assignment of group

Eberly Center

Teaching excellence & educational innovation, what are the benefits of group work.

“More hands make for lighter work.” “Two heads are better than one.” “The more the merrier.”

These adages speak to the potential groups have to be more productive, creative, and motivated than individuals on their own.

Benefits for students

Group projects can help students develop a host of skills that are increasingly important in the professional world (Caruso & Woolley, 2008; Mannix & Neale, 2005). Positive group experiences, moreover, have been shown to contribute to student learning, retention and overall college success (Astin, 1997; Tinto, 1998; National Survey of Student Engagement, 2006).

Properly structured, group projects can reinforce skills that are relevant to both group and individual work, including the ability to: 

• Break complex tasks into parts and steps
• Plan and manage time
• Refine understanding through discussion and explanation
• Give and receive feedback on performance
• Challenge assumptions
• Develop stronger communication skills.

Group projects can also help students develop skills specific to collaborative efforts, allowing students to...

• Tackle more complex problems than they could on their own.
• Delegate roles and responsibilities.
• Share diverse perspectives.
• Pool knowledge and skills.
• Hold one another (and be held) accountable.
• Receive social support and encouragement to take risks.
• Develop new approaches to resolving differences. 
• Establish a shared identity with other group members.
• Find effective peers to emulate.
• Develop their own voice and perspectives in relation to peers.

While the potential learning benefits of group work are significant, simply assigning group work is no guarantee that these goals will be achieved. In fact, group projects can – and often do – backfire badly when they are not designed , supervised , and assessed in a way that promotes meaningful teamwork and deep collaboration.

Benefits for instructors

Faculty can often assign more complex, authentic problems to groups of students than they could to individuals. Group work also introduces more unpredictability in teaching, since groups may approach tasks and solve problems in novel, interesting ways. This can be refreshing for instructors. Additionally, group assignments can be useful when there are a limited number of viable project topics to distribute among students. And they can reduce the number of final products instructors have to grade.

Whatever the benefits in terms of teaching, instructors should take care only to assign as group work tasks that truly fulfill the learning objectives of the course and lend themselves to collaboration. Instructors should also be aware that group projects can add work for faculty at different points in the semester and introduce its own grading complexities .

Astin, A. (1993). What matters in college? Four critical years revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Caruso, H.M., & Wooley, A.W. (2008). Harnessing the power of emergent interdependence to promote diverse team collaboration. Diversity and Groups. 11, 245-266.

Mannix, E., & Neale, M.A. (2005). What differences make a difference? The promise and reality of diverse teams in organizations. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 6(2), 31-55.

National Survey of Student Engagement Report. (2006). http://nsse.iub.edu/NSSE_2006_Annual_Report/docs/NSSE_2006_Annual_Report.pdf .

Tinto, V. (1987). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

• Utility Menu

GA4 Tracking Code

fa51e2b1dc8cca8f7467da564e77b5ea

• Make a Gift
• Join Our Email List

Many students have had little experience working in groups in an academic setting. While there are many excellent books and articles describing group processes, this guide is intended to be short and simply written for students who are working in groups, but who may not be very interested in too much detail. It also provides teachers (and students) with tips on assigning group projects, ways to organize groups, and what to do when the process goes awry.

Some reasons to ask students to work in groups

Asking students to work in small groups allows students to learn interactively. Small groups are good for:

• generating a broad array of possible alternative points of view or solutions to a problem
• giving students a chance to work on a project that is too large or complex for an individual
• allowing students with different backgrounds to bring their special knowledge, experience, or skills to a project, and to explain their orientation to others
• giving students a chance to teach each other
• giving students a structured experience so they can practice skills applicable to professional situations

Some benefits of working in groups (even for short periods of time in class)

• Students who have difficulty talking in class may speak in a small group.
• More students, overall, have a chance to participate in class.
• Talking in groups can help overcome the anonymity and passivity of a large class or a class meeting in a poorly designed room.
• Students who expect to participate actively prepare better for class.

Caveat: If you ask students to work in groups, be clear about your purpose, and communicate it to them. Students who fear that group work is a potential waste of valuable time may benefit from considering the reasons and benefits above.

Large projects over a period of time

Faculty asking students to work in groups over a long period of time can do a few things to make it easy for the students to work:

• The biggest student complaint about group work is that it takes a lot of time and planning. Let students know about the project at the beginning of the term, so they can plan their time.
• At the outset, provide group guidelines and your expectations.
• Monitor the groups periodically to make sure they are functioning effectively.
• If the project is to be completed outside of class, it can be difficult to find common times to meet and to find a room. Some faculty members provide in-class time for groups to meet. Others help students find rooms to meet in.

Forming the group

• Forming the group. Should students form their own groups or should they be assigned? Most people prefer to choose whom they work with. However, many students say they welcome both kinds of group experiences, appreciating the value of hearing the perspective of another discipline, or another background.
• Size. Appropriate group size depends on the nature of the project.  If the group is small and one person drops out, can the remaining people do the work? If the group is large, will more time be spent on organizing themselves and trying to make decisions than on productive work?
• Resources for students. Provide a complete class list, with current email addresses. (Students like having this anyway so they can work together even if group projects are not assigned.)
• Students that don't fit. You might anticipate your response to the one or two exceptions of a person who really has difficulty in the group. After trying various remedies, is there an out—can this person join another group? work on an independent project?

Organizing the work

Unless part of the goal is to give people experience in the process of goal-setting, assigning tasks, and so forth, the group will be able to work more efficiently if they are provided with some of the following:

• Clear goals. Why are they working together? What are they expected to accomplish?
• Ways to break down the task into smaller units
• Ways to allocate responsibility for different aspects of the work
• Ways to allocate organizational responsibility
• A sample time line with suggested check points for stages of work to be completed

Caveat: Setting up effective small group assignments can take a lot of faculty time and organization.

Getting Started

• Groups work best if people know each others' names and a bit of their background and experience, especially those parts that are related to the task at hand. Take time to introduce yourselves.
• Be sure to include everyone when considering ideas about how to proceed as a group. Some may never have participated in a small group in an academic setting. Others may have ideas about what works well. Allow time for people to express their inexperience and hesitations as well as their experience with group projects.
• Most groups select a leader early on, especially if the work is a long-term project. Other options for leadership in long-term projects include taking turns for different works or different phases of the work.
• Everyone needs to discuss and clarify the goals of the group's work. Go around the group and hear everyone's ideas (before discussing them) or encourage divergent thinking by brainstorming. If you miss this step, trouble may develop part way through the project. Even though time is scarce and you may have a big project ahead of you, groups may take some time to settle in to work. If you anticipate this, you may not be too impatient with the time it takes to get started.

Organizing the Work

• Break up big jobs into smaller pieces. Allocate responsibility for different parts of the group project to different individuals or teams. Do not forget to account for assembling pieces into final form.
• Develop a timeline, including who will do what, in what format, by when. Include time at the end for assembling pieces into final form. (This may take longer than you anticipate.) At the end of each meeting, individuals should review what work they expect to complete by the following session.

Understanding and Managing Group Processes

• Groups work best if everyone has a chance to make strong contributions to the discussion at meetings and to the work of the group project.
• At the beginning of each meeting, decide what you expect to have accomplished by the end of the meeting.
• Someone (probably not the leader) should write all ideas, as they are suggested, on the board, a collaborative document, or on large sheets of paper. Designate a recorder of the group's decisions. Allocate responsibility for group process (especially if you do not have a fixed leader) such as a time manager for meetings and someone who periodically says that it is time to see how things are going (see below).
• What leadership structure does the group want? One designated leader? rotating leaders? separately assigned roles?
• Are any more ground rules needed, such as starting meetings on time, kinds of interruptions allowed, and so forth?
• Is everyone contributing to discussions? Can discussions be managed differently so all can participate? Are people listening to each other and allowing for different kinds of contributions?
• Are all members accomplishing the work expected of them? Is there anything group members can do to help those experiencing difficulty?
• Are there disagreements or difficulties within the group that need to be addressed? (Is someone dominating? Is someone left out?)
• Is outside help needed to solve any problems?
• Is everyone enjoying the work?

Including Everyone and Their Ideas

Groups work best if everyone is included and everyone has a chance to contribute ideas. The group's task may seem overwhelming to some people, and they may have no idea how to go about accomplishing it. To others, the direction the project should take may seem obvious. The job of the group is to break down the work into chunks, and to allow everyone to contribute. The direction that seems obvious to some may turn out not to be so obvious after all. In any event, it will surely be improved as a result of some creative modification.

Encouraging Ideas

The goal is to produce as many ideas as possible in a short time without evaluating them. All ideas are carefully listened to but not commented on and are usually written on the board or large sheets of paper so everyone can see them, and so they don't get forgotten or lost. Take turns by going around the group—hear from everyone, one by one.

One specific method is to generate ideas through brainstorming. People mention ideas in any order (without others' commenting, disagreeing or asking too many questions). The advantage of brainstorming is that ideas do not become closely associated with the individuals who suggested them. This process encourages creative thinking, if it is not rushed and if all ideas are written down (and therefore, for the time-being, accepted). A disadvantage: when ideas are suggested quickly, it is more difficult for shy participants or for those who are not speaking their native language. One approach is to begin by brainstorming and then go around the group in a more structured way asking each person to add to the list.

Examples of what to say:

• Why don't we take a minute or two for each of us to present our views?
• Let's get all our ideas out before evaluating them. We'll clarify them before we organize or evaluate them.
• We'll discuss all these ideas after we hear what everyone thinks.
• You don't have to agree with her, but let her finish.
• Let's spend a few more minutes to see if there are any possibilities we haven't thought of, no matter how unlikely they seem.

Group Leadership

• The leader is responsible for seeing that the work is organized so that it will get done. The leader is also responsible for understanding and managing group interactions so that the atmosphere is positive.
• The leader must encourage everyone's contributions with an eye to accomplishing the work. To do this, the leader must observe how the group's process is working. (Is the group moving too quickly, leaving some people behind? Is it time to shift the focus to another aspect of the task?)
• The leader must encourage group interactions and maintain a positive atmosphere. To do this the leader must observe the way people are participating as well as be aware of feelings communicated non-verbally. (Are individuals' contributions listened to and appreciated by others? Are people arguing with other people, rather than disagreeing with their ideas? Are some people withdrawn or annoyed?)
• The leader must anticipate what information, materials or other resources the group needs as it works.
• The leader is responsible for beginning and ending on time. The leader must also organize practical support, such as the room, chalk, markers, food, breaks.

(Note: In addition to all this, the leader must take part in thc discussion and participate otherwise as a group member. At these times, the leader must be careful to step aside from the role of leader and signal participation as an equal, not a dominant voice.)

Concerns of Individuals That May Affect Their Participation

• How do I fit in? Will others listen to me? Am I the only one who doesn't know everyone else? How can I work with people with such different backgrounds and expericnce?
• Who will make the decisions? How much influence can I have?
• What do I have to offer to the group? Does everyone know more than I do? Does anyone know anything, or will I have to do most of the work myself?

Characteristics of a Group that is Performing Effectively

• All members have a chance to express themselves and to influence the group's decisions. All contributions are listened to carefully, and strong points acknowledged. Everyone realizes that the job could not be done without the cooperation and contribution of everyone else.
• Differences are dealt with directly with the person or people involved. The group identifies all disagreements, hears everyone's views and tries to come to an agreement that makes sense to everyone. Even when a group decision is not liked by someone, that person will follow through on it with the group.
• The group encourages everyone to take responsibility, and hard work is recognized. When things are not going well, everyone makes an effort to help each other. There is a shared sense of pride and accomplishment.

Focusing on a Direction

After a large number of ideas have been generated and listed (e.g. on the board), the group can categorize and examine them. Then the group should agree on a process for choosing from among the ideas. Advantages and disadvantages of different plans can be listed and then voted on. Some possibilities can be eliminated through a straw vote (each group member could have 2 or 3 votes). Or all group members could vote for their first, second, and third choices. Alternatively, criteria for a successful plan can be listed, and different alternatives can be voted on based on the criteria, one by one.

Categorizing and evaluating ideas

• We have about 20 ideas here. Can we sort them into a few general categories?
• When we evaluate each others' ideas, can we mention some positive aspects before expressing concerns?
• Could you give us an example of what you mean?
• Who has dealt with this kind of problem before?
• What are the pluses of that approach? The minuses?
• We have two basic choices. Let's brainstorm. First let's look at the advantages of the first choice, then the disadvantages.
• Let's try ranking these ideas in priority order. The group should try to come to an agreement that makes sense to everyone.

Making a decision

After everyone's views are heard and all points of agreement and disagreement are identified, the group should try to arrive at an agreement that makes sense to everyone.

• There seems to be some agreement here. Is there anyone who couldn't live with solution #2?
• Are there any objections to going that way?
• You still seem to have worries about this solution. Is there anything that could be added or taken away to make it more acceptable? We're doing fine. We've agreed on a great deal. Let's stay with this and see if we can work this last issue through.
• It looks as if there are still some major points of disagreement. Can we go back and define what those issues are and work on them rather than forcing a decision now.

How People Function in Groups

If a group is functioning well, work is getting done and constructive group processes are creating a positive atmosphere. In good groups the individuals may contribute differently at different times. They cooperate and human relationships are respected. This may happen automatically or individuals, at different times, can make it their job to maintain the atmospbere and human aspects of the group.

Roles That Contribute to the Work

Initiating —taking the initiative, at any time; for example, convening the group, suggesting procedures, changing direction, providing new energy and ideas. (How about if we.... What would happen if... ?)

Seeking information or opinions —requesting facts, preferences, suggestions and ideas. (Could you say a little more about... Would you say this is a more workable idea than that?)

Giving information or opinions —providing facts, data, information from research or experience. (ln my experience I have seen... May I tell you what I found out about...? )

Questioning —stepping back from what is happening and challenging the group or asking other specific questions about the task. (Are we assuming that... ? Would the consequence of this be... ?)

Clarifying —interpreting ideas or suggestions, clearing up confusions, defining terms or asking others to clarify. This role can relate different contributions from different people, and link up ideas that seem unconnected. (lt seems that you are saying... Doesn't this relate to what [name] was saying earlier?)

Summarizing —putting contributions into a pattern, while adding no new information. This role is important if a group gets stuck. Some groups officially appoint a summarizer for this potentially powerful and influential role. (If we take all these pieces and put them together... Here's what I think we have agreed upon so far... Here are our areas of disagreement...)

Roles That Contribute to the Atmosphere

Supporting —remembering others' remarks, being encouraging and responsive to others. Creating a warm, encouraging atmosphere, and making people feel they belong helps the group handle stresses and strains. People can gesture, smile, and make eye-contact without saying a word. Some silence can be supportive for people who are not native speakers of English by allowing them a chance to get into discussion. (I understand what you are getting at...As [name] was just saying...)

Observing —noticing the dynamics of the group and commenting. Asking if others agree or if they see things differently can be an effective way to identify problems as they arise. (We seem to be stuck... Maybe we are done for now, we are all worn out... As I see it, what happened just a minute ago.. Do you agree?)

Mediating —recognizing disagreements and figuring out what is behind the differences. When people focus on real differences, that may lead to striking a balance or devising ways to accommodate different values, views, and approaches. (I think the two of you are coming at this from completely different points of view... Wait a minute. This is how [name/ sees the problem. Can you see why she may see it differently?)

Reconciling —reconciling disagreements. Emphasizing shared views among members can reduce tension. (The goal of these two strategies is the same, only the means are different… Is there anything that these positions have in common?)

Compromising —yielding a position or modifying opinions. This can help move the group forward. (Everyone else seems to agree on this, so I'll go along with... I think if I give in on this, we could reach a decision.)

Making a personal comment —occasional personal comments, especially as they relate to the work. Statements about one's life are often discouraged in professional settings; this may be a mistake since personal comments can strengthen a group by making people feel human with a lot in common.

Humor —funny remarks or good-natured comments. Humor, if it is genuinely good-natured and not cutting, can be very effective in relieving tension or dealing with participants who dominate or put down others. Humor can be used constructively to make the work more acceptable by providing a welcome break from concentration. It may also bring people closer together, and make the work more fun.

All the positive roles turn the group into an energetic, productive enterprise. People who have not reflected on these roles may misunderstand the motives and actions of people working in a group. If someone other than the leader initiates ideas, some may view it as an attempt to take power from the leader. Asking questions may similarly be seen as defying authority or slowing down the work of the group. Personal anecdotes may be thought of as trivializing the discussion. Leaders who understand the importance of these many roles can allow and encourage them as positive contributions to group dynamics. Roles that contribute to the work give the group a sense of direction and achievement. Roles contributing to the human atmosphere give the group a sense of cooperation and goodwill.

Some Common Problems (and Some Solutions)

Floundering —While people are still figuring out the work and their role in the group, the group may experience false starts and circular discussions, and decisions may be postponed.

• Here's my understanding of what we are trying to accomplish... Do we all agree?
• What would help us move forward: data? resources?
• Let's take a few minutes to hear everyone's suggestions about how this process might work better and what we should do next.

Dominating or reluctant participants —Some people might take more than their share of the discussion by talking too often, asserting superiority, telling lengthy stories, or not letting others finish. Sometimes humor can be used to discourage people from dominating. Others may rarely speak because they have difficulty getting in the conversation. Sometimes looking at people who don't speak can be a non-verbal way to include them. Asking quiet participants for their thoughts outside the group may lead to their participation within the group.

• How would we state the general problem? Could we leave out the details for a moment? Could we structure this part of the discussion by taking turns and hearing what everyone has to say?
• Let's check in with each other about how the process is working: Is everyone contributing to discussions? Can discussions be managed differently so we can all participate? Are we all listening to each other?

Digressions and tangents —Too many interesting side stories can be obstacles to group progress. It may be time to take another look at the agenda and assign time estimates to items. Try to summarize where the discussion was before the digression. Or, consider whether there is something making the topic easy to avoid.

• Can we go back to where we were a few minutes ago and see what we were trying to do ?
• Is there something about the topic itself that makes it difficult to stick to?

Getting Stuck —Too little progress can get a group down. It may be time for a short break or a change in focus. However, occasionally when a group feels that it is not making progress, a solution emerges if people simply stay with the issue.

• What are the things that are helping us solve this problem? What's preventing us from solving this problem?
• I understand that some of you doubt whether anything new will happen if we work on this problem. Are we willing to give it a try for the next fifteen minutes?

Rush to work —Usually one person in the group is less patient and more action-oriented than the others. This person may reach a decision more quickly than the others and then pressure the group to move on before others are ready.

• Are we all ready-to make a decision on this?
• What needs to be done before we can move ahead?
• Let's go around and see where everyone stands on this.

Feuds —Occasionally a conflict (having nothing to do with the subject of the group) carries over into the group and impedes its work. It may be that feuding parties will not be able to focus until the viewpoint of each is heard. Then they must be encouraged to lay the issue aside.

• So, what you are saying is... And what you are saying is... How is that related to the work here?
• If we continue too long on this, we won't be able to get our work done. Can we agree on a time limit and then go on?

For more information...

James Lang, " Why Students Hate Group Projects (and How to Change That) ," The Chronicle of Higher Education (17 June 2022).

Hodges, Linda C. " Contemporary Issues in Group Learning in Undergraduate Science Classrooms: A Perspective from Student Engagement ,"  CBE—Life Sciences Education  17.2 (2018): es3.

• Designing Your Course
• A Teaching Timeline: From Pre-Term Planning to the Final Exam
• The First Day of Class
• Group Agreements
• Classroom Debate
• Flipped Classrooms
• Leading Discussions
• Polling & Clickers
• Problem Solving in STEM
• Teaching with Cases
• Engaged Scholarship
• Devices in the Classroom
• Beyond the Classroom
• On Professionalism
• Getting Feedback
• Equitable & Inclusive Teaching
• Advising and Mentoring
• Teaching and Your Career
• Teaching Remotely
• Tools and Platforms
• The Science of Learning
• Bok Publications
• Other Resources Around Campus

Ideas for Great Group Work

Many students, particularly if they are new to college, don’t like group assignments and projects. They might say they “work better by themselves” and be wary of irresponsible members of their group dragging down their grade. Or they may feel group projects take too much time and slow down the progression of the class. This blog post by a student— 5 Reasons I Hate Group Projects —might sound familiar to many faculty assigning in-class group work and longer-term projects in their courses.

We all recognize that learning how to work effectively in groups is an essential skill that will be used by students in practically every career in the private sector or academia. But, with the hesitancy of students towards group work and how it might impact their grade, how do we make group in-class work, assignments, or long-term projects beneficial and even exciting to students?

The methods and ideas in this post have been compiled from Duke faculty who we have consulted with as part of our work in Learning Innovation or have participated in one of our programs. Also included are ideas from colleagues at other universities with whom we have talked at conferences and other venues about group work practices in their own classrooms.

Have clear goals and purpose

Students want to know why they are being assigned certain kinds of work – how it fits into the larger goals of the class and the overall assessment of their performance in the course. Make sure you explain your goals for assigning in-class group work or projects in the course. You may wish to share:

• Information on the importance of developing skills in group work and how this benefits the students in the topics presented in the course.
• Examples of how this type of group work will be used in the discipline outside of the classroom.
• How the assignment or project benefits from multiple perspectives or dividing the work among more than one person.

Some faculty give students the option to come to a consensus on the specifics of how group work will count in the course, within certain parameters. This can help students feel they have some control over their own learning process and and can put less emphasis on grades and more on the importance of learning the skills of working in groups.

Choose the right assignment

Some in-class activities, short assignments or projects are not suitable for working in groups. To ensure student success, choose the right class activity or assignment for groups.

• Would the workload of the project or activity require more than one person to finish it properly?
• Is this something where multiple perspectives create a greater whole?
• Does this draw on knowledge and skills that are spread out among the students?
• Will the group process used in the activity or project give students a tangible benefit to learning in and engagement with the course?

Help students learn the skills of working in groups

Students in your course may have never been asked to work in groups before. If they have worked in groups in previous courses, they may have had bad experiences that color their reaction to group work in your course. They may have never had the resources and support to make group assignments and projects a compelling experience.

One of the most important things you can do as an instructor is to consider all of the skills that go into working in groups and to design your activities and assignments with an eye towards developing those skills.

In a group assignment, students may be asked to break down a project into steps, plan strategy, organize their time, and coordinate efforts in the context of a group of people they may have never met before.

Consider these ideas to help your students learn group work skills in your course.

• Give a short survey to your class about their previous work in groups to gauge areas where they might need help: ask about what they liked best and least about group work, dynamics of groups they have worked in, time management, communication skills or other areas important in the assignment you are designing.
• Allow time in class for students in groups to get to know each other. This can be a simple as brief introductions, an in-class active learning activity or the drafting of a team charter.
• Based on the activity you are designing and the skills that would be involved in working as a group, assemble some links to web resources that students can draw on for more information, such as sites that explain how to delegate and share responsibilities, conflict resolution, or planning a project and time management. You can also address these issues in class with the students.
• Have a plan for clarifying questions or possible problems that may emerge with an assignment or project.   Are there ways you can ask questions or get draft material to spot areas where students are having difficulty understanding the assignment or having difficulty with group dynamics that might impact the work later?

