted solution]

@HeidiOberrieder  My thought is that this set-up is just far too complicated to pull off on Canvas. You have apples and oranges in terms of group work vs. individual work, and then in terms of the number and types of assignments. 

First, If you would like your students to work in groups, have everyone work in a group. Is there any reason why some of your students can't work in a group? You can make a group project, but still grade students individually based on their participation.

Second, I would strongly encourage you to create the groups and place the students in the groups yourself. You can randomly allocate students to groups, or you can create groups based on your knowledge of the students. The idea of having the students self-select groups is just going to create problems. Either cliques will form, or some of your students won't figure out how to join a group.

Lastly, this complicated scheme is going to be a real pain when it comes to your Gradebook.

Make this assignment simpler for yourself and your students. I don't think the time and effort you're going to spend trying up different configurations in Canvas will be worth it in the end. 

[Dougpy]

The reasons are numerous!

- The are some students who have turned in half or fewer of the course assignments. I will not assign them to a group with others.

- There are some students who have disability accommodations to not require group work.

- There are some groups that fail to collaborate, and one person (or more) must be split from the group.

[CanvasCoolCat_2 · Accepted solution]

How will students know which group has been selected/assigned to them?

Students will have a "Group" icon appear in their global navigation menu on the left side of the screen on their computer. I believe groups also become an option on the mobile device as well, but I can't recall. This icon is not visible to students until they have been set up as a member of ANY group in ANY class. When this icon is opened students will be able to see all the groups in which they participate. How do I use the Global Navigation Menu as a student? 

As far as how students actually join groups, you can reference the following guide: How do I join a group as a student?

How do I ensure Peer Reviews are not assigned to members of the same student group?

Peer reviews require a student to review an individual submission by another student. However, group assignment submissions are made by one group member on behalf of the entire group, and all group members have the same submission.

By default, Canvas will exclude members of the same group when assigning peer reviews. However, by selecting the "Allow intra-group peer reviews" checkbox, reviews can be assigned randomly to all members of the course, including members of the same group.

This is the guide that explains these details: How do I automatically assign peer reviews for an assignment?

[MickCowan]

It is unfortunate that Canvas does not have the option for assignments to support both individuals and groups. There are many classroom instances where students self-select assignments/groups or where it makes sense to have students on different tracks. Other LMS do have this feature.  

The only workaround I have found is to leave the assignment as individual. Then, I require students working in groups to type all team member names in the text submission or the comments. It still requires me to manually enter grades for everyone in the group, and the person who submitted the assignment is responsible for forwarding my feedback to the rest of the team. But at least I can have both groups and individuals working simultaneously on a project. 

This is a much-needed feature, as is the ability to toggle more easily between giving feedback to individuals on group projects rather than sending comments to the whole group. 

[MTV]

In earlier versions of Canvas, I was able to do this and now the comments do not show up for people working as individuals, only those working as groups. Canvas would "auto-create a group of 1" for those who were not assigned to a specific group.

For those who question why you would use groups and individuals for the same assignment, my students who are in-class work on an assignment in groups. Students who are absent are still required to complete these same learning activities; however, they must complete them on their own. For me, it is about equity for students who cannot be in the physical classroom.

The only workaround I have found to make sure the comments are recorded is to go in and create "fake" groups for each individual student who is not working in a group. For example, on Thursday, I had three in-class groups and then created 9 additional groups for those who were absent. Make sure you leave the number of members option blank when creating the groups for individuals. Not very efficient, but more efficient than finding all of the people who participated in a group to assign them a grade and comments.

Hope that helps!