Canvas Groups vs Differentiation Tags: Which Tool to Use and When

Canvas provides useful tools to help instructors manage students and personalise learning. Groups and Differentiation Tags serve different purposes and are best suited to different situations. Understanding how they work helps instructors encourage collaboration and adapt teaching to meet individual needs more effectively.

What They Are: Groups are used to organise students for collaborative purposes. They’re designed to help students work together on shared activities and assignments within a course. They provide a space for teamwork, allowing students to communicate, share resources, and submit group project work.

Key Features:

  • Visible to students
  • Allows group submissions and peer collaboration
  • Supports group-specific discussions and shared files

Best Used For:

  • Group projects or presentations
  • Peer review activities
  • Collaborative discussions or study groups

Example Scenario: An instructor assigns a group project requiring students to collaborate in their Canvas Group – sharing ideas, exploring the topic together, and jointly creating and submitting a final report.

What They Are: Differentiation Tags are used to organise students for administrative purposes. They’re hidden labels that instructors assign to students based on academic progress or accessibility requirements such as reasonable adjustments or mitigating circumstances. These tags help tailor content, assignment deadlines and communication without students seeing how they’ve been grouped.

Key Features:

  • Always hidden from students
  • Doesn’t affect student records
  • Used for differentiated instruction, messaging, and Gradebook filtering

Best Used For:

  • Personalising content based on academic progress or performance
  • Assigning tailored tasks for students with specific needs
  • Applying flexible deadlines or extended time for accessibility or reasonable adjustments
  • Directing messages to targeted sets of student for clearer communication

Example Scenario: An instructor uses Tags to identify students who need extra time on assessments. When setting up a quiz, they apply tags like “1 Week extension” and “2 Weeks extension” to assign different versions of the same quiz, ensuring individual needs are accommodated while maintaining student privacy.

Feature
Canvas Groups
Differentiation Tags
Visibility
Always visible to students
Always hidden from students
Purpose
Collaboration and group work
Personalised instruction and tracking
Use Case
Group assignments, discussions
Targeted content, custom deadlines
Student Experience
Shared workspace
No change in interface

For guidance on setting up and managing Groups and Differentiation Tags in Canvas, check the resources below.