Designing the assignment or project

The actual design of the class activity or project can help the students transition into group work processes and gain confidence with the skills involved in group dynamics.   When designing your assignment, consider these ideas.

• Break the assignment down into steps or stages to help students become familiar with the process of planning the project as a group.
• Suggest roles for participants in each group to encourage building expertise and expertise and to illustrate ways to divide responsibility for the work.
• Use interim drafts for longer projects to help students manage their time and goals and spot early problems with group projects.
• Limit their resources (such as giving them material to work with or certain subsets of information) to encourage more close cooperation.
• Encourage diversity in groups to spread experience and skill levels and to get students to work with colleagues in the course who they may not know.

Promote individual responsibility

Students always worry about how the performance of other students in a group project might impact their grade. A way to allay those fears is to build individual responsibility into both the course grade and the logistics of group work.

• Build “slack days” into the course. Allow a prearranged number of days when individuals can step away from group work to focus on other classes or campus events. Individual students claim “slack days” in advance, informing both the members of their group and the instructor. Encourage students to work out how the group members will deal with conflicting dates if more than one student in a group wants to claim the same dates.
• Combine a group grade with an individual grade for independent write-ups, journal entries, and reflections.
• Have students assess their fellow group members. Teammates is an online application that can automate this process.
• If you are having students assume roles in group class activities and projects, have them change roles in different parts of the class or project so that one student isn’t “stuck” doing one task for the group.

Gather feedback

To improve your group class activities and assignments, gather reflective feedback from students on what is and isn’t working. You can also share good feedback with future classes to help them understand the value of the activities they’re working on in groups.

• For in-class activities, have students jot down thoughts at the end of class on a notecard for you to review.
• At the end of a larger project, or at key points when you have them submit drafts, ask the students for an “assignment wrapper”—a short reflection on the assignment or short answers to a series of questions.

Further resources

Information for faculty

Best practices for designing group projects (Eberly Center, Carnegie Mellon)

Building Teamwork Process Skills in Students (Shannon Ciston, UC Berkeley)

Working with Student Teams   (Bart Pursel, Penn State)

Barkley, E.F., Cross, K.P., and Major, C.H. (2005). Collaborative learning techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R., & Smith, K. (1998). Active learning: Cooperation in the college classroom. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.

Thompson, L.L. (2004). Making the team: A guide for managers. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

Information for students

10 tips for working effectively in groups (Vancouver Island University Learning Matters)

Teamwork skills: being an effective group member (University of Waterloo Centre for Teaching Excellence)

5 ways to survive a group project in college (HBCU Lifestyle)

Group project tips for online courses (Drexel Online)

Group Writing (Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill)

Center for Teaching

Group work: using cooperative learning groups effectively.

Many instructors from disciplines across the university use group work to enhance their students’ learning. Whether the goal is to increase student understanding of content, to build particular transferable skills, or some combination of the two, instructors often turn to small group work to capitalize on the benefits of peer-to-peer instruction. This type of group work is formally termed cooperative learning, and is defined as the instructional use of small groups to promote students working together to maximize their own and each other’s learning (Johnson, et al., 2008).

Cooperative learning is characterized by positive interdependence, where students perceive that better performance by individuals produces better performance by the entire group (Johnson, et al., 2014). It can be formal or informal, but often involves specific instructor intervention to maximize student interaction and learning. It is infinitely adaptable, working in small and large classes and across disciplines, and can be one of the most effective teaching approaches available to college instructors.

What can it look like?

What’s the theoretical underpinning, is there evidence that it works.

• What are approaches that can help make it effective?

Informal cooperative learning groups In informal cooperative learning, small, temporary, ad-hoc groups of two to four students work together for brief periods in a class, typically up to one class period, to answer questions or respond to prompts posed by the instructor.

Additional examples of ways to structure informal group work

Think-pair-share

The instructor asks a discussion question. Students are instructed to think or write about an answer to the question before turning to a peer to discuss their responses. Groups then share their responses with the class.

Peer Instruction

This modification of the think-pair-share involves personal responses devices (e.g. clickers). The question posted is typically a conceptually based multiple-choice question. Students think about their answer and vote on a response before turning to a neighbor to discuss. Students can change their answers after discussion, and “sharing” is accomplished by the instructor revealing the graph of student response and using this as a stimulus for large class discussion. This approach is particularly well-adapted for large classes.

In this approach, groups of students work in a team of four to become experts on one segment of new material, while other “expert teams” in the class work on other segments of new material. The class then rearranges, forming new groups that have one member from each expert team. The members of the new team then take turns teaching each other the material on which they are experts.

Formal cooperative learning groups

In formal cooperative learning students work together for one or more class periods to complete a joint task or assignment (Johnson et al., 2014). There are several features that can help these groups work well:

• The instructor defines the learning objectives for the activity and assigns students to groups.
• The groups are typically heterogeneous, with particular attention to the skills that are needed for success in the task.
• Within the groups, students may be assigned specific roles, with the instructor communicating the criteria for success and the types of social skills that will be needed.
• Importantly, the instructor continues to play an active role during the groups’ work, monitoring the work and evaluating group and individual performance.
• Instructors also encourage groups to reflect on their interactions to identify potential improvements for future group work.

This video shows an example of formal cooperative learning groups in David Matthes’ class at the University of Minnesota:

There are many more specific types of group work that fall under the general descriptions given here, including team-based learning , problem-based learning , and process-oriented guided inquiry learning .

The use of cooperative learning groups in instruction is based on the principle of constructivism, with particular attention to the contribution that social interaction can make. In essence, constructivism rests on the idea that individuals learn through building their own knowledge, connecting new ideas and experiences to existing knowledge and experiences to form new or enhanced understanding (Bransford, et al., 1999). The consideration of the role that groups can play in this process is based in social interdependence theory, which grew out of Kurt Koffka’s and Kurt Lewin’s identification of groups as dynamic entities that could exhibit varied interdependence among members, with group members motivated to achieve common goals. Morton Deutsch conceptualized varied types of interdependence, with positive correlation among group members’ goal achievements promoting cooperation.

Lev Vygotsky extended this work by examining the relationship between cognitive processes and social activities, developing the sociocultural theory of development. The sociocultural theory of development suggests that learning takes place when students solve problems beyond their current developmental level with the support of their instructor or their peers. Thus both the idea of a zone of proximal development, supported by positive group interdependence, is the basis of cooperative learning (Davidson and Major, 2014; Johnson, et al., 2014).

Cooperative learning follows this idea as groups work together to learn or solve a problem, with each individual responsible for understanding all aspects. The small groups are essential to this process because students are able to both be heard and to hear their peers, while in a traditional classroom setting students may spend more time listening to what the instructor says.

Cooperative learning uses both goal interdependence and resource interdependence to ensure interaction and communication among group members. Changing the role of the instructor from lecturing to facilitating the groups helps foster this social environment for students to learn through interaction.

David Johnson, Roger Johnson, and Karl Smith performed a meta-analysis of 168 studies comparing cooperative learning to competitive learning and individualistic learning in college students (Johnson et al., 2006). They found that cooperative learning produced greater academic achievement than both competitive learning and individualistic learning across the studies, exhibiting a mean weighted effect size of 0.54 when comparing cooperation and competition and 0.51 when comparing cooperation and individualistic learning. In essence, these results indicate that cooperative learning increases student academic performance by approximately one-half of a standard deviation when compared to non-cooperative learning models, an effect that is considered moderate. Importantly, the academic achievement measures were defined in each study, and ranged from lower-level cognitive tasks (e.g., knowledge acquisition and retention) to higher level cognitive activity (e.g., creative problem solving), and from verbal tasks to mathematical tasks to procedural tasks. The meta-analysis also showed substantial effects on other metrics, including self-esteem and positive attitudes about learning. George Kuh and colleagues also conclude that cooperative group learning promotes student engagement and academic performance (Kuh et al., 2007).

Springer, Stanne, and Donovan (1999) confirmed these results in their meta-analysis of 39 studies in university STEM classrooms. They found that students who participated in various types of small-group learning, ranging from extended formal interactions to brief informal interactions, had greater academic achievement, exhibited more favorable attitudes towards learning, and had increased persistence through STEM courses than students who did not participate in STEM small-group learning.

The box below summarizes three individual studies examining the effects of cooperative learning groups.

What are approaches that can help make group work effective?

Preparation

Articulate your goals for the group work, including both the academic objectives you want the students to achieve and the social skills you want them to develop.

Determine the group conformation that will help meet your goals.

• In informal group learning, groups often form ad hoc from near neighbors in a class.
• In formal group learning, it is helpful for the instructor to form groups that are heterogeneous with regard to particular skills or abilities relevant to group tasks. For example, groups may be heterogeneous with regard to academic skill in the discipline or with regard to other skills related to the group task (e.g., design capabilities, programming skills, writing skills, organizational skills) (Johnson et al, 2006).
• Groups from 2-6 are generally recommended, with groups that consist of three members exhibiting the best performance in some problem-solving tasks (Johnson et al., 2006; Heller and Hollabaugh, 1992).
• To avoid common problems in group work, such as dominance by a single student or conflict avoidance, it can be useful to assign roles to group members (e.g., manager, skeptic, educator, conciliator) and to rotate them on a regular basis (Heller and Hollabaugh, 1992). Assigning these roles is not necessary in well-functioning groups, but can be useful for students who are unfamiliar with or unskilled at group work.

Choose an assessment method that will promote positive group interdependence as well as individual accountability.

• In team-based learning, two approaches promote positive interdependence and individual accountability. First, students take an individual readiness assessment test, and then immediately take the same test again as a group. Their grade is a composite of the two scores. Second, students complete a group project together, and receive a group score on the project. They also, however, distribute points among their group partners, allowing student assessment of members’ contributions to contribute to the final score.
• Heller and Hollabaugh (1992) describe an approach in which they incorporated group problem-solving into a class. Students regularly solved problems in small groups, turning in a single solution. In addition, tests were structured such that 25% of the points derived from a group problem, where only those individuals who attended the group problem-solving sessions could participate in the group test problem.  This approach can help prevent the “free rider” problem that can plague group work.
• The University of New South Wales describes a variety of ways to assess group work , ranging from shared group grades, to grades that are averages of individual grades, to strictly individual grades, to a combination of these. They also suggest ways to assess not only the product of the group work but also the process.  Again, having a portion of a grade that derives from individual contribution helps combat the free rider problem.

Helping groups get started

Explain the group’s task, including your goals for their academic achievement and social interaction.

Explain how the task involves both positive interdependence and individual accountability, and how you will be assessing each.

Assign group roles or give groups prompts to help them articulate effective ways for interaction. The University of New South Wales provides a valuable set of tools to help groups establish good practices when first meeting. The site also provides some exercises for building group dynamics; these may be particularly valuable for groups that will be working on larger projects.

Monitoring group work

Regularly observe group interactions and progress , either by circulating during group work, collecting in-process documents, or both. When you observe problems, intervene to help students move forward on the task and work together effectively. The University of New South Wales provides handouts that instructors can use to promote effective group interactions, such as a handout to help students listen reflectively or give constructive feedback , or to help groups identify particular problems that they may be encountering.

Assessing and reflecting

In addition to providing feedback on group and individual performance (link to preparation section above), it is also useful to provide a structure for groups to reflect on what worked well in their group and what could be improved. Graham Gibbs (1994) suggests using the checklists shown below.

The University of New South Wales provides other reflective activities that may help students identify effective group practices and avoid ineffective practices in future cooperative learning experiences.

Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., and Cocking, R.R. (Eds.) (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school . Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Bruffee, K. A. (1993). Collaborative learning: Higher education, interdependence, and the authority of knowledge. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Cabrera, A. F., Crissman, J. L., Bernal, E. M., Nora, A., Terenzini, P. T., & Pascarella, E. T. (2002). Collaborative learning: Its impact on college students’ development and diversity. Journal of College Student Development, 43 (1), 20-34.

Davidson, N., & Major, C. H. (2014). Boundary crossing: Cooperative learning, collaborative learning, and problem-based learning. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 25 (3&4), 7-55.

Dees, R. L. (1991). The role of cooperative leaning in increasing problem-solving ability in a college remedial course. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 22 (5), 409-21.

Gokhale, A. A. (1995). Collaborative Learning enhances critical thinking. Journal of Technology Education, 7 (1).

Heller, P., and Hollabaugh, M. (1992) Teaching problem solving through cooperative grouping. Part 2: Designing problems and structuring groups. American Journal of Physics 60, 637-644.

Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., and Smith, K.A. (2006). Active learning: Cooperation in the university classroom (3 rd edition). Edina, MN: Interaction.

Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., and Holubec, E.J. (2008). Cooperation in the classroom (8 th edition). Edina, MN: Interaction.

Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., and Smith, K.A. (2014). Cooperative learning: Improving university instruction by basing practice on validated theory. Journl on Excellence in College Teaching 25, 85-118.

Jones, D. J., & Brickner, D. (1996). Implementation of cooperative learning in a large-enrollment basic mechanics course. American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference Proceedings.

Kuh, G.D., Kinzie, J., Buckley, J., Bridges, B., and Hayek, J.C. (2007). Piecing together the student success puzzle: Research, propositions, and recommendations (ASHE Higher Education Report, No. 32). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Love, A. G., Dietrich, A., Fitzgerald, J., & Gordon, D. (2014). Integrating collaborative learning inside and outside the classroom. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 25 (3&4), 177-196.

Smith, M. E., Hinckley, C. C., & Volk, G. L. (1991). Cooperative learning in the undergraduate laboratory. Journal of Chemical Education 68 (5), 413-415.

Springer, L., Stanne, M. E., & Donovan, S. S. (1999). Effects of small-group learning on undergraduates in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 96 (1), 21-51.

Uribe, D., Klein, J. D., & Sullivan, H. (2003). The effect of computer-mediated collaborative learning on solving ill-defined problems. Educational Technology Research and Development, 51 (1), 5-19.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1962). Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Teaching Guides

• Online Course Development Resources
• Principles & Frameworks
• Pedagogies & Strategies
• Reflecting & Assessing
• Challenges & Opportunities
• Populations & Contexts

Quick Links

• Services for Departments and Schools
• Examples of Online Instructional Modules

Center for Teaching Innovation

How to evaluate group work.

Students working in small groups often learn more and demonstrate better retention than students taught in other instructional formats. When instructors incorporate group assignments and activities into their courses, they must make thoughtful decisions regarding how to organize the group, how to facilitate it, and how to evaluate the completed work.

Instructor Evaluations

• Create a rubric to set evaluation standards and share with students to communicate expectations.
• Assess the performance of the group and its individual members.
• Give regular feedback so group members can gauge their progress both as a group and individually.
• Decide what criteria to base final evaluations upon. For example, you might weigh the finished product, teamwork, and individual contributions differently.
• Consider adjusting grades based on peer evaluations.

Peer Evaluations

Consider providing a rubric to foster consistent peer evaluations of participation, quality, and quantity of work.

• This may reveal participation issues that the instructor might not otherwise know about.
• Students who know that their peers will evaluate them may contribute more to the group and have a greater stake in the project.
• Completing evaluations early in the project allows groups to assess how they can improve.

General Strategies for Evaluation

• Groups need to know who may be struggling to complete assignments, and members need to know they cannot sit back and let others do all the work. You can assess individual student progress by giving spot quizzes and evaluate group progress by setting up meetings with each group to review the project status.
• Once or twice during the group task, ask group members to fill out a group and/or peer evaluation to assess team effectiveness. Consider asking “What action has each member taken that was helpful for the group? What action could each member take to make the group more effective?”
• Help students reflect on what they have learned and how they have learned it. Consider asking students to complete a short survey that focuses on their individual contributions to the group, how the group interacted together, and what the individual student learned from the project in relation to the rest of the course.
• Explain your grading system to students before they begin their work. The system should encourage teamwork, positive interdependence, and individual accountability. If you are going to consider the group’s evaluation of each member’s work, it is best to have students evaluate each other independently and confidentially.

Example Group Work Assessment Rubric

Here is an example of a group work assessment rubric. Filling out a rubric for each member of the group can help instructors assess individual contributions to the group and the individual’s role as a team player.

This rubric can also be used by group members as a tool to guide a mid-semester or mid-project discussion on how each individual is contributing to the group.

Total Points ______

Notes and Comments:

Gueldenzoph, L. E., & May, G. L. (2002). Collaborative peer evaluation: Best practices for group member assessments.  Business Communication Quarterly, 65 (1), 9-20.

Johnston, L., & Miles, L. (2004). Assessing contributions to group assignments.  Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 29 (6), 751-768.

Oakley, B., Felder, F. M., Brent, R., & Elhajj, I, (2004). Turning student groups into effective teams.  Journal of Student Centered Learning, 2 (1) 9-34.

How Do I Facilitate Effective Group Work?

Successful group work is characterized by trust, psychological safety, clarity of expectations, and good communication; being in the same location while working is not essential to group effectiveness (Duhigg, 2016; Kelly, 2008; Salmons, 2019). Below we offer strategies and examples that work for short-term collaborative group work (e.g., discussions in an online, hybrid/flexible, or in-person class) and long-term collaborative assignments (e.g., group projects), ending with additional considerations for long-term collaborative work.

STRATEGIES & EXAMPLES

Provide opportunities to develop connection and trust.

Engage students with community building activities.  Groups work best when students feel connected and trust each other. Brief  icebreaker activities  are fun and allow students to get to know each other before delving into group work. If using a video conferencing platform such as Zoom or Echo360, ask students to type a word or emoji about how they are doing into the chat, or during in-person classes students can share this orally or via an audience response system. Let students practice group work in  Moodle  or  Blackboard  with some low-stakes group assignments.

Create group norms.  In the first few weeks of class, create participation norms that all students agree upon as a class or within their small groups. Discuss with students how certain social identities (e.g., women in STEM, transgender students) can be unintentionally marginalized during group work as a justification for creating norms around respectful and inclusive communication (Oakley, Felder, Brent, & Elhajj, 2004). Vary the groupings of students so that students can meet other students and hear different perspectives, particularly in the first weeks of class. Refer back to the agreed-upon norms when conflict arises.

Proactively check in with groups.  It’s important to pay attention to both process and the accomplished task. As you drop into groups during class time or consult with groups in office hours, note who does and does not speak; consider asking questions about process such as who is generating ideas and how they know everyone is on board with these ideas. Check in individually with quieter students. Remember, how you address group functioning models how they should interact with each other (Kelly, 2008).

(Over)communicate and Reinforce Expectations

Communicate the purpose.  Communicate in writing and orally the skills students will develop by the end of their group work experience and why this is a valuable task or project to do in groups (as opposed to individually). You might ask students to connect skills they will learn to their personal goals and describe how they will know if they’ve developed these skills apart from your feedback.

Describe the tasks.  In writing, describe the tasks in detail, including steps in the process with due dates/deadlines, resources needed, technology for communication, and expectations for group work. This means giving students clear topics, questions, deliverables, or goals for group work. Consider assigning rotating task roles such as discussion director, connector, summarizer, recorder, and reporter (Kennedy & Nilson, 2008). Create a space online for students to submit questions which are publicly answered for all to see; this can become an  FAQ forum . At the end of group work, have groups submit something that demonstrates their engagement with the task for a small amount of points, such as group decisions, remaining questions, or discussion notes.

Clarify the criteria.  Communicate specific details about how student work generated in groups will be assessed (i.e., rubrics, exemplars, grading scheme). Use positive, “do this” language rather than negative, “don’t do this” language when possible. Show examples that typify important or challenging aspects of the work with narrations (i.e., on video or in a commented document) of what makes the work exemplar.

Additional Tips for Long-term Collaborative Projects

Be sure students have a communication plan.  This can be specified as part of their group norms and processes at the beginning of the project. In addition, be clear how and when groups should communicate with you, where and in what format they should submit materials, and what to do if they encounter a problem.

Break apart the project into phases or milestones with clear deliverables at each stage.  Clearly specify how and where students should turn in work (i.e., online or in person), and use this format consistently for all deliverables.

Have students periodically check in about their group process and report back on their process.  At the beginning of the project, ask students to identify how they want to work together, what their expectations are for each other, and what collaborative tools the group wants to use. Have them post their group norms in an online forum. Include a requirement for a  "team effectiveness discussion"  or evaluation (self or peer) after students have some time to work together (e.g., 2nd milestone; See  Oakley et al. 2004  for a “Crisis Clinic” guide). Allow them to adjust norms and set goals for the next phase of group work.

Clearly connect homework, lectures, or other learning activities to the group project.  For example, after learning new concepts, students might be asked to turn in a brief “Application memo” which connects course content to their group project. An online session might end with an “Integrate it” discussion among group members to integrate new learning into their project. Homework might be called “Project Prep.” Name activities by their purpose so that students see the relevance and utility of each activity more easily.

Foster cross-group peer review.  Students will appreciate hearing what other groups are doing and can get ideas for their own projects. For example, have students share their milestones or group work with another group and have them record questions and feedback in a collaborative document. Review that document to provide feedback to the entire class, saving you from giving feedback to each group. Peer review can also be done as a workshop or group assignment activity in the LMS. 

Please contact the CTL with any questions or for more details about the examples shared at  [email protected] . For support with collaborative technology, email  [email protected] .

For questions on your LMS, Google, and other educational technology contact IDEAS at [email protected]

Duhigg, C. (2016, February 25).  What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team . The New York Times.

Kelly, R. (2008, August 11).  Creating trust in online education ,  Faculty Focus.

Kennedy, F. A., and Nilson, L. B. (2008).  Successful strategies for teams. Team Member Handbook .  Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation, Clemson University.

Oakley, B., Felder, R. M., Brent, R., & Elhajj, I. (2004).  Turning student groups into effective teams .  Journal of Student Centered Learning, 2 (1), pp. 9-34.

Salmons, J. (2019).  Learning to collaborate, collaborating to learn: Engaging students in the classroom and online . Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Image by Armin Rimoldi for Pexels.

RELATED TOPICS

How Do I Increase Student Engagement with Participation Agreements?

Students engage and participate when there is a class climate in which they feel safe, supported, and encouraged to express their thoughts, values, experiences, and perspectives.

How Do I Use Note Catchers to Support Group Work and Collaborative Note Taking?

Note catchers, shared collaborative documents accessed in real time, keep students focused and help you monitor online or in-person group work.

How Do I Navigate Hot Moments in the Classroom?

Strategies for navigating and managing yourself during hot moments during class discussions, and helping students process conflict.

How Do I Support Students with Compassion and Empathy?

Faculty can support student learning by designing courses to include compassion, communicating often, and connecting students to wellbeing resources on campus.

