Peerceptiv’s Group Formation feature allows you to easily create optimized student groups using student survey responses, which are based on a customizable set of questions and criteria. Students can enter their schedule information, rank topic preferences, and respond to multiple choice questions, all of which will be used by the Peerceptiv Group Formation algorithm to form student groups.
Student Process
The Group Formation tool is set up as an assignment with a deadline - students must complete the survey before the deadline. When the assignment deadline passes, the groups will be formed and visible to the instructor. The instructor can change or approve the groups and then will have the option to release the assignment results to students, which can include a grade for completing the survey, student group member information, and any other survey completion data you choose to release.
How to Set Up the Group Formation Assignment
If using an LMS, such as Canvas or Brightspace, create your assignment link in the LMS first following the specific instructions for your LMS.
After creating your assignment link (and course, if applicable), you’ll see the assignment creation screen. Click “Build a Custom Assignment.”
Assignment Type: Choose “Group Formation Only”
Group Size or Group Number
Set the group size or number of groups by selecting the max number of students per group on the Group Size tab or choosing the overall number of groups based on the number of students in your roster on the Group Number tab. You can always edit these settings later after your roster is finalized and the add/drop period is over.
NOTE: if you do not yet have students on your roster and you’re getting a message saying you need a value greater than 0 on the group size tab, you should select the Group Number tab and enter a number of groups (or leave the default number suggested) before clicking “Next.” This will allow you to select the number of groups you want and it will say that there are “groups of 0” until your roster is populated.
Grade Release - Select Automatic to have the results immediately sent back to the gradebook and become visible to students at the deadline or select Manual to be able to look at the results, adjust the groups, and then release them to students manually. If you select “Manual,” leaving the default of “False” for hiding results means that all results of that type will not be hidden, ie. they will be visible on the student results page after you release the results. If you want to hide certain types of results from the student results page even after they are released, select “true.”
Deadlines - The publication date is the date that the assignment becomes available for students. You must have your rubric survey questions completed and finalized before the publication date and will not be able to change them later if students have already begun completing the survey. The End date for the Group Formation phase marks when students must finish the survey and when groups will be formed.
Email Notifications - We will send students one email notification reminding them to complete the assignment 24 hours before the deadline if this option is checked.
Finish - Click the yellow Finish button to save all settings.
Edit Settings
After creating the assignment, you can edit the above settings by clicking the gear icon on the assignment dashboard and then Edit.
Create the Survey Rubric
Click Create Rubric or click the Rubric tab on the left sidebar to create the survey that will collect the student information and responses used for the Group Formation process.
Rubric Prompts:
Schedule Prompt - Add a schedule prompt which will allow students to select blocks of availability.
Rank Order Prompt - Add a prompt which allows students to rank preferences or topics. Enter a prompt description and then enter the items to be ranked. Students will initially see an unnumbered list of the items and will then rank each item in numerical order. At the end of the assignment, Peerceptiv will put students into groups and will assign each group a topic based on the rank order prompt. If you have more than one rank order prompt, it will assign group names/topics based on the rank order prompt you have listed first on your rubric.
Multiple Choice Prompt - Enter a prompt description and then enter multiple choices. Students will be able to select only one option from the multiple choice responses you provide. You can choose to group students based on similar or dissimilar responses to the question. If you select dissimilar grouping, then the groups will be a blend of students who had different responses to this specific question.
Adjust the Weight or Priority level of each prompt:
You can adjust the weight (priority level) of each prompt so that some prompts will count more or less than others when the algorithm forms the groups. Select the "Advanced settings" drop down menu on each prompt to set the weight or priority level of each prompt. The default weight is 1. A weight of 1.5 would mean that question counts one and a half times what the prompt weighted 1 is worth. A weight of 2, for instance, means that the question will count double what the prompts weighted at 1 are.
By default, students will see anonymous and aggregated data about their group member’s responses to all questions, displayed in percentages on the student results. The Advanced Settings on each prompt allows you to hide the results for each specific prompt from the student results pages.
If you want the results of the question to be hidden from the student results page, make the toggle red with an X.
How to View Progress and Manage Results
During or after the assignment, click the Progress tab to see who has completed the survey and click any student’s name and then the Group tab to view their survey responses.
After the assignment deadline has passed, students will automatically be put into groups. You can view all the groups on the Groups tab. Click the plus sign to expand each group to see who is in each group.
If there were students who did not complete the survey, they would not have been added to a group. To view the students without group membership, click on the alert in the Actions table of the assignment dashboard, or click the Groups tab on the left sidebar, click the Students tab at the top of the page, and then click the Without Group button to show the students who aren’t in a group. From there, you can click Add to Group for each student.
If you would like to move students between groups, click the Groups tab, then click the plus sign next to a group to expand it. Click the drop down arrow next to the student you would like to move, then click Move. Then, click the plus sign for the group you want to move them to and click Move Here.
Click the Results tab to view grades and group survey data. To view group survey data, select a group in the drop down menu.
To view grades, scroll down to the Individual Assignment Grades table. If the student completed the assignment survey, they will get a grade of 100%, which will be sent back to the LMS grade book, if connected.
How to edit the group size or number and re-form groups
It is possible to change the group size or total number of groups and re-form groups after results have been generated. To do this, go to the settings gear icon and edit the settings to change the number of groups or the number of students in each group. Make sure you click the yellow Finish button to save your settings changes. Then, go to the Groups tab. Click the More button and Delete all Groups. After deleting all groups, click "Re-Run Group Formation." Please be aware that the "Auto-Generate Groups" button puts students into randomized groups without taking into account group survey data. Only "Re-run group formation" or the "Recalculate Grades" button will give you new groups based on the survey data.
Release Results and Send Groups Back to the LMS
When the groups are the way you want them, click Release Results. This will send the task grade back to the LMS grade book and will allow students to view groups in Peerceptiv. Some institutions have enabled the functionality to send the groups back to Canvas or Brightspace. To do this, click More and Send New Groups to LMS. You'll be asked to create a name for the new category or group set and then click Sync.
If your school does not have the group pass back functionality enabled, please contact Peerceptiv Support and we can help them enable it. Otherwise, please download the groups from the Groups tab, reformat the spreadsheet as needed, and then upload them into your LMS.
If you have any further questions about your Group Formation assignment, please contact Peerceptiv Support.
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