Search Google Appliance

Information Technology

An Overview of Managing Groups in Moodle

Find answers to your technology questions in the new IT Knowledge Base!

For the most up-to-date information, see our new Knowledge Base.
Support articles on the IT website are being retired, and may not be updated.

Find an updated version of this article

Continue to check the IT website (umass.edu/it) for news and updates about technology at UMass Amherst.

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