• Consultations
• MAP Program
• Departmental Administration of Forward FOCUS
• Forward FOCUS Frequently Asked Questions
• Implementing and Modifying Forward FOCUS
• Identifying and Responding to Pinch Points
• Using Forward FOCUS to Design Forward
• Alternative Grading
• Listen to Learn
• ChatGPT and Generative AI Discussion Group: Navigating the Future of Teaching and Learning
• Lilly Fellows Stories
• Lilly Fellowship Current Fellows
• Lilly Fellowship Past Fellows
• TIDE Ambassadors Fellowship Cohorts
• Contemplative Pedagogy Past Programming
• Contemplative Pedagogy Resources
• UMass Courses Taught with Contemplative Pedagogy
• SoTL Professional Development Award
• SoTL Working Group
• SoTL Conference Calendar
• SoTL Sprint
• How Do I...?
• Inclusive Syllabus Design
• Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
• Faculty Successes
• Building Belonging
• Talk Teaching
• Equity Action Plan Instructional Resources
• Teach Week 2024
• Gather to Grade
• Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning
• 2021-2022 Highlights
• 2022-2023 Highlights
• Periodic Multi-Year Review (PMYR) Grant
• Previous DTA Winners
• DTA Frequently Asked Questions
• Tips for Writing a Teaching Statement
• Previous COTA Winners
• Step-by-Step Guide on How to Submit Materials for the Manning Prize 2023
• CTLs in Context

LX / Design a group assignment

Design a group assignment

This resource offers suggestions for designing group assignments which students will finding motivating. We’ll explore how to make the assignment meaningful, easily allocated into sub-tasks, relevant to learning outcomes and achievable.

One of the most crucial aspects of group work is the task set for the group. If students engage in their task, they will be more likely to be motivated to be an active participant in group work and develop new skills. Unfortunately, many students find their tasks to be inappropriate or too difficult for group work and thus lack motivation to work collectively on the assignment. In fact, many students view their assignments as little more than an individual assessment task applied to a group of students to reduce marking.

Develop a motivating group assignment

To develop a motivating group assignment, first you need to understand what students look for in a collaborative assessment task. Understanding students’ expectations is important because it allows you to see where your task can be aligned with their expectations. It also allows you to identify where alignment may not be possible. These differences can then be discussed with the students so they understand your reasons. Students will always work better when they understand why they are being assessed in a particular way.

There are four important factors which students look for in a group assignment.

1. A meaningful assignment

Students are not only motivated by the mark they will receive for their assignment. They are also motivated by the work they will produce.

Students often report that their most motivating group assignments are those which are “client-based”. These are assignments where the groups enact the role of consultant and work on an issue which has been identified by the client (in most instances, an organisation). Groups usually produce some form of written report (or in some disciplines a product) which is assessed by the lecturer. Occasionally, the client is also invited to assess the group’s output. Students are particularly motivated when they know that the client will be viewing and assessing the work.

Designing “client-based” group assignments are becoming increasingly popular in university settings. Many organisations are interested in participating in such projects because of the insights and perspectives generated by the project groups. Non-profit organisations, with their limited resources, are often keen to become clients and students are particularly motivated to help such organisations.

Some lecturers are even beginning to view the university as a client and are designing group assignments which address particular concerns faced by students and staff.

2. Easily allocated into sub-tasks

Student groups almost always divide up their task and allocate different sections to each member. Even if you do not want the assignment to be broken up, they probably will (or at least attempt to do so).

Students argue that this is the only strategy to use when they are members of 3 or 4 other groups. Unfortunately, most groups struggle when they attempt to divide up the task because it has not been designed to be broken up. It has been designed to be completed collectively. The rationale behind this strategy is that students learn group skills by closely working together on every aspect of the task.

While this strategy can be effective, it usually takes much longer than one semester for it to work. Furthermore, it usually requires that members work together full-time on the one task. With students working part-time, on more than one task, in more than one group, it is in many ways an unrealistic strategy. There is just not enough time for students to work together on every issue.

Knowing that students divide up their group task, many lecturers are beginning to devise group assignments with this in mind. In these assignments, each group member is required to do a piece of work. These individual pieces are then combined together to form a completed group product (there is usually an introduction and conclusion which the group write together to bring the individual sections together).

Students are motivated by these types of assignments because:

• they are less dependent on each other
• they don’t have to make joint decisions on each and every issue,
• there are fewer disagreements
• they have the opportunity to ‘shine’ as well as contribute to the group

Lecturers also benefit greatly from the task design due to:

• fewer complaints about free-riding (because each member’s work is identifiable)
• greater enthusiasm for group work
• less conflict in groups
• greater peer support

As with any innovation, there are of course critics to the approach. The main criticism is that students are not working in ‘fully fledged’ groups and, as such, fail to develop a broad range of skills. While this may be true, proponents argue that it is far better to learn some skills well than many at only a shallow level. This approach works on the rationale that students should not be expected to learn too many skills in a semester, but rather focus on a number of key skills (eg. coordination, peer support, accountability).

Proponents also argue that the notion of the fully fledged group rarely exists in industry and that their approach more accurately mirrors the “real world”. In many organisations, team members often work independently on individual pieces and bring them together to form the product (or the collection of group products). The aim of their approach is to reflect this style of team work and to teach students how to operate under such a system.

It is understandable that many group assignments must be collaborative and result in a single product. For these assignments, it is important to remember that students will try to split the task up. If the task can be logically divided, it may be advisable to help them do so – this will save the group valuable time. If the task cannot be broken apart, this should be clearly explained to students before they try to do so.

3. Relevant to learning outcomes

As mentioned earlier, many students are sceptical about collaborative assessment tasks and often view them merely as a way of reducing marking. For students to be motivated to participate in group assignments, they often need to see the tangible benefits of doing so. This is best achieved by designing group assignments which are closely aligned to the learning objectives of the subject.

When designing collaborative assignments, it is important to consider what knowledge, skills and abilities you want your students to learn through group work. While there will be a generic set applicable to most group assignments (eg. learning to communicate and cooperate with peers), there will also be a specific set which need to be geared to the assignment. For example, what type of interpersonal communication skills do you want your students to learn? Do you want them to learn to communicate face-to-face or also to learn computer mediated communication? If the latter is important, then establishing an “on-line” group task (eg. an on-line debate or discussion group) would be appropriate.

All too often, lectures design group assignments with little reference to the learning objectives and this can create confusion for students. For example, students often fail to see how requirements such as communicating “on-line” or making a group presentation are relevant to their learning outcomes. Whilst the objective may be clear to the lecturer, students often have little idea. It is therefore important that the objectives of the group assignment are  explicitly  made known to students. This is best achieved through a well structured subject outline that breaks down the group assignment into its sub-components and links each component to a key learning objective.

4. An achievable assignment

When designing an appropriate group assignment, it is also important to set a task which can realistically be achieved by students within the specified time frame. Whilst the task may be meaningful and challenging, it can become too time consuming and overwhelming for students. This is particularly the case when students are doing equally challenging group assignments in their other subjects. Students often complain that many of their difficulties arise from the multiple group assignments they are forced to do each semester and how many lecturers are either insensitive or oblivious to this fact. T

he unfortunate result is that students become disillusioned with their group assignments and tend to apply themselves less. This usually results in a decrease in learning, motivation and output quality and an increase in group related problems such as conflict and the withdrawal of effort. To help design a realistically achievable task, it may therefore be worth ‘standing back’ and viewing the group assignment from the student’s perspective.

Things to consider

• Invite the client to a class or classes throughout the semester
• Restrict students from contacting the clients whenever they choose
• Provide samples of work completed by groups in previous years.
• Discuss how groups, particularly those who have done well in previous years, have gone about completing their assignment
• If you are having difficulties finding a real client, design your group assignment around a mock client (eg. a hypothetical client or a client from a previous year)

Still need help?

Get in touch with the LX.lab team by logging a ticket via ServiceConnect. We'll be in touch shortly.

Want to provide feedback on this resource? Please log in first via the top nav menu.

Rubric writing: Course launch | 24 June

• Monday, 24 June, 2024 1:00 pm-2:00 pm

Simple ways to improve recorded lecture engagement | 29 August

• Thursday, 29 August, 2024 1:00 pm-2:00 pm

• Norsk (Bokmål)
• Português, Brasil

Create Group Assignments

You are viewing Ultra Course View content

Your institution controls which tools are available in the Original Course View . Assignments are always available to instructors in the Ultra Course View .

Before assigning group work

You don't want students to see group activities as busy work. If group work doesn't enhance your learning objectives and provide value, consider alternative teaching techniques. Only use group work for projects an individual student can't do as well alone and finish in the intended amount of time.

Research shows that students work harder when others rely on them. To encourage this interdependence, create group assignments that require the students to divide the work to meet the goal, question and challenge each other's ideas, and share feedback and encouragement.

Before incorporating group work into your course, consider these questions:

• Will the group work further my course objectives?
• What introductory material or group resource information can I provide to help students succeed?
• How will the groups be formed?
• Will students be involved in planning the groups?
• How will I assess students' learning and maintain individual accountability? Will I require a group deliverable?
• How will I handle concerns and problems?

Source: "44 Benefits of Collaborative Learning." gdrc.org n.d. Web. 3 Jan. 2020.

Watch a video about group assignments

The following narrated video provides a visual and auditory representation of some of the information included on this page. For a detailed description of what is portrayed in the video, open the video on YouTube , navigate to More actions , and select Open transcript .


Video: Group Assignments shows how you can deliver assignments to groups of students.

About group assignments

Collaborative learning offers many benefits over traditional instruction. Studies show that when students work as a team, they develop positive attitudes, solve problems more effectively, and experience a greater sense of accomplishment.

You create a group assignment nearly the same way you create assignments for students to complete individually. Gradebook items are created automatically.

If students with accommodations are in a group, all students in that group inherit the accommodation for that item. For example, you create a group assignment and one group member has a due date accommodation. That group's work isn't marked late if they submit after the due date.

More on accommodations

For a specific group assignment or group test, you can give an individual group an exception for extended access only. Multiple attempts aren't allowed for group assessments at this time.

More on group exceptions

Students can hold virtual meetings with their group members if Collaborate Ultra is enabled at your institution and you enable conversations for the assignment.

More on using Collaborate Ultra in your course

Create a group assignment

On the New Assignment page, select the Settings icon to open the Assignment Settings panel. Provide a due date and select the settings you want to apply to the group assignment:

• You can allow class conversations for a group assignment. Students can choose between a conversation with the class as a whole or among only their group members.
• You can also choose to collect submissions offline that don't require groups to upload submissions . You can add instructions, files, a rubric, and goals so the groups can prepare for the offline work. You can also enable conversations for offline work.
• You can issue an access code to control when groups may submit a group assignment. At this time, access codes are generated randomly by the system. You can't customize the access codes.

At this time, you can't create a group assignment with multiple attempts, a time limit, hidden names, or with parallel grading.

Select Assign to groups .

Create groups

On the groups page, a partial list of your students appears in the Unassigned students section. Select Show All to view the entire list. You can create multiple groups to deliver the assignment to. You can also select the plus sign below the student list to create a custom group and add students.

Your teaching assistants can create and manage group enrollments. Your graders can only grade group assignments.

Students who aren't assigned to a group won't have access to the group assignment because it won't appear on their Course Content pages. If you ask students to self-enroll in a group, they can't access the assignment until they join a group.

You can divide your students among groups in these ways:

Randomly assign

Self-enrollment, reuse groups.

To help you with the division and selection of students for the group or groups you are creating, you can paginate through students who aren't currently assigned to a group. You can also move to the top of the page when there are enough students shown on the screen.

The students' avatars in this view are hidden, to help people with vision impairment navigate through cards more efficiently.

You can also use the search bar to find a specific student or filter the display of unassigned students by search criteria. The bar shows predicted results and will display only students pending to be assigned to a group.

Custom groups

You can create as many groups as you want, with any number of students in each group. You can also create new groups or remove groups based on how many you want for this assignment.

• In the Group students menu, select Custom .
• Select each student's name to select them at the same time. Select a student's name again to remove the selection.
• After you select the students, open the menu next to one of their names and select Create a new group . You can also move multiple students to a group listed in the menu. You can't move students to a group with submitted work.
• Edit the group name if you want to change the default naming.

Select the plus sign wherever you want to add another group. You can also repeat steps 2-5.

At this time, if you save a Custom group set, return to the group set, and select Custom again, your groups are deleted.

Students are randomly assigned to the number of groups you choose. You need at least four students so the system can randomly assign students to at least two groups.

• In the Group students menu, select Randomly assign .
• In the Number of groups menu, select how many groups to create. You need to create at least two. Students are equally assigned to the number of groups you choose. Be careful as you make changes before you save. If you create four groups with titles and optional descriptions, and then use the menu and change to six groups, your groups redistribute and the titles and descriptions are removed.
• To remove all students from the current group set, select Unassign All at the top of the page. The setting changes to Custom if you move students to different groups after they're grouped and before you save.
• Edit each group name if you want to change the default naming.
• Optionally, add group descriptions that only appear to you at this time. You have no limit on the number of characters.

Select the plus sign wherever you want to create a group in addition to the groups the system created.

You can ask students to self-enroll in groups to complete a group assignment. Only students may join.

Students see the group assignment on the Course Content page and a link to enroll. You can also add an enrollment period. Students are notified when the enrollment deadline approaches. When the enrollment period ends, students can no longer join groups, and they aren’t enrolled automatically. Students need to ask you to add them so they can view the group assignment. You can add unenrolled students to the groups you choose if those groups haven’t submitted work.

You can't add to or change membership in groups with submitted work. You also can’t delete groups with submitted work.

If you want to release the group assignment in the future, students can't access the content, but they can join a group.

If you choose to release the group assignment based on performance on another item, students can’t access the content until they achieve a certain score on an item or gradebook column. However, if one of the group members meets the performance criterion, that member can submit on behalf of the entire group. Any member who hasn’t met the performance criterion also receives the grade you assign. You can change individual members’ grades before you post the grades.

More on assigning a different grade to group

On the groups page, you can create as many groups as you want, with any number of students in each group. You can also create new groups or remove groups based on how many you want for this assignment. You need to create at least two self-enrollment groups.

A partial list of your students appears in the Unassigned students section. Select Show All to view the entire list.

• In the Group students menu, select Self-enrollment .
• Your students are evenly divided among the groups listed next to Number of groups . Select the plus sign wherever you want to add another group. The Number of groups updates automatically. You can add and delete groups even after students have started to join. If you delete a group that students have already joined, they’re moved to the unassigned list. You’ll need to notify them to join one of the remaining groups or you can add them to a group. Reminder : You can’t delete groups with submitted work.
• Optionally, add an enrollment start and end date. Students can see the groups page and the assignment only after the enrollment period opens. Select the arrow next to Advanced options to collapse the enrollment section. Reminder : When the enrollment period ends, students can no longer join groups and need to ask you to add them.

Pay attention to the Maximum members per group and the Number of groups. For example, if you lower the maximum number, some students won’t be allowed to enroll in a group at the end of the enrollment period. You’ll need to create new groups and enroll the students so that they can access the group assignment.

To allow unlimited members per group, leave blank. Students see the maximum number allowed when they make their group selections. If you allow an unlimited number per group, students see the total number of students in their class. For example, if you've set up four field trips, you can allow all students to join all groups.

You can override the maximum membership for a group. For example, you can add a newly enrolled student to a group that hasn't submitted work.

• Select the Hide enrolled members check box if you don't want students to see who's already joined.
• Optionally, add group descriptions. If each group works on a different topic or meets at a certain time or destination, add that information to help students choose a group. You have no limit on the number of characters.
• Open the menu next to a group to access the management options.

Self-enroll groups in the gradebook

After you create self-enroll groups, each group appears with a question mark icon on the Submissions page in the gradebook. After students join groups, select the members link to show or hide the list.

Learn about the student view of self-enrolling in groups —use your browser's back function to return to this topic

You can reuse groups from an existing group assessment, discussion, or course group set. Titles for your existing course group sets start with "Group Set."

If you reuse a group set and make changes to the group set, those changes affect the group assignment. Learn more about how group set changes affect the linked content items .

• In the Group students menu, select a title from the Reuse group section.
• The same students are added to your new assignment.  If you move members, the membership changes wherever these groups appear, including the course group set .
• Edit the individual group names as needed.

You may need to add new students added to your course to your new groups.

Manage individual groups

After you create a group assignment, you can add or delete individual groups and manage student membership. You can also edit group names, add or edit group descriptions, and send messages to your groups to kick off collaboration!

You can also remove groups from the assignment if the groups haven't started their submissions. Select the Delete icon in the Assignment Settings panel.

Add and delete groups

Select the plus sign wherever you want to add a group.

If you no longer need a group, open the group's menu and select Delete group . The students in that group are unassigned automatically and appear at the top of the page. You can manually assign these students to new groups. Or, you can randomly assign all students —not only the students you unassigned—to the number of groups you choose. You can't delete a group with submitted work.

Ramifications

• If you add or delete a group in a group set that you used to create a group assignment, the assignment's groups are updated. Edits to group titles and descriptions also affect the assignment.
• If you add or delete a group in a group assignment that's based on a course group set, the course group set is updated. Edits to group titles and descriptions also affect the course group set.
• If you delete an entire group set used to create a group assignment, the assignment’s groups are removed.
• If you delete a group assessment based on a course group set, the group set is unaffected.

Manage student membership

You can move students between groups and add new students added to your course. New members can access the work the group has saved up to that point. New group members can also submit work on behalf of the group.

When you move students who have grades to different groups, their grades move with them, but their work doesn’t. These new group members keep their existing grades. Their grades won’t apply to the rest of the group. However, if you haven't graded the group work, the new members' grades will update.

If a group has received a grade and you move students to this group, you need to manually assign grades to them.

Open the menu next to a student's name to access these options:

• Start a new group with the student as a member.
• Select Unassign to remove the student from the group. Unassigned students appear at the top of the page. Reminder : Students who aren't assigned to a group won't have access to the group assignment because it won't appear on their Course Content pages.
• Assign the student to a different group that already exists. Select the group's name in the menu. For self-enrollment groups, you can move selected students to other groups, even if the group limit is exceeded.

You can also move multiple students to a different group in one action, create a new group for them, or unassign them all from the group.

To remove all students from all groups, select Unassign All at the top of the page. Unassign All disappears after groups submit attempts.

If you change the number of self-enrollment groups, new groups are created, and all members are unassigned. Students who enrolled previously aren’t notified they need to enroll again.

• Membership changes in a group set affect everywhere the groups are used, such as in group assignments.
• Membership changes in a group assignment based on a course group set affect the course group set.

Group assignments appear on the Course Content page

You can view how many groups you assigned and open the link to view the members. If you've enabled group conversations, an activity icon appears for new activity.

Ready to grade?

You can assign one grade for each group or grade students on their individual contributions.

More on grading a group assignment

Student workflow

On the Course Content page, students can see their group names listed with the group assignment. When they access the group assignment, they can see their group members. Each group member can edit and update the draft saved in the group assignment.

Students who aren't assigned to a group won't have access to the group assignment because it won't appear on their Course Content pages.

If Join a group to participate appears under a group assignment title, students select the link to choose a group. Students may see an enrollment period if you added one. Students need to join a group before the deadline. If they haven't joined a group, students are notified when the enrollment deadline approaches.

Reminder : When the enrollment period ends, students can no longer join groups and aren’t enrolled automatically . Students need to ask you to add them so they can view the group assignment.

Move to another group

Students may move to a different group if their present group or the new group hasn’t submitted work. If you’ve added an enrollment period, students may only move while the enrollment period is open.

Group assignment submission

Some students may have anxiety about opening a group assignment. They may think that they have to submit the group assignment if they open it. You might tell students that when they select View assessment , they can just view the assignment or add some work.

Group members can add work, save a draft, and let other members work on the assignment also. After a group member views the assignment or adds some work, the member selects Save and Close in the panel. Their work on behalf of the group is saved and not submitted. Another group member can resume working on the assignment later. Everyone in the group can keep track of the latest version of the work.

When the work is finished, only one student in the group needs to submit for the group.

More on the student workflow

Learn - instructor

Need more help with learn .

Contact your institution's support desk  

• Watch videos for instructors  
• Join the Community  

Example Group Assignments

• Divide students into teams, designating one student as a leader. Have the students apply course concepts to solving a problem and report back to the class. Other groups or students are encouraged to comment on the final solutions of other teams. 2  
• Students complete an assignment that will be assessed by their peers. This is an effective learning assessment tool when there are no right or wrong answers and when several methods can be used to solve a problem.  
• Students complete a draft of an essay or an oral report, then have peers critique and edit.  It’s valuable to have the assessment rubric available to use as an editing guide. 1
• Students read assigned material and come up with questions reflective of their reading. They can post their questions to a designated Blackboard discussion thread, and work on answering the questions individually or in groups. The instructor monitors, redirects, settles disputes, or adds comment to lead the discussion in a new direction or positively reinforce students.  
• Use the jigsaw for complex problem solving. First, separate students into expert groups. Each group is assigned a different piece of the concept to present to the class. In the expert group, the students work on ways to present their piece to the larger class so the class understands the concept. The students teach the class the concept. Assess learning through peer review or individual quizzes. This activity ensures individual responsibility while using collaborative learning. 1
• Students describe someone they admire in their field, contact and interview this person. The assignment is structured so the student learns how to make contacts and report back on their experiences. On a more simple level, students could network with other students in their class to practice networking and learn about what other experiences students are bringing to the class.  
• Wikis help streamline group projects by allowing students to collaborate seamlessly while providing the instructor with a digital footprint of each group member who contributed to the project.
• http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Papers/CLChapter.pdf
• https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/developing-assignments/group-work/group-work-classroom-types-small-groups
• http://www.uwlax.edu/catl/studentlearning/presentations/collaborativelearningtechniqueshandout.pdf
• https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/setting-up-and-facilitating-group-work-using-cooperative-learning-groups-effectively/

Purposefully pause.  Think critically. Reflect on your teaching and your students' learning.

Brought to you by

• Mar 25, 2021

Assigning Roles to Increase the Effectiveness of Group Work

Updated: May 17, 2023

Karen De Meyst , Miami University

Jonathan Grenier , Miami University

Although group assignments have many benefits, instructors may encounter a wide variety of problems. Common problems include students not contributing to the project, one student dominating the group, or students having different expectations about group performance and workload (Burke, 2011). In this article, we suggest assigning roles to group members to mitigate these problems, thereby increasing team effectiveness and efficiency.

Assigning Roles to Group Members

Most studies on the use of group roles focus on settings where students have to work together for in-class activities. The literature suggests multiple benefits of this practice for outside-of-class group work. Specifically, studies on in-class group activities find increased participation, less freeriding, increased knowledge acquisition, and reduced student distraction (Cohn, 1999; Coggeshall, 2010; Hirshfield & Chachra, 2015; Schellens et al. 2005; Shimazoe & Aldrich, 2010). To test the effectiveness of this approach for larger, outside-of-class group projects, we implemented it in an accounting course.

