How to Use Sections

This article will describe how to use sections in Peerceptiv, either when they are part of your LMS course or as a standalone feature in Peerceptiv. Some learning management systems allow for the use of course sections, including cross-listed sections that are part of the same LMS course. Peerceptiv is now able to read sections in both Canvas and Brightspace. 

You can navigate to these topics using the links below:

• How to Create Sections
• Assigning Reviews and Limiting Visibility
• Filter Progress and Results Tables by Section
• Form Groups Within Sections

How to Create Sections

Peerceptiv automatically reads sections from Canvas and Brightspace and will automatically update whenever section enrollment changes in the LMS. However, please note that TAs, Graders, and other instructors will not be automatically assigned to sections in Peerceptiv and should be added to sections manually. For all other learning management systems, sections can be formed manually as needed.

To view or create sections, click your course name in the top navy bar, then click Manage Course Sections in the drop down menu.

Click New Section to add a new section manually; click More to upload a section list or sync course sections from the LMS. Click the plus sign to view section enrollment and add additional members to sections individually. 

If you need to change the section members and do not want to sync the sections from the LMS, click on that section, go to the member's name, and then select Remove by the dropdown menu of the individual students. You can then add that student to the correct section, if appropriate.

Assign TAs and Graders to Sections

TAs and graders will not be automatically added to sections in Peerceptiv. To assign TAs or graders to sections, click the plus sign for the section that you would like to add them to and then click Add Members at the bottom of the list of students. Find the TA or grader and add them as a member to each section they should be part of. 

After you have assigned a TA or grader to a section, you can then limit their permissions and access to other students in the course by clicking the course name in the top navy bar, then Manage Roster Permissions. To limit TA or grader access to only their assigned section(s), turn off the toggle to View All Course Sections. For more information on limiting permissions, see this article.

Assign Reviews Within Sections and Limit Assignment Visibility

You may wish to assign student reviews so that students can only review other student work from within their same section. There are two different ways to do this: 

1. For individual peer assessment assignments only, you can set up an assignment that uses review circles and set up the review circles based on section enrollment. Each review circle will mirror each section’s enrollment and will auto-update if there are changes to the LMS section.
   1. To do this, set up an individual peer assessment assignment and select “Review Circles” in the review settings. After the assignment is set up, go to the Review Circles tab in the left side bar, then click the “More” button and select “Generate Review Circles from Course Sections.” Students will only be able to review other students in their review circle/section.
2. For any assignment (individual or group), you can set up a separate assignment for each section and limit section visibility. When assignment visibility is restricted based on section, only students in the section with visibility will be able to submit and review in that assignment.
   1. To set this up, create an assignment in the LMS for each section and restrict visibility in the LMS. In Canvas, this means using the “Assign To” box in the Assign Access section of the assignment. In Brightspace, you can do this by creating a release condition based on section enrollment for the Peerceptiv content item. Once you’ve restricted the assignment access in the LMS to specific sections, then restrict assignment visibility to those same sections in the Peerceptiv assignment settings wizard. Click the edit settings gear icon and go to 6.Sections; check the box for the sections which should have access to that assignment. 

Filter Progress and Results Tables by Section

You can filter the Progress and Results tables by section for any course that has sections. Click Filter Sections at the top of the table and then choose which section to view in the table. If the assignment has limited visibility for only certain sections, then only those sections will be visible on the Progress and Results tables.

Form Groups Within Sections

If you are doing a group formation assignment or creating groups through auto-generation, you can click the toggle on the Groups page to Form Groups Only Within Course Section. This means that any groups that are created in the assignment will only be formed from individuals who are in the same section as one another.