Board 92: Work in Progress: Developing an Application to Optimize Student Group Formation for Enhancing Inclusivity and Collaborative Learning

Zulal Sevkli; Hunter Jarrod Hicks; John Brandabur; Andrew Philibin

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Electrical and Computer Engineering Division (ECE) Poster Session
Tagged Division: Electrical and Computer Engineering Division (ECE)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/48393

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Hunter Hicks is a Jr. Developer at Applied Research Associates. Hunter is an alumnus of Miami University where he completed his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science in December, 2023. Hunter’s academic interests include computational electromagnetics, 3D computer graphics, data representation, backend development, and algorithm analysis/optimization.

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John Brandabur Miami University

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Andrew Philibin Miami University

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Abstract

Group learning in college is crucial in fostering a comprehensive understanding of subjects, improving essential skills, preparing students for the workforce, and enhancing engagement and retention. It offers a holistic educational experience that goes beyond textbooks and lectures.

Building effective student groups for learning is a thoughtful process. Instructors should consider students’ diverse skill levels and knowledge of the subject or should consider students' backgrounds and experiences. Groups with a mix of expertise can foster peer teaching and learning. Mixing students from different backgrounds can lead to richer discussions. Furthermore, research has also shown that isolating minority students within groups increases the risk of these students dropping out (Rosser, 1998). So, educators should adapt their group formation strategies to the specific learning objectives of the course and the needs of their students. This highlights the strong need for a helpful tool to help form student groups.

This study aims to improve the grouping tool of the Canvas Learning Management System, which is used by around 36% of North American higher education institutions (Schwartz, 23). Our application builds upon the current grouping options in Canvas LMS, which consists of grouping students randomly by number of groups or number of students per group. Due to this lack of customization, this study aims to provide faculty the ability to quickly and easily split students into groups based on a multitude of customizable criteria.

Thus far, a framework has been implemented to use the information from the Canvas LMS API and group students together based on three different algorithms -clustering by considering minorities, balancing by course grade, and aggregating based on students’ project choice-

This is an ongoing project; we are working to improve our algorithm results regarding grouping success rates based on the group criteria. At the same time, we are working on creating a flexible interface for instructors to enter their grouping criteria to build groups.

For our Work-in-Progress (WIP) submission plan, we will commence by providing the rationale for this study and conducting a review of similar applications, where we will compare our project objectives. The design and implementation of the application will be detailed in the Application section. We will then present the UI/UX testing results of our application in the Experimental Results section and proceed to discuss and summarize our findings in the Conclusion.

* Equity, diversity, and inclusion awareness in the ECE classroom and in-classroom techniques (ECE Division) / Women in Engineering Divison

- Rosser, S. V. (1998). Group work in science, engineering, and mathematics: Consequences of ignoring gender and race. College Teaching, 46(3), 82-88. - Schwartz, N. (2023, May 2). Instructure’s first-quarter revenue climbs 13.6% as Canvas gains market share. Higher Ed Dive. https://www.highereddive.com/news/instructure-canvas-first-quarter-revenue-lms/649232/#:~:text=Learning%20management%20system%20provider%20Instructure,North%20American%20higher%20education%20institutions. (Access Date: October 2023)

Citation
Format

Sevkli, Z., & Hicks, H. J., & Brandabur, J., & Philibin, A. (2024, June), Board 92: Work in Progress: Developing an Application to Optimize Student Group Formation for Enhancing Inclusivity and Collaborative Learning Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/48393

TY - CPAPER
AB - Group learning in college is crucial in fostering a comprehensive understanding of subjects, improving essential skills, preparing students for the workforce, and enhancing engagement and retention. It offers a holistic educational experience that goes beyond textbooks and lectures.

Building effective student groups for learning is a thoughtful process. Instructors should consider students’ diverse skill levels and knowledge of the subject or should consider students&#39; backgrounds and experiences. Groups with a mix of expertise can foster peer teaching and learning. Mixing students from different backgrounds can lead to richer discussions. Furthermore, research has also shown that isolating minority students within groups increases the risk of these students dropping out (Rosser, 1998). So, educators should adapt their group formation strategies to the specific learning objectives of the course and the needs of their students. This highlights the strong need for a helpful tool to help form student groups.

This study aims to improve the grouping tool of the Canvas Learning Management System, which is used by around 36% of North American higher education institutions (Schwartz, 23).
Our application builds upon the current grouping options in Canvas LMS, which consists of grouping students randomly by number of groups or number of students per group. Due to this lack of customization, this study aims to provide faculty the ability to quickly and easily split students into groups based on a multitude of customizable criteria.

Thus far, a framework has been implemented to use the information from the Canvas LMS API and group students together based on three different algorithms -clustering by considering minorities, balancing by course grade, and aggregating based on students’ project choice-

This is an ongoing project; we are working to improve our algorithm results regarding grouping success rates based on the group criteria. At the same time, we are working on creating a flexible interface for instructors to enter their grouping criteria to build groups.

For our Work-in-Progress (WIP) submission plan, we will commence by providing the rationale for this study and conducting a review of similar applications, where we will compare our project objectives. The design and implementation of the application will be detailed in the Application section. We will then present the UI/UX testing results of our application in the Experimental Results section and proceed to discuss and summarize our findings in the Conclusion.

* Equity, diversity, and inclusion awareness in the ECE classroom and in-classroom techniques (ECE Division) / Women in Engineering Divison

- Rosser, S. V. (1998). Group work in science, engineering, and mathematics: Consequences of ignoring gender and race. College Teaching, 46(3), 82-88.
- Schwartz, N. (2023, May 2). Instructure’s first-quarter revenue climbs 13.6% as Canvas gains market share. Higher Ed Dive. https://www.highereddive.com/news/instructure-canvas-first-quarter-revenue-lms/649232/#:~:text=Learning%20management%20system%20provider%20Instructure,North%20American%20higher%20education%20institutions. (Access Date: October 2023)

AU - Zulal Sevkli
AU - Hunter Jarrod Hicks
AU - John Brandabur
AU - Andrew Philibin
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Board 92: Work in Progress: Developing an Application to Optimize Student Group Formation for Enhancing Inclusivity and Collaborative Learning
UR - https://peer.asee.org/48393
ER -