Implementation

Specifically, we tested this approach in an upper-level undergraduate accounting course at Miami University. For this course, students had to complete four group projects. The instructor assigned students to groups of five or six students at the start of the semester, and groups remained the same throughout the semester. In addition, the instructor explained that for each group project, students would have to assign roles among group members. The list of roles included a manager as the leader of the group, a planner responsible for planning meetings and sending reminders, an editing specialist, a technology specialist, a checker responsible for knowing and verifying compliance with the assignment requirements, and two questioners who were required to play the devil's advocate. Given that there were seven roles in total and that all roles had to be fulfilled for each project, if a group had less than seven members in the group, students would have to take on two roles.

Further, students had to take on a different role for each project. In this way, they developed multiple skills. This also reduced the risk that one student would dominate the group (Cottell & Millis, 1992; Rosser, 1998). As students assigned roles among themselves, students could start in roles they found most comfortable and maximize group members' strengths (Andrist, 2015). It was also important to hold students accountable for the roles they fulfilled (TTC, 2018). Thus, students had to communicate to the instructor the roles assigned for each project. Although all group members received the same grade for the group projects, the instructor knew who was responsible if the group failed to meet a requirement. Overall, the instructor emphasized that all group members remained responsible for the submission content and group roles related to the coordination of the work.

Student Reactions

To examine the effectiveness of assigning roles to group members, we compared students' survey responses, peer evaluations, and the quality of students' submissions in the section of the course in which this approach was implemented to two other sections of the same course without assigned roles. Overall, the survey measured students' perceptions of group dynamics and team performance. Although perceptions of group dynamics did not seem to be affected by assigning roles, results indicated that perceptions of team performance were higher when students assigned roles. Specifically, students perceived the group as better organized, and team members were better at following through on decisions and action items. These differences were statistically significant.

Students were also asked to describe in the survey what they enjoyed and what they did not enjoy about the group work in the course. Although not asked for it specifically, different students shared their opinions about the requirement to assign group roles. One student who appreciated this intervention formulated it as follows: "It allowed us to distribute work according to our strengths and helps build communications skills". Other students enjoyed that the roles changed from one project to another, noticed more effective communication and cooperation, and argued that it helped them to hold themselves accountable for their decisions as a group.

Interestingly, a few students were less positive. For example, one student argued that the requirement to assign roles in an upper-level undergraduate course felt immature and unnecessary. Another student suggested that it would be better if roles did not have to change for every project so that students could stay with roles they were good at.

Further, students had to complete peer evaluations for each of their group members. The peer evaluation questionnaires contained three items related to team effectiveness. Averages on these items were consistently higher in the section where students had to assign group roles, but not always significantly higher. The instructor also subjectively assessed the quality of the submissions.

Although there did not seem to be any differences between the quality of the content of the group projects, it was clear that students worked better together as groups as (a) formal requirements were better met, (b) there was increased consistency between the different parts of the group work, and (c) the writing was better.

Considerations

Overall, we found assigning roles to group members can be a good way to improve group work and team effectiveness. However, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, and different adaptations are possible, depending on the specific characteristics and learning objectives of your group project.

Here are some final considerations to keep in mind when implementing this approach:

Before implementing this approach, it is important to reflect on how beneficial this approach could be for your specific course. What are the problems you are currently experiencing? How could this approach increase the effectiveness of your group projects?

Instructors may want to consider their students and the level of their course in the curriculum. Some students may appreciate that assigning group roles helps coordinate the work. In contrast, students with a more independent attitude – especially at higher levels in the curriculum – may experience this additional formal requirement as unnecessary.

It is important to craft your list of roles carefully based on your group projects' specific characteristics and learning objectives. Some roles discussed above may not be relevant for your projects, while you may think of other roles that could make a difference in your course.

Will the instructor assign roles to group members, or should group members assign roles among themselves? While there are benefits to each approach, this decision should depend on the approach that best fits the learning objectives.

Should roles change during the semester, or can students stay with the same role for different projects? Although the requirement to rotate roles, as discussed above, has its own benefits, it may be a good idea to allow students to stay with the same role such that the group optimally benefits from students' strengths.

How will you hold students accountable for the roles fulfilled? Will there be a grade component related to role fulfillment, or will all group members receive the same grade?

Discussion Questions

What are some problems you are experiencing when assigning group work? How could the practice of assigning group roles mitigate these problems?

What are specific roles that students need to fulfill when completing group projects for your course? Which roles are most important?

How could assigning roles to group members help students meet the learning objectives of your group projects? Which modifications would you have to make for this approach to best fulfill your needs?

Andrist, P. (2015). Team roles and responsibilities. Green River College: Campus Reflection Field Guide – Reflective Techniques to Encourage Student Learning: Background and Examples. https://depts.washington.edu/cpreeuw/wordpress/wp content/uploads/2015/10/GR-FG02.pdf

Burke, A. (2011). Group work: How to use groups effectively. The Journal of Effective Teaching, 11 (2), 87–95. https://uncw.edu/jet/articles/vol11_2/burke.pdf

Coggeshall, B. (2010). Assigning individual roles and its effect on the cooperative learning setting . St. John Fisher College. https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgiarticle=1098&context=mathcs_etd_masters

Cohn, C. (1999). Cooperative learning in a macroeconomics course. College Teaching, 47 (2), 51–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567559909595784

Cottell, P., & Millis, B. (1992). Cooperative learning in accounting . Journal of Accounting Education, 10, 95–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/0748-5751(92)90019-2

Hirshfield, L., & Chachra, D. (2015). Task choice, group dynamics and learning goals: Understanding student activities in teams. 2015 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference: Launching a New Vision in Engineering Education Proceedings , 1–5. https://doi.org/ 10.1109/FIE.2015.7344043

Rosser, S. (1998). Group work in science, engineering, and mathematics: Consequences of ignoring gender and race. College Teaching, 46 (3), 82–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567559809596243

Schellens, T, Van Keer, H., & Valcke, M. (2005). The impact of role assignment on knowledge construction in asynchronous discussion groups: A multilevel analysis. Small Group Research, 36 (6), 704–745. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/1046496405281771

Shimazoe, J., & Aldrich, H. (2010). Group work can be gratifying: Understanding and overcoming resistance to cooperative learning. College Teaching, 58 , 52–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567550903418594

TTC (The Teaching Center Washington University in Saint Louis). (2018). Using roles in group work . https://ctl.wustl.edu/resources/using-roles-in-group-work/

About the Author

• Active Learning
• Engaging Students

Recent Posts

Visual Journaling

Inclusive Active Participation Through Non-Oral Methods

Faculty-Student Partnerships in Curriculum Design and Review

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

• Annotated Bibliography
• Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article
• Group Presentations
• Dealing with Nervousness
• Using Visual Aids
• Grading Someone Else's Paper
• Types of Structured Group Activities
• Group Project Survival Skills
• Leading a Class Discussion
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Works
• Writing a Case Analysis Paper
• Writing a Case Study
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Reflective Paper
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Generative AI and Writing
• Acknowledgments

Planning for and Giving a Group Presentation

Students working on group projects are often asked to give an oral presentation summarizing the results of their research. Professors assign group presentations because they combine the cooperative learning benefits of working in groups with the active learning benefits of speaking in front of an audience. However, similar to participating in a group project , giving a group presentation requires making decisions together , negotiating shared responsibilities, and collaborating on developing a set of solutions to a research problem . Below are issues to consider when planning and while giving a group presentation.

Before the Presentation

When to Begin

Planning the logistics around giving a presentation should take place as the group project progresses and, most critically, coalesce immediately after results of your study are known and clear recommendations can be made. Keep in mind that completing the basic tasks of giving a presentation [e.g., designating a moderator, designing the slide templates, working on the introduction, etc.] can save you time and allow your group to focus just before giving the presentation on how to effectively highlight the most important aspects of the research study.

Sharing the Responsibility

Everyone in the group should have an equal role in preparing the presentation and covering a similar amount of information during the presentation. However, a moderator should be elected to lead the presentation. The group should then determine what each member will speak about. This can be based on either the member's interests or what they worked on during the group project. This means that each member should be responsible for developing an outline of what they will talk about and drafting the content of their section of the slides or other forms of visual aids.

NOTE: If , for whatever reason, a group member is  particularly anxious about speaking in front of an audience or perhaps they are uncomfortable because English is not their first language, consider giving them a role that can be easily articulated, such as, introducing the purpose of the study and its importance. Everyone must participate in speaking, but be cognizant of the need to support that person by discussing what would work best for them while still being an active contributor to the presentation.

Organizing the Content

The content of the presentation should parallel the organization of the research study. In general, it should include a brief introduction, a description of the study, along with its purpose and significance, a review of prior research and its relevance to your group's project, an analysis of the results, with an emphasis on significance findings or recommended courses of action, and a brief statement about any limitations and how the group managed them. The conclusion of the presentation should briefly summarize the study's key findings and implications and, if time has been allotted, ask for questions from the audience. The conclusion can also be used to highlight areas of study the require further investigation. Note that the group's time should be spent primarily discussing the results of the study and their implications in furthering knowledge about the research problem .

Developing the Content

The narrative around each section must flow together smoothly t o ensure that the audience remains engaged. An initial meeting to discuss each section of the presentation should include the following: 1) deciding on the sequence of speakers and which group member presents on which section; 2) determining who will oversee the use of any technology [and who steps up when it's that person's turn to speak]; 3) determining how much time should be allocated for each section in relation to the overall time limit; 4) discussing the use and content of slides or other visual aids; and, 5) developing a general outline of the presentation. Once everyone's roles and responsibilities have been negotiated, the group should establish a schedule of deadlines for when the work should to be completed.

Creating Transitions

Building the narrative of an oral presentation means more than imparting information; it also requires the group to work together developing moments of transition from one section to the next. Transitional statements ensures coordination among members about what is to be covered and helps your audience follow along and remain engaged. The transition from one section to the next should include both verbal cues [e.g., a recap what you just discussed and an introduction of the next speaker] and non-verbal gestures [e.g., stepping away from the podium or front of class to make room for the next speaker]. An example of this transition could be something like this:

Speaker 1: " ...so to summarize, the literature suggested that allegations of election fraud often created the conditions for massive street protests in democratized societies. Next Mike will discuss how we analyzed recent events in Mexico and determined why this assumption may not apply under certain conditions. "

Speaker 2: " Thank you, Jordan. Next slide. In our study, we coded and analyzed the content of twitter accounts to explore the rise of dissension among.... "

NOTE:   Each member of the group should learn the entire presentation and not just their section. This ensures that members can help out if the speaker becomes nervous and loses track of what to say or if they forget something. If each member knows the entire presentation, then there is always someone who can step up and support the speaker by maintaining the narrative and not losing the audience's attention.

Practicing the Presentation

The most critical thing to do before giving a group presentation is to practice as a group. Rehearse what will be said and how it will be said so you know that the overall structure works, that the time is allotted correctly, and that any changes can be made, if needed. Also, rehearsing the presentation should include practicing use of the technology and choreographing where people will stand. An effective strategy is to rehearse the entire presentation at least twice. Practice with each member taking turns speaking in front of the other members pretending that they are the audience. This way the group members can take turns offering suggestions about improving the presentation and the speaker gets more comfortable speaking in front of people. Practice a second time presenting as a group. This way, everyone can rehearse where to stand and coordinate transitions. If possible, practice in the room where your presentation will take place; standing in the front of a classroom feels very different from sitting there as a student.

During the Presentation

Before the Presentations Begin

If groups are presenting from a shared computer, ask your professor if you could pre-load your slides or other visual aids before the class begins . This will ensure that you're not taking time away from your presentation downloading and setting everything up. In addition, if there is a problem, it can be resolved beforehand rather than it being a distraction when you start the presentation.

Introduction

Begin by having the moderator introduce the group by giving each member's name and a brief description of what they will be presenting on. And, yes, this seems like a pointless formality because it's likely that everyone knows everyone else. However, this is expected because it reflects giving oral presentations in most professional and work settings. In addition, your group has a limited amount of time to present and introducing everyone before the presentation begins saves more time than having each individual introduce themselves before they speak.

When Not Speaking

Assuming your group has practiced at least twice [and preferably more], you have heard and seen the entire presentation multiple times. Keep in mind, however, that your audience has not and they can observe everyone in the group. Be engaged. Do not look bored or distracted while others are speaking. Pay attention to each other by watching what the presenter is doing. Respond positively to the presenter and use nonverbal cues [e.g., nodding your head] as a way to help emphasize keys points of the presentation; audiences notice when those not speaking react to something the speaker is saying.

Coordinate Moving from One Speaker to the Next

The person presenting should take a position in the foreground of where you are delivering the information. Group members not speaking should step back and take a spot behind or off to the side of the speaker. When the person speaking is done, the next person steps forward. This pre-planned choreography may seem trivial, but it emphasizes to your audience who the next speaker will be and demonstrates a smooth, coordinated delivery throughout the presentation.

Visual Aids

Plan ahead how to use slides or other visual aids. The person currently presenting should not be distracted by having to constantly move to the next slide, backup and show an earlier slide, or exit a slide to show a video or external web page . Coordinate who in the group is responsible for taking the cue to change slides or otherwise manipulate the technology. When it's time for that person to speak, have a plan in place for passing this responsibility to someone else in the group. Fumbling around with who does what when, distracts the audience. Note however that the role of moving from one slide to the next does not count as being a presenter!

The presentation should conclude with the moderator stepping forward and thanking the audience and asking if there are any questions. If a question relates to a specific part of the presentation, the group member who spoke during that part should answer the question; it should not be the moderator's responsibility to answer for everyone. If another group follows your presentation from a shared computer, be courteous and close out all of your slides or other visual aids before stepping away.

Aguilera, Anna, Jesse Schreier, and Cassandra Saitow. "Using Iterative Group Presentations in an Introductory Biology Course to Enhance Student Engagement and Critical Thinking." The American Biology Teacher 79 (August 2017): 450-454; Barnard, Sam. "Guide for Giving a Group Presentation." VirtualSpeech Ltd., 2019; Eisen, Arri. "Small-Group Presentations: Teaching Science Thinking and Context in a Large Biology Class." BioScience 48 (January 1998): 53-58; Group Presentations. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University ; Kågesten, Owe, and Johann Engelbrecht. "Student Group Presentations: A Learning Instrument in Undergraduate Mathematics for Engineering Students." European Journal of Engineering Education 32 (2007): 303-314; Lucas, Stephen. The Art of Public Speaking . [Chapter 19]. 12th edition. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2015; McArthur, John A. “10 Tips for Improving Group Presentations.” [blog]. Department of Communication Studies, Furman University, November 1, 2011; Melosevic, Sara. “Simple Group Presentation Tips for Maximum Teamwork Magic.” PresentBetter, November 13, 2018; St. John, Ron. Group Project Guidelines. Department of Speech, University of Hawai'i Maui Community College, January 16, 2002.

• << Previous: Giving an Oral Presentation
• Next: Dealing with Nervousness >>
• Last Updated: Jun 3, 2024 9:44 AM
• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/assignments

Page Description

The following page is a one column layout with a header that contains a quicklinks jump menu and the search CSUN function. Page sections are identified with headers. The footer contains update, contact and emergency information.

• Skip Navigation
• Accessibility
• People Finder
• CSUN A to Z
• Academic First Year Experiences
• Faculty Development

CSUN Teaching Strategies

Before you assign another group project . . . . six keys to creating effective group assignments and team projects (2011).

Wendy Yost, Lecturer Department of Recreation & Tourism Management California State University, Northridge [email protected]

Note: documents on this page can be viewed online using free software: Adobe Acrobat Reader (for .pdf files) and Microsoft Word Viewer (for .doc files).

When I first started teaching Recreation & Tourism Management 302 - Dynamics of Leadership in Recreation & Human Services, I knew that in order to meet the Learning Outcomes for the course it would be important to include a group project among the class assignments.

Yet I also knew, that as a student, I hated group projects. I typically did more than my share of the work to achieve a desirable grade, it was difficult to find time outside of class to meet with my classmates and professors weren't always clear about their expectations for group assignments.

It turns out, two decades later, these concerns persist as a recent study conducted on campus confirmed.

Recently 136 students at California State University, Northridge completed a survey having to do with Navigating Conflict in Student Teams. The students identified five contributing factors to experiencing conflict in student teams: Schedule/Distance differences, Quality/Personal Standards differences, Style/Personality differences, Group Size/Roles and Accountability. More specifically, of the students who responded indicated the following:

• 14% of students felt group work was negative because of: Communication Problems
• 39% of students felt group work was negative because of: Timing, Scheduling Issues
• 47% of students felt group work was negative because of: Personality Clash, Conflicting Ideas, Disagreements
• 73% of students felt group work was negative because of: Lack of Participation, Slackers, Flakes, Unequal Work

[Scott, W., Taylor, A., Lemus, D., and Oh, J. (2008, April). Navigating Conflict in Student Teams . Symposium conducted at Faculty Development Series, California State University Northridge, California.]

So as I thought through how to build a more effective, engaging and enjoyable group project, I realized I needed to approach the assignment differently than I had seen it approached in the past.

Below you will find detailed information about a group project that I have administered for the last six semesters along with the various tools that I designed to support the students with the assignment.

To provide further context, I use this assignment in a 300 level required student leadership course that typically includes 35 - 40 (but has included as many as 50) students, all pursuing their degrees in Recreation & Tourism Management.

Each semester, this assignment has been well received by students as a critical learning experience as well as an unexpectedly fun opportunity to get to know themselves and their classmates as leaders.

I routinely receive feedback from students about this group project being the first group project that they ever enjoyed participating in. I don't think their feedback has much to do with the assignment itself, but rather the context created for the assignment and the tools and support offered throughout it.

There are six keys that come to mind when I think of this assignment and what has contributes to its success:

Create a Conducive Environment that Encourages Positive Participation

Group projects always make me nervous. My social skills are not all there, I guess. Although, since starting this semester, getting into groups and participating in activities has been fun and great for networking. I don’t feel as uncomfortable as I have felt in the past with previous classes. –Thomas

This starts with the very first day of class when I review a section in the course syllabus entitled: Appropriate Classroom Etiquette . In it I explain...

Every person in the class deserves your respect. We are all here to learn. Including me. As we move through the semester, you may not always agree with what is being shared. In such cases, please make a point of disagreeing with what is being said without attacking the person who said it. Learning how to give and receive constructive feedback is a cornerstone of leadership. It is also a skill that takes practice. So as necessary, I will ask you to rephrase your opinion or observation in a more constructive way.

There are also several things that I have been told by students that I do that help them want to participate in class: I learn each student's name by the third week of class (including in the class of 50*), I welcome and encourage differing points of view as long as they are communicated respectfully, and I encourage students to share things about themselves with the class in low risk ways. For example, when I am returning papers, I ask that the students to share their favorite ice cream flavor, favorite movie, favorite place to eat and so on. I ask the class to pay attention to what is being shared as they might find someone in class that they have a lot in common with.

*A small side bar on learning names quickly: I tell the students that it is important that they be known by me and known by each other in this class. I ask about correct pronunciation of any names I have difficulty with again and again. I have the students state their name before talking for the first few weeks. I take notes on my role sheet to help remember key traits. I allow myself to make a lot of mistakes the first few weeks, and restate my commitment to learning their names. The students seem to cut me some slack when I mess up given they see that I am trying. I often use appropriate humor to smooth over my mistakes, especially when they occur half way through the semester.

There are several systems for remembering names that you can find online. If this is something you would like to work on, I recommend conducting a brief online search and then selecting a process that will work best for you.

A playful facet of creating a conducive environment emerged organically one semester and has stuck ever since. It is my invoking my Best Audience Ever clause. I explain to the students that they are all going to be speaking in front of the class over the course of the semester and therefore they will want to provide a comfortable atmosphere for public speaking.

I then write on the board that a positive atmosphere includes students who are Attentive, Supportive and Smiling. I write the words on the board in such a way that the first letter stands out and then suggest that doing anything other than being Attentive, Supportive and Smiling would leave them being what the initials spell out. It usually gets a laugh and they usually get the point.

Acknowledge the Realities of Our Students

We know that most of the students in our classes work part time, full time or more not to mention other responsibilities they have on their plates. If you have any doubts about this, ask the students in your class. I was surprised to learn how many students were juggling multiple jobs in addition to school to be able to help their family with expenses. I also found that many students have significant responsibilities when it comes to helping to raise younger brothers or sisters or helping with aging parents or grandparents. All of which take time and energy.

By building in class time for the groups to meet, it reduces one of the biggest concerns students have about group assignments and it allows you to observe the groups in action to assess what additional support and/or direction might be needed.

There are a couple of things I would like to point out about the Sample Group Project Worksheet. I wait until after the last day to add/drop to assign groups. I found that this minimizes frustration of groups gaining or loosing members. Students can still add/drop after this date, but more signatures are required to do so and it is therefore less common. If a group looses a student after they have started their planning process, I meet with them to discuss how to best adjust their project plan. I also adjust my expectations for how long their presentation needs to be and consider the impact of having lost a member mid-project when calculating their grades.

On the days that they gather in their work groups, I take role and then ask them to get into their groups. I bring various resources that can assist them in the their planning process and I serve as a willing resource until the last group leaves the room. Students are able to use this time to work in our classroom, go to the library, go to a computer lab or go elsewhere on campus that might support their planning process.

Sample Group Project Worksheet (DOC, 35 KB) / Sample Group Project Worksheet (PDF, 18 KB)

Clearly Communicate Expectations

At the start of the semester, I let the students know that there will be a group project, and that I am committed to having it be unlike any group project they have experienced before. We talk about what they dislike about group projects and then I provide information about how this group project will be different and ask that they please set aside past experiences and be open to a more positive experience this semester.

More specifically, the students know upon reading the syllabus for class at the start of the semester that I am committed to their experience working on a group project being a positive one, that they will have time in class to meet, that they will have access to me if any questions or concerns arise during their planning process, and that they will have a supportive audience when they do their group presentations.

Group Project Assignment Excerpts from Course Syllabus (DOC, 45 KB) / Group Project Assignment Excerpts from Course Syllabus (PDF, 17 KB)

Consider Grading Individually for Group Projects

I reserve the right to grade individually. This lessens some of the concerns students have about mismatched standards of quality or having to do more than their fair share of the work. It does mean that mechanisms need to be created to assess individual grades (i.e. Peer Reviews, Journal Entries, or the like). Yet it provides freedom in being able to assign grades that are appropriate for the level of work contributed. This method also allows students to gain important skills related to giving and receiving feedback.

A few words on the samples provided in this section. Each student in class completes a Peer Review Form. I draw names for which students will conduct the peer reviews for which groups the day of each presentation. This process keeps the students engaged in the classes being taught by their peers.

If a student feels that there were group members who did not effectively contribute to the planning or execution of their group's project, then they are encouraged to speak up about it in their Student Report (a journal entry) and to submit a Collaborative Learning Form.

If I elect to provide different grades for members of a group, that decision is based on corroborating data from the following: Students expressing concern to me, what multiple group members communicated in their Student Reports, any Collaborative Learning Forms received and what was readily apparent to me and to the peer reviewers while watching the group's presentation.

