The groups feature allows an instructor to assign students (and TAs or co-instructors) to one or more groups for the entire course or for individual activities. Because students can be in multiple groups at once, instructors can set up different group memberships for different activities (e.g., using larger groups for forum discussions, and smaller groups for peer review activities).  In addition, groups of students can each be assigned separate activities.

In multiple-section classes, each class section in SPIRE automatically has its own group in Moodle. Any group that starts with a tilde (~) is one that is created through a connection to SPIRE. This can be especially helpful for managing a course with multiple instructors or teaching assistants.

Some examples of ways to use groups in Moodle:

• Set up groups of students and activities that are completely invisible to other groups.
• Allow groups to see, but not contribute to each other's activities.
• Filter the gradebook, forums, or other Moodle activities, according to groups.
• Use one-person groups to set up a forum as a private journal exercise.

Help Articles About Setting Up and Working with Groups

• Group Modes in Moodle
  Learn when to use Separate groups, and when to use Visible groups.

• Create & Modify Groups in Moodle
  Learn how to create a group and add or remove course members from the group.

• Upload or Download Groups from Moodle
  Learn how to upload or download groups from Moodle.

• Create Groupings in Moodle
  Learn how to create a grouping (or group of groups).

• Assign an Activity to a Group or Grouping in Moodle
  Assign an activity or resource to a group or grouping from its settings page.

• Sort the Moodle Gradebook using Groups
  When teaching a course with multiple sections, especially when a course has a large number of students, using groups in conjunction with the Gradebook makes it much easier to filter student data.

• Create One-Person Groups Named for Individual Students in Moodle
  For certain activities to be "private," you need to make groups of one student each and put them in a Grouping.  We have automated the process to make it easy for you!

• Add a Group Self-Selection Activity in Moodle
  Let students sign-up to join a group.

• Group Communication and Collaboration Spaces in Moodle
  Best practices and ideas for working with groups in Moodle.