Group Discussion Boards within Canvas support small group interactions, thereby promoting increased student engagement and deeper learning outcomes. This approach is particularly effective in large-enrollment courses or those incorporating group projects.
Benefits of restricting participation to designated groups:
- Students are more likely to feel at ease when contributing
- Encourages more substantive and reflective discussions
Group Discussion Boards in Canvas:
- In Course Navigation, select Discussion
- Select the Add Discussion button on the top right
- Enter a discussion title in Topic Title (A) field
- Add discussion content using the Rich Content Editor (B)
- Scroll down to options, select This is a Group Discussion (C) checkbox
- Select an existing group set, select the Group Set (D) drop-down menu, or add a New Group Category (E) button
- Type the Group Set Name (F)
- If Self Sign-Up is needed, check the Allow self-sign-up (G) box
- Select Group Structure (H) and choose to Split students by number of groups or Split number of students per group
- Select Save (I) when finished
- Make the discussion available by entering dates, then select the Save and Publish button or the Save button when finished