In some cases, I think the sheer possibility of individual grades has encouraged students who might otherwise slack off, to instead step up, knowing that they will not be carried by their group mates.

Sample Peer Review Form (PDF, 19 KB)

Sample Student Report (PDF, 61 KB)

Sample Collaborative Learning Form (PDF, 17 KB)

Provide Appropriate Tools, Resources, and Support

The ice-breaker was a great way to get acquainted and find out how to best interact with group members – while having fun! –Katie

I found it critically important to hold lectures and discussions on typical issues related to group dynamics before putting students into groups. And provide avenues for the students to express concerns with how their group's progress is unfolding.

The activity that launches the group project is a simple one, and yet it is an activity that come the end of the semester, many students still reference. It is based on Bruce Tuckman's Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing model of group development.

After conducting a lottery to put students into groups, I have them do a small ice breaker (favorite movie or the like) as they add their names, phone numbers and email addresses to the Group Project Worksheets.

I then have them refer to the Tuckman's Forming Storming Norming Performing Overview in their class reader and assign each group one of the stages of group development: Forming, Storming, Norming or Performing. As a group they get to choose how to best teach their assigned stage of development to the class via three of the following possible methods: Singing a Song, Reenacting a TV Scene, Reenacting a Movie Scene, Reenacting a Historical Reference or via an Interpretive Dance. I remind them of the Best Audience Ever Clause: Attentive, Smiling and Supportive and I give them 15 minutes to prepare.

When it is time to perform, I have each group come to the front of the room one at a time, stand in front of their peers, take a breath and look to their peer audience. I have the group members announce which chapter they will be teaching the class for their group project, and have each group member share their name. I have the class clap for them before they actually present their way of teaching Forming, Storming, Norming or Performing.

After each group has presented their material, we discuss both the group development model and what the experience was like for them. I drive home that all groups storm and that it is a natural part of a group's development and therefore to acknowledge it when it happens. I also share that they have now all been in front of the class, spoke in front of their peers (some even sang or danced!) and they lived through it. So by the end of the semester, their group project should be a piece of cake!

The Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing activity was a blast! It brought our group closer together and allowed us to work together and amalgamate our ideas. Our topic was Performing. We took too much time discussing our ideas so when our time was up we didn’t have much of a plan. I do believe that given the time we have to work on the group project we will work together really well. –Emily

Above is just one example with one ice-breaker, lists of ice-breakers can be easily located via a simple online search. You can also visit the Dick Scott Memorial Leadership Library located in the Matador Involvement Center on campus (1st Floor, University Student Union Sol Center) where you can check out books that list thousands of ice-breakers and team builders and how to facilitate them. Some favorites from the Leadership Library include:

• Bianchi, S., Butler, J., Richey, D., (1990). Warm-ups for Meeting Leaders . San Diego: University Associates/Pfeiffer & Company. (BINDER)
• Bendaly, L., (1996). Games Teams Play: Dynamic Activities for Tapping Work Team Potential . Whitby: McGraw-Hill Ryerson limited. (BINDER)
• Forbess-Greene, S., (1983). The encyclopedia of icebreakers: structured activities that warm-up, motivate, challenge, acquaint and energize . San Francisco: Pfeiffer & Company An imprint of Jossey-Bass, Inc., Publishers.
• Newstrom, J.W., Scannel, E., The Complete Games Trainers Play . Volume I (BINDER)
• Newstrom, J.W., Scannel, E., The Complete Games Trainers Play . Volume II (BINDER)
• Pfeiffer, J.W. (1989). The encyclopedia of group activities: 150 practical designs for successful facilitating . San Francisco: Pfeiffer & Company: an imprint of Jossey-Bass, Inc., Publishers.
• Ukens, L.L. (1997). Getting together: icebreakers and group energizers . San Francisco: Pfeiffer, an imprint of Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers.

Sample Group Project Worksheet (PDF, 18 KB)

Tuckman's Forming Storming Norming Performing Overview (PDF, 45 KB)

Include Opportunities for Reflection Throughout the Experience

I have found that it is important to provide multiple avenues for students to share their experience functioning as part of a group. Some ideas:

• Routinely ask how things are going with their groups
• If the course includes a journaling experience, have the students submit a journal entry on how progress with their group is unfolding halfway through the planning process
• Remind students of your office hours and encourage them to talk with you if they or their group is struggling
• Have students write a reflective paper after they completed the assignment

If a student or students come to me before or after class or during office hours with concerns about their group, I take time during the next class session to ask how all of the groups are doing, what has been working and what has presented different challenges. Students can learn from other groups as to how to function more effectively and if most of the groups are struggling you might find aspects of the assignment that you might consider re-tooling in the future.

Create an evaluation or simply have a discussion that allows students to provide you with feedback on what they learned from the assignment, what could have made the assignment more relevant/applicable and what additional support from the professor might have be helpful.

In closing, at the end of each semester, we spend an entire class revisiting what we learned during our past 15 weeks together. Time and again students reference the group project. They speak to what they learned as a presenter, as a group member, as a peer reviewer and as a learner receiving chapter content from their peers. While there are a lot of steps involved in the process outlined, they have shown to make a positive difference in how students experience group projects. I think one particularly shy student summed it up well...

I just want to thank you for giving me and my classmates the opportunity and the encouragement to know one another so when that time comes to speak in front of the class, I will feel comfortable and ready to demonstrate leadership. –Deon

Related Recommended Readings (PDF, 36 KB)

• The California State University
• Terms and Conditions for Use
• Emergency Information
• Questions about this page?
• CIELO at CSU Northridge / 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330-8370 / Phone: 818-677-6535 / © 2010 CSU Northridge
• Updated on 3/6/13

You're signed out

Sign in to ask questions, follow content, and engage with the Community

• Canvas Student
• Student Guide
• How do I submit an assignment on behalf of a group...
• Subscribe to RSS Feed
• Printer Friendly Page
• Report Inappropriate Content

How do I submit an assignment on behalf of a group?

in Student Guide

Note: You can only embed guides in Canvas courses. Embedding on other sites is not supported.

Community Help

View our top guides and resources:.

To participate in the Instructurer Community, you need to sign up or log in:

for Education

• Google Classroom
• Google Workspace Admin
• Google Cloud

Where teaching and learning come together

Google Classroom helps educators create engaging learning experiences they can personalize, manage, and measure. Part of Google Workspace for Education, it empowers educators to enhance their impact and prepare students for the future.

• Contact sales
• Sign in to Classroom

150M people worldwide use Google Classroom

Google Classroom is designed with feedback from the educational community, influencing the development of new features that let educators focus on teaching and students focus on learning.

Enrich and personalize learning

Drive student agency with tools that meet students where they are – and build skills for their future.

Premium features that inspire new ways of teaching and learning

Power student potential.

Create interactive assignments, even from existing PDFs, that provide real-time feedback and individual guidance with prompts and hints with the help of AI.

Help students develop literacy skills

Assign differentiated reading activities using the Classroom integration with Read Along, a fun, speech-based tool from Google that helps students independently build their reading skills, while giving educators insight into their progress.

Reinforce concepts with self-paced learning

Assign interactive questions for YouTube videos, giving students real-time feedback as they move through a lesson, while viewing insights into their performance.

Enhance lessons with popular integrations

Easily find, add, use and grade content with add-ons from popular EdTech tools, right within Classroom.

Make learning more personal and foster student agency

Support differentiated instruction.

Customize classwork for every student and support them with real-time feedback and easy communication tools.

Foster academic integrity

Encourage original thinking and identify potential plagiarism with originality reports that compare student work against billions of web pages and over 40 million books.

Make learning accessible and inclusive

Help students customize their learning environment to reduce barriers to learning.

Prepare students for the future

Encourage organization and time management skills with interactive to-do lists, automatic due dates, and industry-leading productivity tools.

• Explore all features

Amplify instruction with tools that simplify everyday tasks

Boost instructional time with tools purpose-built for teaching, productivity, and collaboration.

Premium features that elevate teaching

Support originality with plagiarism detection.

Help students integrate citations and avoid unintentional plagiarism with unlimited originality reports and a school-owned repository of past work.

Streamline lesson planning

Create a link to your class, then share it with peers in your organization, so they can easily preview, select, and import high-quality classwork into their classes.

Inform instruction with data-driven insights

Classroom analytics provide educators with insights and visibility into how students turn in, perform on, and engage with assignments, so educators can make informed decisions about the best way to provide support.

Simplify and connect grading workflows

Sync gradebooks to seamlessly manage and export grades from Classroom to your school’s SIS – available for PowerSchool (coming soon), Infinite Campus, Skyward SMS, Skyward Qmlativ, and Follett Aspen. Educators can customize grading periods (e.g., quarters, semesters, terms) and grading scales (e.g., letter, numeric) in their class settings to align to their school’s grading structure or system, reduce errors for SIS grade export and allow educators to more easily filter and analyze assignments.

Tools designed for seamless teaching

Save time on everyday tasks.

Assign, grade, and provide feedback across multiple classes, and even on the go with iOS and Android versions of the Classroom app.

Elevate communication, collaboration, and connection

Connect with students and parents instantly with embedded chat and meeting tools while leveraging built-in chat and comment features to leave students feedback as they’re working.

Grade more efficiently

Assess student progress with customizable rubrics that students can see, and save time with efficient feedback and grade export tools.

Get creative with hundreds of apps

Hundreds of EdTech apps integrate with Classroom to spark creativity and enable more opportunities for learning.

Operate with solutions designed to gain visibility, insights, and control

Create learning environments that are easier to manage and support educators and students with connected, safer tools.

Premium features to support your organization and foster stronger learning outcomes

Make data-driven decisions.

Gain visibility into everything from class performance to individual student assignment completion with Classroom analytics (coming soon), or export Classroom logs to BigQuery to analyze adoption, engagement, and more.

Distribute high-quality class templates to educators

Easily share high-quality class templates so educators in your organization can preview and import classwork into their own classes.

Virtually visit classes to support teachers and students

Designated education leaders and staff can temporarily access classes to support educators, manage substitute teachers, see information for guardian conversations, and more.

Manage classes at scale

Create classes automatically and sync class lists from your student information system (SIS) with Clever .

A secure, reliable, and extensible platform for school communities of all sizes

Benefit from industry-leading privacy and security.

Classroom uses the same infrastructure as other Google Workspace products, meeting rigorous privacy standards with regular third-party audits. Access a centralized Admin console with controlled entry and insights into performance and security.

Stay flexible and reliable

Scale your school community with a global network with full-stack security and 99% uptime.

Extend and scale Classroom

Integrate with your student information system (SIS) and customize Classroom to work for your unique needs with APIs.

Support staff and enhance collaboration

Empower educators with instructional resources , professional development programs , and online training courses , available at no cost.

Level up your Classroom with apps

Discover a world of apps that seamlessly integrate with Chromebooks and Google Workspace for Education.

• Explore App Hub

How Classroom can make a difference for you

Education leaders, it administrators.

Classroom can be learned in minutes and serves all types of learners and educators, regardless of their tech savviness. Empower educators, and encourage adoption and proficiency with new tools and techniques, with a broad range of resources.

• Get a quick overview of the benefits of Classroom
• Read customer stories
• Explore trainings and resources for educators
• 40+ ways to use Google Workspace for Education paid editions
• Learn about sustainability in Google for Education products

Teachers can immediately set up classes, easily create coursework, distribute it to the whole class, and grade it efficiently and transparently.

• Find an educator community
• Download the Classroom user guide
• View product guides

Admins have as much control as they need while they access and analyze their data for insights and choose from a range of upgrade options for additional capabilities to fit their specific needs.

• Get started with the paid editions of Workspace for Education
• View product demos
• Explore 40+ ways to use Google Workspace for Education paid editions
• Learn more about Google for Education security and privacy
• Guardian's Guide to Google Classroom

Need more information about Classroom?

• Visit the Help Center

Bring all of your tools together with Google Workspace for Education

Google Workspace for Education empowers your school community with easy-to-use tools that elevate teaching, learning, collaboration, and productivity – all on one secure platform.

• Explore Google Workspace for Education

150 million users

Active around the world, ready to transform your school, you're now viewing content for a different region..

For content more relevant to your region, we suggest:

Sign up here for updates, insights, resources, and more.

• Study Guides
• Homework Questions

Gender and the Law Group Assignment

Enrollment Groups Frequently Asked Questions

Main navigation.

• Starting in autumn quarter 2023, Stanford will introduce a staggered approach to the opening of enrollment. Enrollment groups consisting of 2,000 students each, will initiate the enrollment process in a staggered manner. These groups will be spaced at intervals of 30 minutes, allowing for a smooth and efficient progression throughout the enrollment period. 
• To ensure the system can handle the load, we are limiting the number of enrollment transactions  students can submit per minute. You will be able to submit a maximum of five individual classes and up to  two batch enroll requests within a minute. These measures aim to prevent the misuse of bots and promote a fair and equitable enrollment experience for all students.
• We’re staggering enrollment in response to student feedback and the need to optimize your enrollment experience. By strategically staggering students into groups, we can prioritize students who are closer to graduation, and greatly reduce the excessive load on our system that typically arises during the opening of enrollment, ensuring a smoother and more stable student experience.
• To prepare for enrollment, there are a few things you can do prior to your enrollment group start time. In order to ensure that Axess and SimpleEnroll are displaying and behaving as expected, it would be best to clear your browser's cache before logging in to Axess or SimpleEnroll. Be sure to review your Axess account to resolve any enrollment holds or to-do items. 
• A week before enrollment, you will receive an email with your enrollment group and unique start time. This information will also be available in Axess in the Enroll in Classes section under the My Academics menu. Your unique start time will also display as a banner in SimpleEnroll: simpleenroll.stanford.edu

Enrollment Group Assignment

• For undergraduates, we are prioritizing those with the most enrolled quarters at Stanford. Transfer students will require fewer completed quarters to enroll at similar times to their social cohort.
• For graduate and professional students students, second-year students will get first access to enroll, followed by first-year, third-year and beyond, and then Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) students.
• We evaluated multiple student-centered criteria in order to determine the most equitable and optimal way to group students in a way that promotes fairness, considers time to degree completion, and the spread of students across our different campus populations. We strived to implement a process that would discourage any practices that could lead to students overextending themselves to earn an advantage in future quarters. Evaluating enrollment groups on completed quarters was identified as the best way to accomplish the goal of providing a smooth and equitable enrollment process for all groups across campus.
• The assignment of enrollment groups is based on the number of quarters completed, meaning students closer to graduation will have earlier start times than those who are newer in their academic journey. For that reason, we are unable to accommodate requests to change these groups. We appreciate your understanding and encourage you to make the most of the available options during your assigned enrollment start time.
• Enrollment group start times were designed to support students in the fairest way possible across all of our student populations by assigning them based on students' proximity to graduation based upon the typical time for degree completion. At this time we are unable to consider individual circumstances to adjust the assignment of enrollment start times. To ensure an equitable outcome, all students will be evaluated based on the number of completed quarters. 
• Your enrollment group could change from quarter to quarter as you continue to accumulate completed quarters and other students graduate. Each enrollment group is a mix of all student levels: undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students. There is no guarantee that you will have the same or an earlier start time from quarter to quarter.
• Students are assigned to an enrollment group with a unique identifier that cannot be traded or changed. There is no appeals process to get a different enrollment group assignment.
• To ensure equity across all student types, each enrollment group is a mix of undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students. This means you could have a slightly earlier or later start time than those of your peers. Please note that all enrolled quarters are counted, including summers and programs tied to enrollment that last a portion of the summer, such as SoCo and AI.
• Students on approved TGR status have been placed in the last enrollment group priority regardless of the number of quarters they have completed. This is applicable for all TGR students across all graduate degree-seeking program types: MA, MS, PhD.

To ensure equity for across students while maintaining equal sizes for each enrollment group (~2,000 students), we randomly assigned students of the same priority level into multiple groups. For example, the first four enrollment groups (Groups 1-4) are designated for undergraduate seniors, 2nd-year graduate students, and professional school students. The entire cohort of students (~7,800) that met this eligibility criterion was randomly divided into one of the four time-slots (~1950 per group). A 5:30 p.m. start time does not represent any prioritization over a 6:00 p.m., 6:30 p.m., or 7:00 p.m. start time; sorting students of equal priority into these groups was entirely random. 

We understand that receiving the last enrollment group time might feel discouraging but note that your enrollment group time may change in future quarters. Additionally, some of our most sought-after courses, such as PHYSWELL, utilize a feature called reserve seating . This feature allows the course to have seats reserved for particular groups of students during the enrollment period. For example, many PHYSWELL courses reserve seats specifically designated for Frosh, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors to ensure that all cohorts have an equal opportunity to enroll in these courses. Due to the popularity of these courses, students are allowed to register for only one PHYSWELL course during the first 24 hours of registration.

Multiple Degree Programs (coterms & dual-degree graduates)

• Your billing career will determine if you’re prioritized as an undergraduate or graduate student (e.g. if you are on graduate billing, your enrollment group will be assigned based on the assignment logic for graduate students). If your billing career changes after you’ve been assigned an enrollment group, you will remain in your original group. There will be no changes to enrollment groups once assigned. 

For coterms on graduate billing, the number of completed quarters is derived from the number of quarters you have completed since you began your coterminal program, or more clearly, your first graduate quarter. Your first graduate quarter can be identified on the first page on your unofficial graduate transcript, in the top left section, as seen in the image below. Coterminal “quarters back” are not being considered in this evaluation. 

• Coterminal and dual degree students will be assigned the same enrollment group and start time for both active degree programs. Please be sure to select the correct career designation for each course when making your enrollment decisions. 
• We began counting completed quarters from your earliest active graduate program, based on your billing group. For example, if you have an active PhD program but have previously conferred a master's degree, we are only counting quarters since the first quarter of the active PhD program; prior quarters completed for the master's program (if opened before the PhD program was added) would not count. If you have two open programs with different associated billing groups (i.e. GSB program & regular graduate program), we are counting quarters completed in the degree program associated with your billing group (i.e. GSB billing = counting quarters completed since the beginning of the GSB program).  

General Enrollment Questions

• There will be no specific end times for these groups. Once your enrollment group begins, you are free to enroll and make adjustments to your study list until the Final Study List deadline.
• As always, for classes that are full, students are encouraged to join the waitlist for a class, if available, in case space becomes available.
• Your enrollment group designates the beginning of your access to the enrollment system for autumn quarter. You will have the ability to make adjustments to your study list immediately and through the entire open enrollment period.
• The enrollment group designates the time you are able to begin enrolling. If your start time has past, you can simply log in to enroll anytime. Enrollment will remain open until the Final Study List deadline.

Still need help?

If you have additional questions, reach out to the Registrar's office.

Create group assignments or assign to individual students

Create an assignment in Microsoft Teams for Education and assign it to individual or small groups of students in a class. Groups turn in one copy of the assignment that can be graded separately or together.

Create a new assignment

Navigate to your desired class team and select Assignments .

Select Create > Assignment .

Create a group assignment

If you chose Randomly group students: 

Enter number of groups, then select Create groups .

When everything looks good, select Done . If you decide you need more edits, select Groups of students again.

Finish adding details to your assignment, then select Assign . Note that once an assignment has been distributed to students, you can no longer edit groups.  

If you chose Manually group students:

Select Create groups .

Edit the default group name, if desired.

Select Create .

When you're done, select + New group  and repeat Steps 2 and 3 until all students have been assigned to a group.

Finish adding details to your assignment, then select Assign . Note that once an assignment has been distributed to students, you can no longer edit groups.

Assign to individual students

Select the student dropdown under Assign to . By default, All Students will be selected. Select student names or type to search for a student.

Note:  You can only assign work to individual students in one class at a time.

Once you've selected the students, finish adding details to your assignment.

Select Assign . The students you chose will be notified of their new assignment.

Create an assignment

Grade an assignment

Edit an assignment

Additional resources for educators

Ask the community

Need more help?

Want more options.

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

Microsoft 365 training

Microsoft security

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Ask the Microsoft Community

Microsoft Tech Community

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders

Was this information helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Navigation Menu

Search code, repositories, users, issues, pull requests..., provide feedback.

We read every piece of feedback, and take your input very seriously.

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly.

To see all available qualifiers, see our documentation .

• Notifications You must be signed in to change notification settings

agentchat_groupchat_RAG.ipynb

Latest commit, file metadata and controls.

• Open access
• Published: 06 May 2024

Effectiveness of digital and analog learning methods for learning anatomical structures in physiotherapy education

• Larissa Pagels   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3850-9454 1 ,
• Robert-Christopher Eschke   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1698-3334 1 &
• Kerstin Luedtke   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7308-5469 1  

BMC Medical Education volume  24 , Article number:  500 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

374 Accesses

Metrics details

According to the German Physiotherapy Education and Qualification Regulations, teaching of anatomical structures is one of the fundamental subjects of physiotherapy education. Besides exhibits and models, anatomy atlases are usually used as teaching and learning tools. These are available in both analog form such as printed books or in digital form as a mobile application. Furthermore, the use of digital teaching and learning tools is steadily increasing within the education of health professionals.

To assess the efficacy of a digital educational tool in contrast to an analog anatomical atlas in acquiring knowledge about anatomical structures.

Material and method

The data collection took place in the context of an anatomy tutorial for students of the bachelor’s degree program in physiotherapy. In a cross-over design, the students completed two learning assignments, each, with different learning materials provided, either with an anatomy app on a tablet or with an anatomy atlas as a book. The tests to assess the newly acquired knowledge immediately after the task, consisted of questions about the anatomical structures of the knee as well as the shoulder. In addition, the students’ satisfaction with the learning materials provided was surveyed using a questionnaire. The survey assessed their satisfaction, their assessment of learning success, and their affinity to digital learning materials. This was done using a 5-point Likert scale and a free-text field. The data was analyzed descriptively, and group differences were calculated using a t-tests.

Thirty students participated. The group comparison showed a significantly better outcome for the group that prepared with the analog anatomy atlas for the questions on the knee than the comparison group that used the anatomy app (t(28) = 2.6; p  = 0.007). For the questions concerning the shoulder, there was no significant difference between the digital and analog groups (t(28) = 1.14; p  = 0.26). The questionnaire revealed that satisfaction with the analog anatomy atlas was significantly higher than with the anatomy app. A total of 93.34% rated their experience with the analog learning tool at least “somewhat satisfied”. In contrast, 72.67% of students partially or fully agreed that they “enjoyed learning with digital learning tools”.

Learning anatomical structures with the Human Anatomy Atlas 2023 + app did not show a clear advantage when compared to an anatomy book in these two cohorts of physiotherapy students. The results of the questionnaire also showed greater satisfaction with the analog anatomy atlas than with the anatomy app, whereas most students stated that they frequently use digital learning tools, including some for anatomical structures. Satisfaction with the learning tool seems to play a central role in their effectiveness. In addition, sufficient time must be provided for users to familiarize themselves with the user interface of digital applications to use them effectively.

Registration

Diese klinische Studie wurde nicht in einem Studienregister registriert.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

The desire for digital teaching is growing in all areas of university teaching. Due to the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic, teaching has experienced a major boost in digitalization since March 2020 [ 1 ]. A substantial number of digital teaching and learning tools are already available for this purpose. Especially in the of basic education in health sciences, the use of various teaching and learning tools can promote student motivation [ 2 ].

As part of the “HySkiLabs project - Teaching and learning health in hybrid skills labs”, education in the health sciences at the University of Luebeck is being enriched with digital teaching and learning tools. The project not only aims to transfer classroom teaching approaches to digital and hybrid teaching-learning environments, but also to systematically investigate their effectiveness. Previous surveys have shown a positive attitude of students towards digital teaching [ 3 ].

Over the last few years, the availability of digital learning tools has also increased considerably. There are various softwares and apps that students can use to organize their time in self-study or that are used as complementary teaching methods in anatomy lectures. An early study by Keedy et al. (2011) compared a 3D digital application to a 2D form for learning the anatomy of the liver and gall bladder by medical students [ 1 ]. No significant difference between the two visually different teaching methods was found for the knowledge of anatomical structures at the end of their study. Nevertheless, students’ satisfaction with the 3D digital application was very high. Two years later, Noguera et al. (2013) analyzed the effect of a digital 3D anatomy app in comparison to traditional teaching (lectures) in a physiotherapy degree program [ 2 ]. They found significantly better results in musculoskeletal anatomical knowledge among those students who used the digital anatomy app. More recently, Browne et al. (2019) analyzed the effect of online quizzes to learn anatomical structures complementing traditional learning in laboratory sessions (with wet and dry specimen, plastic models, histological slides etc.) and lectures [ 3 ]. Questions using images of anatomical structures and multiple-choice questions were provided in the online quizzes that were subsequently completed by students during self-study periods. The experiences of the students were evaluated and indicated a high level of engagement and satisfaction with the supplementary online material. Another study from 2014 used online discussion forums as an addition to their traditional learning (laboratory sessions and lectures) as an option for the students to interact and help each other in the learning process [ 4 ]. This digital learning method showed good effects on the students grades at the end of the module. In 2023, a study used Kahoot! quizzes to promote the learning of anatomical structures with a game-based learning method [ 5 ]. The quizzes contained questions about anatomical structures with four response options and were presented at the end of each lecture. An open-book technique was used, giving the students only 20s to answer the questions. A significant increase of short-term knowledge retention and an increase in the frequencies of correctly answered responses was found, compared to the traditional teaching method (lectures without Kahoot! quizzes). Additionally, all students perceived that the use of the interactive quiz improved their anatomy short-term knowledge retention.

Innovative computer-based learning tools can improve the learning of the complex spatial relationships of the musculoskeletal system and facilitate the transfer of anatomical knowledge to patients [ 5 ]. Inaccurate identification of anatomical structures is a common source of error in the assessment and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions, therefore, accurate learning of these, is essential for clinical practice [ 5 ]. From an educational perspective, interactive learning with 3D visualizations also offers several potential advantages over traditional methods of teaching anatomy: (1) a directly recognizable visualization of anatomical structures, (2) a reduction in cognitive load as students do not need to build their own mental visualization of the model, (3) many different anatomical perspectives and the ability to move the model interactively, and (4) the ability to incorporate 3D models obtained from live human imaging datasets − 2D drawings of anatomical structures are potentially inaccurate [ 5 , 6 ].

In this study, a digital 3D anatomy atlas was used to promote the short-term learning retention of physiotherapy students. To create a comparison between an analog and digital learning tool in this study, the app Human Anatomy Atlas 2023 + by Visible Body® (further referred to as “digital anatomy app”) was chosen.

There are currently no studies to indicate how effective this digital teaching and learning tool (digital anatomy app) is compared to traditional methods (analog anatomy atlas), hence, this study investigated the effect of using the Human Anatomy Atlas 2023 +  on physiotherapy students’ learning of anatomical structures compared to learning with the Prometheus Atlas of Anatomy (further referred to as “analog anatomy atlas”) .

The study was designed as an empirical cross-sectional study. The data collection took place in the context of a tutorial in which students were able to intensively study anatomical structures of the musculoskeletal system and peripheral nervous system. For this purpose, they were using work assignments, as well as teaching and learning tools provided by the supervisor.

The students were randomized into two groups (“digital/analog” or “analog/digital” depending on the order of learning tools that were provided) and allocated by one of the supervisors of the tutorial in two different rooms before the beginning of the study. The groups attended the tutorials in these two different rooms and were both given the same tasks but with different teaching and learning materials (Fig.  1 ).

Study design

Participants

All students of the bachelor’s degree program in physiotherapy at the University of Luebeck were invited to participate in the study. At the University of Luebeck the anatomy module is taught as face-to-face lectures, practice sessions in the dissection room and 50% self-study time. In the latter, the students deepen their knowledge independently - typically this is done with the help of anatomy atlases. These can be analog (2D) and digital (2D or 3D). As a rule, the collective work “Prometheus- Atlas of Anatomy” [ 4 ] serves as an analog anatomy atlas. Previous knowledge of anatomical structures was mandatory for the participation in this study, but it had to be assumed that the knowledge was rather heterogenous due to different levels of studying of the participants. The students were informed about the data collection at the beginning of the tutorial and written consent was obtained. Participation was voluntary and had no influence on the tutorial procedure, further study program or examination results.

Application used in this study

There are several applications to learn anatomical structures with different learning modes. Some show theoretical descriptions, as well as drawings (2D) of anatomical structures, and additional skill related content as placing of ultrasound probes or manual palpation techniques (Ecofisio app; [ 6 , 7 ]). Other applications use vision-based augmented reality to display anatomical structures on human models [ 8 ] or in the room, with the option to move around the augmented reality simulated anatomical structure [ 8 , 9 ]. In addition to augmented reality 3D visualizations of anatomical structures, there are also applications that use three-dimensional images to display their content interactively [ 2 , 9 ].

The digital anatomy app used for the purpose of this study (Human Anatomy Atlas 2023+), provides various options to learn anatomical structures, and physiological processes using 3D models (by option as augmented reality simulation). The learning content is presented as a 3D model, which is interactive and can be used individually by the students. Thereby, various information on the anatomical structures and common pathologies can be accessed and learned. Additionally, short videoclips of functional anatomy (e.g. showing the muscles that are required to bend the knee while an animated skeleton is bending the knee), or rather complex functions as swallowing food, are part of the content of the app. The app does not provide options for self-testing of knowledge. This app was chosen after screening different options as it is already known by some of the students and the teaching staff and it offers interactive 3D models that have been proven to facilitate knowledge gain and satisfaction of the students when learning anatomical structures [ 2 , 8 ]. Next to being the most practicable option (as it needs time to familiarize with the interface of new applications) this app provides all functions needed to operate with the work assignments in this study. The costs of the app were covered by the “Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre” as part of the HySkiLabs project.

Material and procedure

Work assignments were prepared by the supervisor of the tutorial. These contained questions about structures of the knee (ligaments, bone and joint structures) including surrounding muscles and their innervation (assignment 1). Assignment 2 focused on the shoulder joint. The supervisor was a physiotherapist with experience in teaching and good knowledge of anatomical structures. Both work assignments were double-checked by faculty members of the physiotherapy degree program of the University of Luebeck for comprehensibility.

The knowledge of the students after each learning session, was assessed via written tests that contained open ended questions about the previously repeated learning content (e.g. “name all the ligaments of the knee joint and their special features.“). The number of points to be achieved were displayed next to each question, so that the students knew about the expected scope of the answers.

In the group “analog/digital”, each participant received an analog anatomy atlas (Prometheus), while in the group “digital/analog”, each participant received the digital anatomy app on a tablet device (Human Anatomy Atlas 2023+). All students were given an initial 45-minute work assignment, which was identical in both groups and related to structures of the knee joint. A supervisor was available in each room to answer questions.

to familiarize themselves with their learning tool. Merely a verbal suggestion was given to the users of the anatomy app to use the search function of the app. After the first assignment, the participants completed the first test (maximum score 41 points) on the teaching content. During the test, no books or apps were allowed. Afterwards, the teaching and learning materials were exchanged in the rooms and the participants thus received the respective teaching and learning tool. With the new teaching and learning tool, the participants worked on another 45-minute assignment (on structures of the shoulder joint) and completed the subsequent test (maximum score 47 points).

Subsequently, the students filled out a questionnaire in which their name, age, gender and satisfaction with the teaching/learning tool offered (0 = not at all satisfied − 5 = very satisfied) were asked. The teaching/learning tool used privately by the students (free response option) and the desire for similar teaching units as exam preparation (0 = not at all − 5 = absolutely) on a 5-point Likert scale were also part of the questionnaire.

In addition, the following sub-questions were formulated for secondary analyses and assessed as a survey by students after the completion of the tasks:

How satisfied are students with the analog or digital teaching and learning tools measured on a 5-point Likert scale?

How do students rate their learning success in relation to the teaching and learning tools available on a 5-point Likert scale?

Are the teaching and learning tools offered known and have they already been used by the students (open ended question)?

Data analysis

The collected data were tabulated and analyzed using Stata (Student Version BE 17, Mac).

The null hypothesis for the analysis was:

H0 = there is no difference between the group using an analog anatomy atlas and the group using a digital anatomy app.

H1 = the respective group that learns with the digital anatomy app shows better results in the tests.

Socio-demographic data, answers from the questionnaire and the evaluation of the work assignments were analyzed descriptively with regard to frequencies (mode, median, mean) as well as dispersion measures ((interquartile) range, standard deviation) and shape measures (kurtosis, skewness) for the groups “analog/digital” and “digital/analog”.

Normal distribution of the data was tested using Shapiro-Wilk tests and group differences were calculated using t-tests.

The assessment of the group differences took place on the basis of the calculated Cohen’s d. Thus, the effect size of the use of digital vs. analog teaching and learning aids (here: anatomy atlases) was determined.

Thirty students from the semesters 2–8 of the physiotherapy degree program of the University of Luebeck participated in the study. The demographic analysis revealed an asymmetric data set for the variable semester in the analog/digital group and the variable age in the digital/analog group. The detailed results can be found in Table  1 . The majority of participants identified as female ( n  = 25; 83.3%). The groups analog/digital and digital/analog differed significantly in the distribution of male and female participants (t(28)=-2.43; p  = 0.01).

The results of test A (knee) unveiled a significant group difference (t(28) = 2.6; p  = 0.01) and a Cohen’s d of 0.95 (Fig.  2 ). with a higher score for the group that completed the task using an analog anatomy atlas. No significant group difference was found for test B (shoulder) (t(28) = 1.14; p  = 0.26). In that analysis the effect size was a Cohen’s d of 0.42 (Fig.  3 ; Table  2 ).

The evaluation of the questionnaire (Table  3 ) showed that satisfaction with the analog anatomy atlas is significantly higher than with the anatomy app. In the question about the analog learning tool 93.34% selected “somewhat satisfied” to “very satisfied”. On the other hand, 43.33% of the participants were “somewhat dissatisfied” with the digital anatomy atlas offered. In contrast, 72.67% of the students partially or fully agreed that they generally “enjoy learning with digital learning tools”.

Twenty of the students stated that they learn privately with the analog anatomy atlas used in the study (Table  4 ). In addition, the students mainly use the notes from the anatomy lectures ( n  = 12), and the lecture material ( n  = 10). Apps and software for learning anatomical structures, on the other hand, were mentioned less frequently. Only 10 of the students stated that they used additional software (Visible Body, Anvil, etc.) for independent learning of anatomical structures. It was frequently mentioned that the Prometheus atlas was used digitally and recordings from the lectures and other teaching videos were used.

Boxplot of the results of test A

This study analyzed the effect of learning anatomical structures with a digital anatomy app in comparison to the use of an analog anatomy atlas in the context of a physiotherapy students’ tutorial. The test results showed that the group which prepared with the analog anatomy atlas for the first test (A; knee) performed significantly better than the digital group. This could not be confirmed with the second test (B; shoulder). Hence, the results of this study about the effect of the digital anatomy app on knowledge gain is ambivalent.

Two-thirds of the participants ( n  = 20) reported that they used the analog Prometheus Anatomy Atlas for studying at home and expressed satisfaction with it as a learning tool during the tutorial. Interestingly, the questionnaire also revealed that the students enjoy working with digital learning tools, but not with the one they used during the study. This might explain the difference in the first test results because it insinuates that the students had a better learning experience with the familiar learning tool. This can be supported with the results of a study from 2016, that was able to show that familiarities improve the acquisition of new knowledge. This can also be supported by the fact that the app can be used more effectively if the user interface is known beforehand and operation are clear because less working memory is devoted to understand the interface [ 10 , 11 ].

Research has shown that students’ dissatisfaction with a learning tool plays a role in its effectiveness and learning success [ 2 ]. As the participants in this study were not satisfied with the digital anatomy app provided (Table  2 ), this presents a valid explanation for the poor results of the digital learning outcomes. Moreover, many students of this sample still prefer to use analog learning materials (e.g. index cards, lecture notes, Prometheus atlas) or combine both by supplementing their analog learning materials with information from the internet (e.g. DocCheck, learning videos), further explaining the results.

The main functions of the digital anatomy app used in this study are of interactive nature and it is assumed, that active learning took place when students used the app. Interactive learning has been shown to lead to greater learning progress [ 12 ]. There is evidence for a significant better knowledge gain and student satisfaction when learning anatomical structures with mobile applications compared to traditional learning (2D images, textbook learning) [ 2 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. The fact that the test results did not show a superiority of the digital learning tool compared to the analog anatomy atlas could be, amongst other things, that the students had too little time to learn the body regions tested digitally. But according to Noguera et al. (2013), it is necessary that students have enough time to internalize anatomical structures learned in 2 dimensions and to convert them into a 3D understanding as well [ 2 ].

Previous studies have found divergent results when comparing digital vs. analog learning tools for learning anatomical structures. Keedy et al. already showed in 2011 that there was no significant difference in learning anatomical structures (liver and gall bladder) with a 3D digital application or a 2D application [ 1 ]. In contrast to the present study, the students’ satisfaction with the 3D digital application was very high [ 1 ]. One reason might be that in 2011 there were fewer alternative digital learning tools available and the comparison between several digital learning tools was therefore low.

Contradicting tothe present results Noguera et al. (2013) found a significantly better result in musculoskeletal anatomical knowledge among physiotherapy students who used a digital (3D) anatomy app than among students who received traditional teaching [ 2 ]. This difference may be attributed to their utilization of a different, more rudimentary application, characterized by a reduced set of functions compared to the alternative. Presumably, this helped students to familiarize themselves with the digital application more quickly leading to better learning effects. Furthermore, anatomical knowledge was tested witha multiple-choice questionnaire, which means that the mere probability of correct answers is higher than in this study.

Limitations

In this current study, only the students’ ability to acquire knowledge in a short time and to recall it immediately, is tested. No conclusion can be drawn about how well the students can recall the knowledge acquired after a longer period of time. Likewise, it is not possible to say how good the students’ knowledge was in advance of the tutorial, so that the learning gain through the work assignments cannot be precisely mapped. Since it was announced in advance of the tutorial that the test results would have no effect on the further course of studies, students might not have taken the test seriously. However, this effect would have been comparable in both groups.

The survey used in this study was only checked by faculty members for comprehensibility, relevance, expected acceptance of the students as well as feasibility. It has not been pilot-tested in the target population (physiotherapy students), therefore no conclusion can be drawn to its content validity.

Conclusions

This study highlights that the analog and familiar learning tools are superior if the user-friendliness and simplicity of the digital tool are not on a comparable level. Regarding the “HySkiLabs” framework project, it can be deduced from the results that the students enjoy working with digital learning tools, but a higher effectiveness of these tools could not be shown.

Further research should investigate, whether additional teaching and learning methods like discussion forums, or interactive quizzing situations might be more beneficial for knowledge retention of anatomical structures and enjoyment of learning than the mere tool itself [ 3 , 4 , 5 ].

Through digitalization, technical solutions are increasingly emerging with the potential to positively effect students’ motivation to learn and provide an effective learning environment [ 13 , 14 ].

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Keedy AW, Durack JC, Sandhu P, et al. Comparison of traditional methods with 3D computer models in the instruction of hepatobiliary anatomy. Anat Sci Educ. 2011;4:84–91. https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.212 .

Article   Google Scholar  

Noguera JM, Jiménez JJ, Osuna-Pérez MC. Development and evaluation of a 3D mobile application for learning manual therapy in the physiotherapy laboratory. Comput Educ. 2013;69:96–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2013.07.007 .

Browne CJ. Assessing the engagement rates and satisfaction levels of various clinical health science student sub-groups using supplementary eLearning resources in an introductory anatomy and physiology unit. Health Educ. 2019;119:2–17. https://doi.org/10.1108/HE-04-2018-0020 .

Green RA, Farchione D, Hughes DL, et al. Participation in asynchronous online discussion forums does improve student learning of gross anatomy: discussion forums improve Student Learning. Anat Sci Educ. 2014;7:71–6. https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.1376 .

Cuschieri S, Narnaware Y. Improving physiotherapy students’ anatomy learning experience and short-term knowledge retention—An observational study in Malta. Anat Sci Educ. 2023;16:1134–43. https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.2307 .

Fernández-Lao C, Cantarero-Villanueva I, Galiano-Castillo N, et al. The effectiveness of a mobile application for the development of palpation and ultrasound imaging skills to supplement the traditional learning of physiotherapy students. BMC Med Educ. 2016;16:274. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-016-0775-1 .

Lozano-Lozano M, Galiano-Castillo N, Fernández-Lao C, et al. The Ecofisio Mobile App for Assessment and Diagnosis Using Ultrasound Imaging for Undergraduate Health Science Students: Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2020;22:e16258. https://doi.org/10.2196/16258 .

Kandasamy G, Bettany-Saltikov J, Cordry J, et al. Use of vision-based augmented reality to improve student learning of the spine and spinal deformities. An exploratory study. South Afr J Physiother. 2021;77. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajp.v77i2.1579 .

Visible Body. Anatomy and physiology apps. 2024.

Reder LM, Liu XL, Keinath A, et al. Building knowledge requires bricks, not sand: the critical role of familiar constituents in learning. Psychon Bull Rev. 2016;23:271–7. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-015-0889-1 .

Perrig SAC, Ueffing D, Opwis K, et al. Smartphone app aesthetics influence users’ experience and performance. Front Psychol. 2023;14:1113842. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1113842 .

Langfield T, Colthorpe K, Ainscough L. Online instructional anatomy videos: student usage, self-efficacy, and performance in upper limb regional anatomy assessment: videos, anatomy Self-Efficacy, and performance. Anat Sci Educ. 2018;11:461–70. https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.1756 .

Kelly D, Hoang TN, Reinoso M, et al. Augmented reality learning environment for physiotherapy education. Phys Ther Rev. 2018;23:21–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/10833196.2018.1447256 .

Rasmussen K, Belisario JM, Wark PA, et al. Offline eLearning for undergraduates in health professions: a systematic review of the impact on knowledge, skills, attitudes and satisfaction. J Glob Health. 2014;4. https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.04.010405 .

Download references

Acknowledgements

Not applicable.

The HySkiLabs project is supported by the “Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre”.

Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Pain and Exercise Research Luebeck, Institution of Health Sciences, University of Luebeck, Luebeck, Deutschland

Larissa Pagels, Robert-Christopher Eschke & Kerstin Luedtke

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

Conception or design of the work: LP, KLCollection of data: LP, RCEAnalysis of the data: LPInterpretation of the data: LP, RCE, KLDrafting the manuscript: LP, RCE, KLCritical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: LP, RCE, KL All authors give final approval of the version to be published. All authors declare that they are responsible for all aspects of the work and ensure that issues relating to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are adequately investigated and resolved.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Larissa Pagels .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

The study received a positive ethical approval from the ethics committee of the University of Lübeck. The students were informed about the course of the study at the beginning of the tutorial and informed consent to participate was obtained. Participation was voluntary and had no influence on the tutorial procedure or further study program or examination aspects.

Consent for publication

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Pagels, L., Eschke, RC. & Luedtke, K. Effectiveness of digital and analog learning methods for learning anatomical structures in physiotherapy education. BMC Med Educ 24 , 500 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05484-1

Download citation

Received : 15 September 2023

Accepted : 29 April 2024

Published : 06 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05484-1

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Physiotherapy

BMC Medical Education

ISSN: 1472-6920

• Submission enquiries: [email protected]
• General enquiries: [email protected]

Interrogations of Nikolai Ezhov, former People's Commissar for Internal Affairs.

Russian (original) text

Introduction

We do not know how many interrogations of Ezhov are in existence. All the prosecution materials concerning virtually all the important matters of the later 1930s in the USSR are still top-secret, kept in the Presidential Archives of the Russian Federation. I have simply translated those texts that have been published as of this date (July 2010).

I have compiled and translated these confessions from the following "semi-official" sources:

Briukhanov, Boris Borisovich, and Shoshkov, Evgenii Nikolaevich. Opravdaniiu ne podlezhit. Ezhov i Ezhovshchina 1936-1938 gg. Sankt-Peterburg: OOO "Petrovskii Fond" 1998. Polianskii, Aleksei. Ezhov. Istoriia «zheleznogo» stalinskogo narkoma. Moscow: «Veche», «Aria-AiF», 2001. Pavliukov, Aleksei. Ezhov. Biografiia . Moscow: Zakharov, 2007.

I term these sources "semi-official" since they are quoted unproblematically by all the anticommunist scholars. These scholars ignore them almost completely, and ignore their implications completely, but they do not consider the documents false.

In addition I have used these sources, which are more or less "official":

Lubianka. Stalin i NKVD – NKGB – GUKR «SMERSH». 1939 – mart 1946. Moscow: «Materik», 2006. Petrov, Nikita, and Iansen [Jansen], Mark. «Stalinskii pitomets» -- Nikolai Ezhov . Moscow: ROSSPEN, 2008.

A few remarks have been taken from other sources, mainly Vassilii Soima, Zapreshchennyi Stalin , Chast' 1. Moscow: OLMA-PRESS, 2001. Where possible I have checked the text with the versions online at http://perpetrator2004.narod.ru/ , "Documents of Soviet Power and of Soviet-Communist Terror", which has used the sources above.

Here I only present them in English translation for interested students. Naturally they must be studied. I’m doing that but I do not present my results here.

NOTE: We have one very important confession by Mikhail Frinovskii, Ezhov's Assistant Commissar -- that of April 11, 1939. Also published in the Lubianka volume cited above, I have put a translation of it online here.

It should be read in connection with Ezhov's confessions.

Grover Furr July 31 2010

____________________

Ezhov interrogation 04.18 – 04.20.39

According to Pavliukov, this is the 1st Ezhov confession in his file. QQ 519-520 & n. 481 p. 564. Summarized 520-521.

"Question: You have been arrested as a traitor to the party and an enemy of the people. The investigation possesses sufficient facts to expose you completely at the first attempt to conceal your crimes. We propose that you not wait to be exposed but proceed to confessions of your black traitorous work against the party and Soviet power. Answer: It is hard for one such as I, who only lately enjoyed the party’s trust, to confess to betrayal and treason. But now that I am faced with answering before the investigation for my crimes, I wish to be thoroughly frank and truthful. I am not the person the party took me for. Hiding behind a mask of party loyalty, for many years I have deceived and been two-faced while conducting a ferocious hidden struggle against the party and the Soviet State."

Summary of other parts of Ezhov’s statement.

"Ezhov started the history of his ‘fall into sin’ in 1921, when he worked in Tartaria and under the influence of anarcho-syndicalist ideas supposedly joined the local group of the ‘Workers’ Opposition.’ In the following years, the period of inner-party discussions of the 1930s, he also supposedly expressed differences in his political views with the general line of the party. However, the investigators showed no interest in digging so deeply into the garbage-heap of history, and they did not permit Ezhov to deviate long from the basic theme."

"Question: What is the point of this expansive story about these or those ‘political waverings’ of yours? As a long-time agent of foreign intelligence services you must confess about your direct espionage work. Talk about that! Answer: All right, I will go directly to the moment when my espionage ties were formed."

Summary continues:

"Ezhov related that he was drawn into espionage work by his friend F.M. Konar*, who had long been a Polish agent. Konar learned political news from Ezhov and gave them to his bosses in Poland and on one occasion told Ezhov about this and proposed that he volunteer to begin working for the Poles. Since Ezhov had in fact already become an informant of Polish intelligence, since he had transmitted to them via Konar many significant party and state secrets, he supposedly had no other choice than to agree with this proposal.

* F.M. Konar – An assistant Commissar of Agriculture, he was among those convicted and executed in March 1933 for sabotage in agriculture at the height of the serious famine. Konar had also been a friend of the poet Osip Mandel’shtam, according to his daughter Nadezhda (Memoirs).

___________

The Poles supposedly shared a part of the intelligence received from Ezhov with their allies the Germans, and so after a time an offer of collaboration from the latter was also made.

According to Ezhov Marshal A.I. Egorov, first assistant Commissar for Defense, acted as the middleman [between Ezhov and the Germans]. He met with Ezhov in the summer of 1937 and told him that he knew about the latter’s ties with the Poles, that he himself was a German spy who on orders from the German authorities had organized a group of conspirators in the Red Army, and that he had been given a directive to establish close working contact between his group and Ezhov.

Ezhov agreed with this proposal and promised to protect Egorov’s men from arrest."

______________________________

Ezhov interrogation 04.23.39 (04.24.39)

Quotes are same as beginning and end of Ezhov conf. dated April 24, 1939 in Petrov & Iansen, 365-6 and Pavliukov, 522-523.

Pavliukov says 10 pages in length. P&Ia cite same archive, different location, 4 pages in length.

Pavliukov – no sign this confession was forced, or even asked about this (522).

Petrov & Iansen, 365-6:

"I think it essential that I inform the investigation of a series of new facts concerning my moral-personal dissoluteness. I mean my longtime vice of homosexuality. This began in my early youth when I lived as an apprentice to a tailor. At about the age of 15 or 16 years I had a few instances of perverse sexual acts with other apprentices of my own age of the same tailor shop. This vice renewed itself in the old Tsarist army in frontline conditions. Aside from one chance contact with one of the solders of our company I had relations with a certain Filatov, my friend from Leningrad with whom we served in the same regiment. Our relations were "mutual", that is the "female" part was played first by one side, then by the other. Afterwards Filatov was killed at the front. In 1919 I was appointed commissar of the 2 nd base of radio-telegraph formations. My secretary was a certain Antoshin. I know that in 1937 he was still in Moscow and was working somewhere as chief of a radio station. He is an engineer radio technician. In 1919 I had mutual homosexual relations with this same Antoshin. In 1924 I was working in Semiplatinsk [now the city of Semei, Kazakhstan – GF]. My old friend Dement’ev went there with me. On several occasions in 1924 I had homosexual relations with him in which only I played the active role. [Ezhov apparently means Dement’ev played the "female" role. – GF] In 1925 in Orenburg I established homosexual relations with a certain Boiarskii, at that time the chairman of the Kazakh oblast’ trade union council. As far as I know he is now working as the director of an artistic theater in Moscow. Our relations were mutual. At that time he and I had just arrived in Orenburg and were living in the same hotel. Our relations were shot-lived, until the arrival of his wife, who arrived quickly. In the same year 1925 the capital of Kazakhstan was transferred from Orenburg to Kzyl-Orda, whence I also went to work. Soon F.I. Goloshchekin arrived there as the secretary of the regional [Party] committee (he is now employed as a chief arbiter). He arrived as a bachelor, without a wife, and I was also living as a bachelor. Before my departure for Moscow (for about 2 months) I had de facto moved into his apartment and often spent the night there. I quickly established homosexual relations with him as well, and they continued off and on until my departure. As with the others, our relations were mutual. In 1938 I had two instances of homosexual activity with Dement’ev, with whom I had also had relations in 1924, as I stated above. These relations were in Moscow in the autumn of 1938 in my apartment, after I had already been dismissed from the post of Commissar of Internal Affairs. Dement’ev lived with me at that time about two months. A little later, also in 1938, there occurred two instances of homosexual activity between myself and Konstantinov. I have known Konstantinov since 1918 in the army. He worked with me before 1921. Since 1921 we hardly saw each other at all. In 1938 on my invitation he began to visit me often at my apartment and two or three times he was at my dacha. He came twice with his wife; the other visits were without wives. He often stayed the night with me. As I have said above, at that time he and I had two instances of homosexual relations. Our relations were mutual. I should also say that during one of his visits to my apartment with his wife I also had sexual relations with her. All of this was accompanied, as a rule, with heavy drinking. I give this information to the investigation as an additional detail characterizing my moral dissolution. April 24, 1939. N. Ezhov.

_________________________

Ezhov interrogation of 04.26.1939 (published separately)

Ezhov’s April 26 1939 confession belongs here (from Lubianka )

_______________________________

Ezhov interrogation 04.30.39

Ezhov interrogation, Pavliukov 525-6 & n. 489 p. 564. Short Q from interrogation on 525-6.

Acc. to Pavliukov 526, Ezhov named 66 names of fellow conspirators in this one interrogation.

"The first stage of the investigation was completed on April 30, 1939. In the course of the interrogation that took place on that day Ezhov told about the method of recruiting his subordinates in the Cheka into the anti-Soviet conspiracy and about the basic direction of the sabotage work in the NKVD. This sabotage consisted in massive arrests without any basis, falsification of investigative materials, forgeries, and reprisals against undesirable elements."

Quotation (Pavliukov 525-6)

"All this was done in order to cause widespread dissatisfaction in the population with the leadership of the Party and the Soviet government and in that way to create the most favorable base for carrying out our conspiratorial plans."

Ezhov interrogation 05.05.1939

Pavliukov summarizes it 526. No QQ, no note.

"…at his interrogation of May 5 1939 Ezhov recounted the work of the ‘conspirators’ in the Commissariat of Foreign Affairs. Here at that same time took place the beginning of the large-scale purge (after the removal of M.M. Litvinov, the director of the division of foreign political affairs). Therefore the theme of subversive activity in the Commissariat of Foreign Affairs was especially timely in those days.

Ezhov stated that the goal of this activity was the creation of conditions for the victory of Germany and Japan in the inevitable war with the USSR. Specifically, they undertook attempts to create disagreements between the Chinese government of Chiang Kai-shek and the Soviet authorities, for the purpose, in the last analysis, of facilitating Japanese seizure of the Soviet Far East.

At the beginning of May 1939 confessions were obtained from several arrested NKVD employees concerning the fabrication, at Ezhov’s instruction, of the so-called mercury poisoning. Interrogated on this point Ezhov confirmed the fact of the falsification and explained that this initiative was undertaken with the goal of raising his authority even higher in the eyes of the country’s leadership."

________________________

Ezhov interrogation May 11 1939 by Kobulov

Long quotes in Polianskii 222-226. Acc to Polianskii, this is where Kuz’min’s report of Dec. 12 1938 about Sholokhov and Ezhova is located.

"It is not altogether clear why the closeness of these persons to Ezhova [Ezhov’s wife – GF] appeared suspicious to you. Ezhova’s closeness to these people was suspicious insofar as Babel, for example, as I knew, had written almost nothing during the past few years, circulating all the time in a suspicious Trotskyist milieu and, besides that, had close ties to a series of French writers who could by no means be considered among those who were sympathetic to the Soviet Union. Not to mention the fact that Babel demonstratively refused to write off his wife, who had been living in Paris for many years, but preferred to go to see her. Ezhova had a special friendship with Babel. I suspect – in truth, just on the basis of my personal observations – that there must have been ties of espionage between my wife and Babel. On what factual basis do you make this statement? I know from my wife’s own words that she had been acquainted with Babel since 1925. She always insisted that she had never had intimate relations with him. Their ties were limited to her desire to maintain an acquaintance with a talented, singular writer. Babel visited us at home a few times at her invitation, where, of course, I also made his acquaintance. I observed that in his relationship with my wife Babel was demanding and rude. I saw that my wife was simply afraid of him. I understood that this was not a question of my wife’s literary interests, but of something more serious. I excluded any intimate relations because I thought that Babel would hardly treat my wife with such rudeness when he knew what social position I occupied. To my questions to my wife whether she had the same kind of relations with Babel as she had with Kol’tsov she either remained silent or weakly denied it. I always supposed that with this indefinite answer she simply wished to hide from me her espionage ties with Babel, evidently not wishing to confide the numerous channels of this kind of relationship with me… What you have said about Babel is not a sufficient basis for suspecting him of taking part in espionage for England. Aren’t you just slandering Babel? I am not slandering him. Ezhova definitely never said that she was linked with Babel in her work for English intelligence. In this case I am only expressing that supposition, based upon my observation of the nature of the mutual relations between my wife and the writer Babel. What do you think in general about, shall we say, Ezhova’s friendship with cultural figures? This whole specific milieu of people who were tied with the interests of the Soviet people with very thin threads, could not fail to arouse my suspicions. What can you tell us about her relations with the writer Sholokhov? I seem to recall that, I think last spring, my wife told me that she had meet Sholokhov, who had come to Moscow and dropped in at the journal "SSSR na stroike". There was nothing surprising in this, Ezhova always tried to meet writers and never missed an opportunity to do so. I was very well informed about this. Good. And what did you do when you found out about the intimate relations between Ezhova and Sholokhov? I did not know anything about such relations; this is the first time I have heard about them. Don’t lie, Ezhov. In June and August of last year upon your instructions Alekhin arranged to monitor the letter "N" at the phone number of the Hotel "Nationale", where Sholokhov was staying. ____________ For Alekhin see http://www.memo.ru/history/NKVD/kto/biogr/gb13.htm ____________ I issued no such instructions. Ezhova may have showed up under the letter "N" solely by chance. But you did know that the intimate relations of Sholokhov with your wife were recorded. Here, take a look at this. [Here reads Kuz’min report of Dec. 12 1938, acc. to Polianskii 224-5] Do you admit that a few days after you received the transcript you brought it home and showed the document to your wife, and then berated her for betraying you? No such event happened. No one ever gave me this transcript of the intimate relations between Ezhov and Sholokhov, and in general I never showed my wife documents from my work and never told her what they contained. Of course you can deny this, Ezhov. But we have the confessions of Glikina, Ezhova’s close friend and a German spy, who is now arrested and is under investigation. Glikina confesses that Ezhova was beaten by you and complained to her and told her about everything. Therefore let me remind you that lying will not help you!" _____________

The following short extract from Ezhov's interrogation-confession of May 11, 1939 is printed in Viktor Fradkin, Delo Kol'tsova . Moscow: Vagrius / Mezhdunarodnyi Fond "Demokratiia", 2002. Published under the auspices of the "Memorial" society, there is every reason to believe that the documents reproduced in this volume are genuine.

Question: Besides Zinaida Glikina, whom you have already named, was anyone else connected with your wife Ezhova E.S. [Evgeniia Solomonovna - GF] in espionage work? Answer: I can only reply with more or less precise suppositions. After the journalist M. Kol'tsov arrived from Spain his friendship with my wife grew much stronger. This friendship was so close that my wife even visited him in the hospital when he was ill. Kol'tsov also worked in the commission -- or committee -- on foreign literature, that is, where Glikina also worked and, as far as I know, Kol'tsov obtained this job for Glikina upon Ezhova's recommendation. I became interested in the reasons for my wife's closeness with Kol'tsov and once asked her about this. My wife at first put me off with general phrases, but then said that this closeness was connected with her work. I asked her, with which work, the literary or the other, and she answered: "With both the first and the second." I understood that Ezhova was connected with Kol'tsov in her espionage work for England.

_____________________

Ezhov interrogation 05.17.39

Interrogation re: murder of Slutsky, organized by Ezhov. Pavliukov 527. No QQ, no note. See Pavliukov 531-2 on Frinovskii’s testimony at Ezhov’s trial on February 3, 1940, where Frinovskii discussed Slutsky’s murder.

"The interrogation of May 17 1939 was devoted to the circumstances surrounding the death of the former head of the Foreign division of the GUGB of the NKVD M. M. Slutsky. Ezhov informed us that the murder of Slutskii was organized according to his instructions, and was done because of the feat that Slutsky, whose arrest had become inevitable, might reveal during his interrogation the facts he knew about the criminal activity of the conspirators. "

_______________________

Ezhov interrogation 06.16.39 by Rodos, selections – Polianskii 230-233

"Do you confirm Kosior’s confessions about your collaboration in working for Polish intelligence? Where, when and what secret information did you transmit to Kosior, and whom else did you recruit for this work?" … Perhaps you did not know Radek and Piatakov well and did not receive any instructions from Trotsky through them? I never received any instructions from Trotsky from anybody. I knew Radek very poorly, I met him at Piatakov’s apartment a few times, but that was about ten years ago! Were you friends with Piatakov? Never. Mar'iasin, the president of the Gosbank, introduced us. We would get together for a drinking bout sometimes at his place, sometimes at Piatakov’s. And then I always got angry with Piatakov. All right, then. When was this? In 1930 or 1931, I can’t remember now. And what did you do with him? When he was drunk Piatakov often played the hooligan, made fun of those present. Once I was sitting next to him at the table. Piatakov quietly stuck me with a pin and then pretended that it was not he who had done it. A little while later he did it again even harder. I did not hold back and hit Piatakov in the face and split his lip. That evening I went away angry with him and never made it up with him and never had any doings with him at all. … You lie well, you bastard. Only I am not Piatakov, I won’t stick you with a pin, but I will force you to tell the truth. … I’ll tell you everything, don’t beat me. My guilt before the party and the people is so great that it’s senseless to justify myself."

Ezhov interrogation June 19 1939

No QQ. Re: nephews Viktor and Anatolii, and Mikhail Blinov, husband of his niece.

Pavliukov 528; 537.

Pavliukov 528:

"In particular, during the course of the interrogation of June 19 1939 Ezhov told about his conversations of a counterrevolutionary nature, which he supposedly had with his nephews Viktor and Anatolii, and also with the husband of his niece Mikhail Blinov. They supposedly agreed completely with his anti-Soviet views, and Viktor also shared, in Ezhov’s words, even his terrorist intentions, although he [Ezhov] never gave him any assignments of that nature."

Pavliukov, 537:

"As has already been mentioned earlier, during the course of the interrogation of June 19 1939 confessions were beaten out of Ezhov according to which Anatolii and Viktor shared his anti-Soviet views and even sympathized with his terrorist orientation. After that they went after his nephews in a serious way. They succeeded in breaking Anatolii first. He not only ‘confessed’ that he knew about Ezhov’s terrorist orientations but also stated that together with his brother Viktor he was read to do anything to help bring about these criminal plans."

[There is NO evidence that Ezhov beaten or tortured to get these confessions – only "supposed" by Pavliukov, 527 bot. - GF]

"As concerns confessions of a personal nature, to obtain some of them the investigators, probably, had to have recourse to the practice of interrogation "with partiality" [i.e. to beat Ezhov – GF]. Otherwise it is hard to understand now, for example, they were able to obtain from Ezhov confessions compromising his nearest relations."

Ezhov interrogation 06.21.39 by Rodos, fm Polianskii 235-238

- summarized by Pavliukov 527 bot.

"If you intend to lie again and make fun of the investigation, then we will not waste our time. I’d prefer to send you back to prison for a week or so to think it over."

Ezhov had already thought about the beginning of his dialog with the investigator and began to talk quickly:

"I admit that I was connected with Zhukovskii in espionage work for Germany since 1932. The fact that I tried to conceal that circumstance from the investigation can be explained only by my cowardice, which I showed at the beginning of the investigation when I tried to minimize my personal guilt, and since my espionage link with Zhukovskii concealed my even earlier ties with German intelligence, it was hard for me to speak [about them] at the first interrogation."

_____________

For Zhukovskii see http://www.memo.ru/history/NKVD/kto/biogr/gb169.htm

______________

"When did you become a German spy? I was recruited in 1930. In Germany, in Königsberg. How did you happen to be there? I was sent to Germany by the People’s Commissariat of Agriculture. In Germany I was well treated and shown every attention. The most assiduous attention I received from the prominent official of the Economic Ministry of Germany Artnau. Having been invited to his estate near Königsberg I spent the time happily enough, partaking excessively of alcoholic drinks. In Königsberg Artnau often paid the restaurant bills for me. I did not protest. All these circumstances made me feel close to Artnau and often without holding back I blurted out to him all kinds of secrets about the situation in the Soviet Union. Sometimes, when I was drunk, I was even more frank with Artnau and gave him to understand that I personally was not wholly in agreement with the Party’s line and with the existing Party leadership. Things got to the point that during one of the conversations I directly promised Artnau to discuss a series of questions in the government of the USSR concerning the purchase of livestock and agricultural machinery, in which Germany and Artnau were very much interested. And how did German intelligence recruit Zhukovsky? Did his recruitment take place through you? I established espionage ties with Zhukovskii in 1932 under the following circumstances. Zhukovskii was then working as assistant trade representative of the USSR in Germany. At that time I was the chairman of the Raspredotdel of the Central Committee of the Party. When he somehow found himself in Moscow Zhukovskii applied to me with the request to take him along to the negotiations. Before this I had not been acquainted with Zhukovskii and saw him for the first time in my office at the CC. I was astonished that Zhukovskii began to report to me about the situation in the Berlin trade representative office of the USSR concerning questions which had nothing to do with my position. I understood that the basic reason for Zhukovsky’s visiting me was, obviously, not to initiate me into the situation of the affairs of the office of the Soviet trade representative in Berlin but in something else entirely, about which he preferred to remain silent for the time being, awaiting my initiative. Not long before Zhukovsky’s arrival there arrived at the office of foreign groups, which at that time was also a part of the Raspredotdel of the CC of the Party and was under my supervision, there had arrived materials that characterized Zhukovskii in an extremely negative way. From these materials it was obvious that Zhukovskii had carried out a number of trade operations that had been unprofitable for the Commissariat of Foreign Trade. From these materials it was also obvious that in Berlin Zhukovskii was involved with the Trotskyists and spoke in their defense even at official Party gatherings of the Soviet colony. On that basis the Party organization of the Soviet colony insisted that Zhukovskii be recalled from Berlin. Knowing that these materials would have to come before me Zhukovskii obviously expected that I would be first to begin a talk with him concerning his further work abroad. After Zhukovskii had finished his report I reminded him about the failures in his work. Zhukovskii gave me his explanations and at the end of the conversation asked me my opinion as to whether he might continue his work in the office of the Soviet trade representative or be recalled to Moscow. I avoided any answer and promised to deal with the materials and report the results. At the same time I decided to transmit all the compromising materials on Zhukovskii to Berlin so that Artnau might be able to use them and to recruit Zhukovskii to collaboration with German intelligence. I considered Zhukovskii my man, and he unhesitatingly fulfilled all my assignments concerning espionage for Germany. Zhukovskii had the essential conditions of free access to all materials of the Commission of Party Control, and he made use of them whenever German intelligence demanded from him materials on this or that question. I also created for him in the NKVD such conditions that he was able to use for espionage work information through the secretariat of the NKVD on any questions.*

* Senior major of State Security Semion Borisovich Zhukovskii was shot on January 24, 1940. He has been rehabilitated (Polianskii, p. 393).

Ezhov confession 06.25.39 Rodos re poisons

- fm perpetrator2004 Yezhov1.doc; Soima; Polianskii 241-245.

FROM THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERROGATION OF N.I. EZHOV BY INVESTIGATOR RODOS ON JUNE 25 1939: "How did you use this NKVD laboratory in your espionage and conspiratorial activities?" asked Rodos, glancing at Kobulov who was sitting beside him. "ANSWER: I knew that such a laboratory existed and that Iagoda made use of it in his conspiratorial activities. But when I came to the NKVD Frinovskii explained to me that we could not do without the activities of this laboratory, and that it was necessary for our intelligence activities in the Foreign Division abroad. But I did not know anything about what they were doing. I did not even hear about all these experiments about which Zhukovskii spoke, probably Frinovskii allowed him all this. True, once – I don’t remember when – Frinovskii told me that Alekhin had in the laboratory some substance which, if a person ingested it, would cause death like that from a heart attack. Such a substance is essential when it’s necessary to eliminate enemies abroad. But it had to be tested to see whether it would leave traces on the organism that could be discovered by experts upon autopsy. Frinovskii said that they had a doctor who for this purpose needed to carry out research on the corps of a person who had died from this substance. The doctor needed to carry out experiments on three or four persons. What’s the difference how they die, poison is even easier than a bullet in the back of the head. Therefore I agreed, but I never heard anything more about this laboratory and about what they were doing there. QUESTION: Once again your answer is not to the point. Name the persons whom you liquidated in your espionage and conspiratorial activities by the use of the poisons which you received from this laboratory. ANSWER: I have no idea about these poisons, I have never seen them. KOBULOV: Ezhov is lying again, he thinks that somebody will believe him. We remind him that he gave the directive to poison Slutsky. Both Frinovskii and Alekhin have given testimony about this. Did you hear what we are asking you about? How did you organize the poisoning of Slutsky? – asked Rodos. Frinovskii actively spoke against Slutsky. He said that this was Iagoda’s man and that we could never trust him under any circumstances. But here Frinovskii does not view Slutskii at all in the way you do – Kobulov suddenly said. Slutskii head the INO (International section) and could have had access to information from abroad about your espionage links. You feared that and poisoned Slutskii after putting your own agent Shpigel’glas in his place. But you didn’t manage to cover your tracks. Shpigel’glas figured everything out, uncovered your whole band of spies. You had to take care of your agents in the INO and abroad in the most meticulous manner. Tell us in detail how you organized the murder of your wife Evgeniia Solomonovna Ezhova by means of poisoning. I did not organize such a poisoning. She died from a sedative, she drank a large dose. And here your chauffer confessed in the investigation that a day before Ezhova’s death you asked him to take chocolate candies and fruit to her in the hospital. You poisoned these products. Who gave you the poison? Zhukovsky? Alekhin? My wife died November 21. At that time both of them had already been arrested. And then, I don’t’ remember that I sent my chauffer to her with a present. KOBULOV: Don’t play the fool, Ezhov, we are not children here, and we will not believe that such a hardened bandit and spy as you are did not keep poison and did not know how to use it. I do not recall the exact date when I saw my wife in the hospital for the last time. Probably it was the 17 th or 18 th . She told me that she did not want to live, that in any case they would soon arrest her, that she felt there were serious crimes on her account. She asked me that I bring her some kind of poison the next time… Did you arrange your wife’s suicide? Yes. She knew a lot about my subversive activities, my accomplices, and my criminal plans. But I decided not to give her poison. I did not have any special poison. Normal poison I could of course obtain, but such a poisoning could have brought suspicion upon me, that I had put her to death myself or through accomplices, or simply had given her poison for suicide. I knew that a large dose of sedative could cause death. I told her that I did not have any poison, but I did have a very great deal of sedative. She understood everything. On the 20 th I took a box of chocolate candies and put a packet of Luminal in it. Then I put the box into a basket with grapes and apples and told my chauffer to take all this to the hospital. Of course I committed a serious crime, but she herself asked me about this. She wanted to end her life."

[Soima: "Earlier he had confirmed to Rodos that with the aid of poison Ezhov had put his wife to death.]

__________________________

Ezhov interrogation 06.29.39 by Rodos re Kedrov’s report

- fm Polianskii 250-252

Tell us about your espionage connections with the agent of German intelligence Mnatsakanov. I never had such connections with him. And if you think about it the right way. When did you become acquainted with him? That was, it seems, in 1935. I was going to Vienna for treatment together with my wife. Then I was already a secretary of the Central Committee and Slutskii had the task of security for our trip abroad. He, so to speak, attached this Mnatsakanov to me. He had been a consul or a vice-consul, had an automobile, and drove us around the town. Yee-es. And he drove you around so well that once you were Commissar you immediately dragged this villain to a leading post in the INO knowing that he was a German spy, that his wife was linked to Polish intelligence, and that his brother was an experienced Trotskyist provocateur! I didn’t know any of this. Slutskii had simply worked with him in Vienna, had a high opinion of him, and decided to take him into the INO apparatus. I supported Slutsky, not because I knew Mnatsakanov a bit. I did not spend much time on INO matters and completely relied on Slutskii in matters of cadre. So it turns out that it was Slutskii who is to blame. He foisted a German agent onto you, and you knew nothing about him. Is that the way things were? I do not wish to blame Slutskii for anything. He did not foist Mnatsakanov onto me. In my opinion I did not see this Mnatsakanov in the NKVD even once. In the INO at that time I only met with Slutskii about the work, sometimes with Shpigel’glas, and with Boris Berman. Why then did Mnatsakanov call you and ask you to intercede for him when they unmasked him and began to expel him from the Party? He could not have called me. I had a direct connection only with the heads of departments and their assistants. Who among them would even let Mnatsakanov near such a telephone, much less since they wanted to expel him from the Party. That is impossible. I remind you that he called at that time from Kedrov’s office. About Kedrov I know that he was just a simple worker in the INO. From his telephone it was also impossible to reach me.

That’s all, we are finished with lying. You have two days to think hard about your espionage work with Mnatsakanov, to remember all the details. And especially how you warned him in Duilov’s office not to give any confessions. If you continue to lie and mock me, I’ll have your head.

______________________

Ezhov interrogation 07.02.39 by Rodos re Mnatsakanov

- fm Polianskii 252-260

When and how did Mnatsakanov enter into espionage relations with you? This was in 1935 when I went to Vienna for the second time to get treatment for my lung disease. You had been there before, when? In 1934, I was alone then, and the next time I went with my wife. I was treated the whole time by the famous Professor Norden. German intelligence summoned you to him, he was an agent of theirs? Not. The Kremlin medical directorate sent me to him. Many important workers and their wives were treated by him. He had been in Moscow several times, already in the 1920s. And Norden could hardly have been connected with German intelligence. I was told while still in Moscow that this professor was a monarchist and supporter of Franz-Josef and no lover of Hitler, that’s why he moved from Berlin to Vienna, so the fascists could not persecute him. And also, he is very old. Tell us about your first trip to Vienna, with whom did you meet there? In Vienna Slutskii met me. He had received a special directive about this from Iagoda. From Iagoda? That is interesting. Did you yourself ask Iagoda to do this? No. I did not talk with Iagoda about this. At that time I was an assistant department head in the CC and traveled to Austria under a false name. Therefore the CC gave a directive to Iagoda that he should take care of guaranteeing my security. Well, and who was it who took care of your security then, Mnatsakanov? No, then Mnatsakanov was not yet working in Vienna, I think. It was Slutskii himself who brought me to Norden at first, and then, twice, some collaborator of his. To be honest I do not remember his name and never met him again. And when did Mnatsakanov approach you? In 1935. He met Evgeniia Solomonovna and myself at the station and drove us to the plenipotentiary’s office to Slutsky. Then he took us to Norden and showed us the city. He was very polite and kind to us. I’ll bet. Did he connect with you by some code word in the name of German intelligence? No. He gave me a greeting from Artnau and I understood everything. Thereupon I communicated secret political information to him. What kind of information? I don’t remember exactly now, but in my opinion Mnatsakanov was interested in information about industry and about the weaponry of the Red Army. Not long before this I headed the industrial division of the CC, and I was very familiar with this information. Probably that’s why the Germans asked me such questions. He gave you tasks of a subversive and sabotage character? Yes, he did. But in general. What do you mean "in general"? At that time I had already become a secretary of the CC, head of the department of leading Party organs, chairman of the Party Control Commission, and chairman of the Commission on Foreign Assignments. German intelligence knew this very well, and I received from Mnatsakanov the task of performing sabotage while in these positions, of subverting Party work. Be more concrete. Well, how shall I say it? In my hands at that time was in fact all the work of reassigning of leading cadres. Choosing their activities, punishments, directing them for work abroad. So I did everything that a saboteur could do in such positionis. I directed to leading positions people who were weak in professional, political, and moral sense, people who could ruin production, undermine the fulfillment of the Five-Year Plan. To compromise the Party. In the Party Control Commission I managed things so as to cover-up and not disclose elements hostile to the Party, and to deprive of Party membership and shut out in every way those who were loyal to the Party. Abroad I tried to send those who would probably become spies or non-returnees. What a scoundrel you were anyway, Ezhov – hissed Rodos with pleasure through his teeth. Why, after that there is no place for you on this earth. I understand that I caused enormous harm to the Party and the country, I repent fully of my crimes and am ready to bear the punishment I deserve for them, -- said Ezhov, as if by rote, glancing in fear at the investigator. Were you familiar with Mnatsakanov’s wife, Erna Boshkovich? Yes, he introduced us to her in Vienna. Did you know that her first husband was a Polish spy and that she herself works for Polish intelligence? No. I did not even know that she had been married before Mnatsakanov. Did your wife meet with her alone? I seem to remember that not long before our departure Mnatsakanov and Boshkovich took her shopping, and at that time I was in the office of the trade representative. What do you think? Could Ezhova have established espionage connections with Boshkovich in Vienna? What information do you have about that? I have no information about that. Evgeniia and I never spoke about Boshkovich. She never told me anything about espionage connections either with her or with Mnatsakanov. That doesn’t mean that there were no such connections. It is already proven now that Ezhova was an English spy and you even confirmed this to the investigation. Tell us honestly, do you know about any meetings with Boshkovich after her arrival in Moscow? My wife told me almost nothing about her espionage work. But I concede that she might have had espionage connections with Boshkovich in Moscow, since the English and Polish intelligence services often work together. You called Mnatsakanov to Moscow specially in order through him to get into contact with the Gestapo. Did he ask you about this? Yes. Before my own departure from Vienna he expressed such a wish and I ordered Slutskii to have him recalled for work in the NKVD as soon as I became the Commissar. Did you conduct your conspiratorial contact with him in the NKVD building? Yes, we had that kind of contact right up until his exposure and arrest. ... What tasks did Mnatsakanov give you? Did you hand over to him secret NKVD information? He was not interested in secret NKVD information. In the leadership of the Commissariat on the level of heads of departments and their assistants were Gestapo agents. Then many of them were exposed, as was Mnatsakanov himself. These agents knew more detailed information than I did. So I told him about Politburo sessions, CC plenums, conversations with Stalin, Molotov, Kaganovich and other leaders, related to him the contents of secret letters and telegrams of the Central Committee and the Council of People’s Commissars. You did good work. And why didn’t you rescue him when he fell? For he asked you to help him. There was nothing I could do because he was completely exposed and confessed his espionage work. Were you afraid that he would give you up? No. No one would have believed him. You are lying, Ezhov! We have evidence against you. When investigator Dulov was interrogating Mnatsakanov you went specially to his office and told your collaborator: "You are writing? Well, write, write." This meant you were warning him in this way that he should keep silent about you, and then arranged it so that he would be shot as quickly as possible. Wasn’t it like that? Yes, I remember what happened. I was afraid that Mnatsakanov would expose me as a German spy. I wanted him to be shot as quickly as possible, and I achieved that. On this occasion Rodos was satisfied with his suspect. His confessions fit into the plan that had been thought out in advance and covered many unclear points. He nodded to Ezhov, who had deserved a cigarette, to the packet lying on the table. While the former Commissar lit up Rodos took a copy of a typewritten text from a file. This was some kind of unrelated and unidentified communication from either a suspect or an interrogator, and perhaps just an excerpt from an anonymous denunciation. In the NKVD it was considered impermissible to take an interest in the source of operational information and, having received this paper from Kobulov, Rodos did not add any details to it. Someone had informed about an amorous contact between Ezhov and a certain Stefforn, a Czech and German female spy, that had taken place in 1934. Before this Rodos had read the text about three times but still did not understand who this Stefforn was – an NKVD collaborator, the wife of a colleague in the INO in Berlin, or both at the same time. Supposedly Ezhov had asked her to marry him but she had refused, and then regretted it. But soon she found herself a new husband, one Petrushev. When Stefforn was imprisoned for espionage Petrushev had asked Evgeniia Ezhova to intercede for her with her husband, but that did not help. That was all the information. Rodos thought. Ezhov had already named about ten German spies with whom he was working in Moscow, therefore the Czech woman Stefforn was hardly essential here. But she might have played a role in Ezhov’s moral dissolution, which was now very important. Did you know a woman named Stefforn? Perhaps. Remind me who she is. I will. She was your lover, a Czech whom you even wanted to marry, but she preferred somebody named Petrushev to you. Maybe that’s Elena Petrusheva, a friend of Evgeniia, they had met in Germany at the end of the 1930s. But… Tell me about her in detail. My wife told me that Lena’s father was a German Jew from Prague and her mother was either a Czech or a Pole. She was married to a Soviet citizen working abroad and lived with him for some time in Germany. Was this husband an employee of the INO of the OGPU? I don’t know, that wasn’t mentioned in the conversation. Sometime in 1930 she left him and went to Moscow. I don’t know the husband’s last name. Then she married Petrushev. I met them a couple of times, a respectable-looking man. He said that his father had been a well-known pre-Revolutionary photographer, the best one in Russia, and very rich. And Petrushev himself worked in some publishing house or other either as a photographer or, maybe, as an artist. The wife told me that he could draw very well, his pictures were hanging in their home. Don’t go off on me about pictures, stay with the main point of the question. Petrushev asked your wife to get you to help his wife Stefforn when she was arrested for espionage on behalf of Germany. Evgeniia Solomonovna never said anything about that to me. In general she and I agreed that she would not ask me about government employees and saboteurs who were under arrest. Once she did ask me to help the husband of a friend, who had been seized for sabotage in a factory, and I told her that I could not do that because my real activities might be uncovered and then we would both burn. Since that time she did not trouble me with such questions. Be that as it may, Ezhov. But you are avoiding the question about your amorous relations with this Stefforn, or Petrusheva. Tell me now about that. Elena was an interesting woman and she pleased me. She came to our apartment a few times – that was, it seems, at the end of 1934. With her there was another woman. We drank. When she and I were smoking together in another room I began to embrace her and wanted to arrange to meet at her apartment since she had said that her husband Petrushev was resting at a spa in Kislovodsk. I asked for her telephone number so I could call her the next day. But she said that they had no telephone. I remembered that my wife had called her at home. That meant that she did not want to get together with me. What, she didn’t work and sat at home all the time? As I remember she was a typist at home, but I might be mistaken. And what, you didn’t meet with her again. Was it really that hard to get her to go to bed? I didn’t try to do that again. After 1934 I didn’t see her again. Zhenia [= Evgeniia] did not invite her to our place any more. How so? Elena had unpleasant conversations with her, anti-Party, politically harmful. About the hunger in the Ukraine, where some of her relatives lived. No doubt she was trying to see how my wife would react to that. In addition Evgeniia heard from one of her friends that Petrusheva had gotten a little drunk and hinted to her that she was collaborating with the NKVD. Ezhov, there is no point in lying. We have information and evidence that you lived for a long time with this woman, wanted to leave your wife for her, gave her expensive gifts and told her state secrets when you were drunk. I don’t have the time to drag every word out of you. Today in this room you’ll be given a pencil and paper, and you write in detail about your grimy ties with this slut. And don’t forget to tell had your complete moral degeneration led to your becoming a spy and traitor. OK. And something else. For a long time you have been hiding your attraction to men, what’s called homosexuality. But this became known after you agreed to the shameful affair of citizen V. from the Commissariat of Water Transport in your apartment, and before that in V’s presence you amused yourself with his wife in bed. Do you understand how far you have fallen? You are simply a monster, Ezhov, a filthy person and a pervert. I’m disgusted to look at you. At that time I was very drunk… What’s that, justification? No, but I don’t remember anything, I woke up in the morning and they were no longer there. The chauffer then told me that he took them away at 3 a.m. I could have done anything at all then… I’m not interested in that. But we know that you told V. about your passion for homosexuality since childhood and that men could completely replace women for you. You should write in detailed when you became a homosexual and with whom you then became involved in this filthy business…

Ezhov interrogation 07.08.39 by Rodos

- fm Polianskii 262-268

"Tell us how and when you recruited Uspenskii in the espionage-sabotage organization in the NKVD that you had created. I turned my attention to Uspenskii already at the beginning of 1936. That was when he was still the assistant commandant of the Moscow Kremlin for internal security? Yes. Where did you find out about Uspenskii’s hostile anti-Soviet views. Did he express them to you himself? No. Veinshtok and Frinovskii told me about that. They knew him well and believed that he’d be very suitable for espionage work. Did you recruit Uspenskii personally? Yes. That was right after my arrival in the Commissariat. He quickly agreed and I told him that we needed our own men in the provinces. That was why I sent him to Western Siberia. What kinds of assignments did you given him then? He was supposed to recruit agents into our organization from among the Chekist cadre and to promote them to leading positionis so that they could seize power in the event of war or a coup. In November 1937 you sent Uspenskii a coded message with the following content: "If you think you are going to sit in Orenburg for five years, you are mistaken. Very soon, it seems, I will have to promote you to a more responsible post. What is the meaning of this message? At that time the leadership of our organization decided to move to active measures. There was a lot of evidence against Leplevskii and Zakovskii showing that they were spies and enemies of the people. It was impossible to hide such matters, and we had to get rid of these people, we couldn’t use them, they could cause everything to fail. We decided to replace them with Uspenskii and Litvin. I gave Uspenskii a coded message so that he would find out about his forthcoming departure from Orenburg and would switch all the sabotage-espionage work over to other people whom he had been able to recruit there. OK. And now tell us how you warned Uspenskii about the fact that they wanted to arrest him. Did Dagin tell you about the fact of Uspenskii's forthcoming arrest? Yes, I think it was he. He came to my office and told me about that. And didn’t he tell you that he had listened in on the telephone conversation between comrades Stalin and Khrushchev about Uspenskii? Yes, I remember that he told me about the telephone conversation about Uspenskii which he had listened in on, but he did not say that that was Stalin’s conversation. Dagin, on my instructions, listened in on all telephone conversations of the Politburo and immediately told me about them so that I would be up to date. After that you called Kiev and warned Uspenskii. What did you tell him? I said: ‘You are being recalled, your situation is bad.’ Something like that. I was afraid to send him a coded message, they could intercept it, since I had already lost trust and was under suspicion among the Party [leaders] as a hostile element. Did Dagin also tell you about the recall of Litvin from Leningrad? I did not know anything about the recall of Litvin to Moscow and did not warn him. There was no need to do so. Why was that? I had an agreement with him that in the event he was exposed he would commit suicide. Was that your order? No. In September of that year Litvin was in Moscow and used to come to my dacha. He told me that the arrival of Beria at the NKVD was the beginning of the end and soon we would all be arrested, since the Party was most likely aware about our plot. And he also said that he would not give himself up alive and that if they unexpectedly recalled him to Moscow he would shoot himself. That’s what happened. Did you support him in this intention? No. But I didn’t try to dissuade him either. That means that you admit that you de-facto gave your accomplice an order to commit suicide in the event of failure? Yes, that was de-facto the case. When did you include Litvin in your espionage work? That was in 1931, when I transferred him to Moscow. Why did he agree to become a spy? Already in the 1920s when I was getting together with Litvin I noticed his inexplicable relationship to Trotskyism. Openly he was not a supporter of Trotsky, but in his circle at that time there were many exposed Trotskyists and I think that in his inner being he had always been a Trotskyist. You wish to say that even then Litvin was a double-dealer? Yes. He was a double-dealer and, as later turned out, was a supporter of the Trotskyist-Zinovievist line. Therefore he willingly agreed to my proposal to become a German spy. I think because at that time the Left opposition had already suffered its final failure and Trotsky had been driven out of the USSR altogether. In 1933 Litvin upon your recommendation was named the chief of the cadre section of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Ukraine. Was that done on the instruction of German intelligence? Yes, I received that instruction from Artnau. What directives about espionage did Litvin receive from you? These directives were of a subversive and sabotage nature. I asked him to appoint to leading positions people who could by their actions cause arouse the dissatisfaction of the population of the Ukraine, people who would carry out sabotage, ruin foodstuff and livestock, disrupt the fulfillment of industrial plans. These were hidden Right and Left Oppositionist, who also carried out assignments for Zinoviev, Bukharin, Rykov and other enemies. Litvin was included by you in the basic plan for sabotage that German intelligence gave you? Did you also take him into the NKVD upon the assignment of the fascists in order to organize there the espionage-conspiratorial organization? Yes, that’s how it was. When you came to work in the NKVD you also brought with you there another of your collaborators, Isaac Shapiro. * When was he recruited by you?

_______________

* For Shapiro see http://www.memo.ru/history/NKVD/kto/biogr/gb537.htm

I had known Shapiro since 1930. He worked in the cadre section of the Commissariat of Agriculture in which I was a chief. He and I had a good friendship and I valued his zeal and literacy. And when Artnau recruited me and asked me to find people for espionage work I thought right away about Shapiro, who was personally devoted to me and it had always seemed to me that he did not like Soviet power very much and disapproved of the political line of the Party. Did Shapiro carry out sabotage activity in the Commissariat of Agriculture on your instruction? Yes, he did. But for a short time only. I decided to take him into the Central Committee, since there I needed people for subversive work. He knew that you were a German spy? Yes, I told him that together we would work for German intelligence, so as later to overthrow the government and come to power if there were a war with Germany. What assignments of yours did Shapiro carry out in the NKVD? He was de-facto my main assistant. Indeed I first appointed him the chief of the secretariat, and then made him also chief of the first special section. He had a lot of possibilities for sabotage in the NKVD and he carried out all my assignments of an espionage-subversive nature, both mine and Frinovskii's. And when Beria arrived at the NKVD he immediately found out that Shapiro was an enemy and arrested him in November of ’38. I know that. It would be better for you to tell me how you recruited Liushkov and how you helped him escape to Japan. I recruited Liushkov right after his return from Leningrad from the investigation of Kirov’s murder. At that time I was already secretary of the Central Committee and Liushkov knew that I was beginning to oversee the NKVD. Therefore, when I called him to my office and hinted that I had information about his ties with the Petliurovists during the civil war in the Ukraine and other incriminating facts, he was frightened and immediately agreed to work for me as a German-Japanese intelligence man. Did you really have that kind of information? No, I did not have. I made it all up in order to recruit Liushkov. But I guessed that he was a hostile element with a foul past, and turned out to be correct. Liushkov agreed to become a spy. How did you order Liushkov to flee to the Japanese? Ezhov thought for a few seconds. He could not think of a reason why Frinovskii, one of the leaders of the conspiratorial group in the NKVD, had suggested arresting his colleague Liushkov. But then he found a solution. Frinovskii often told me that he did not like Liushkov. He was cowardly and could betray us all at any moment. Upon our orders he was carrying out important espionage tasks for Japanese intelligence and knew a great deal about our subversive and sabotage work. Frinovskii said that we had to get rid of him, that means, kill him. And he told me that he would take care of that himself. I decided not to hinder him. Did Frinovskii say how he wanted to kill Liushkov? No. But I think that he wanted to arrest him first, and then in the inner prison to poison him or put him to death somehow. What a gang! And who warned Liushkov anyway about the danger? I don’t know. But Frinovskii wanted to appoint Gorbach from Novosibirsk to Liushkov’s place and recall the latter to Moscow, supposedly for a new job, but in reality to arrest him. Liushkov, most likely, found out that Gorbach was already on route to Khabarovsk, and fled across the border.

Ezhov ochnaia stavka w. Zhukovskii 07.21.39 – Rodos & Esaulov present

["ochnaia stavka" = "face-to-face confrontation"]

- Polianskii 269-272; B&S 138-139.

Do you know this man? Yes. Who is it? Nikolai Ivanovich Ezhov. And you? Rodos asked Ezhov. Yes, that is Semion Borisovich Zhukovsky. Suspect Ezhov. Confirm your confessions concerning the conspiratorial, sabotage, and terrorist activities of the former assistant Commissar of the NKVD Zhukovsky, that you gave at the interrogation of July 17 of this year. Investigator: When did you become a German spy? Ezhov: I was recruited in 1930 in Germany, in Königsberg.

[Here Ezhov repeats word for word the confession included above in the section "Ezhov interrogation 06.21.39 by Rodos, fm Polianskii 235-238" ]

In Germany I was well treated and shown every attention. The most assiduous attention I received from the prominent official of the Economic Ministry of Germany Artnau. Having been invited to his estate near Königsberg I spent the time happily enough, partaking excessively of alcoholic drinks… (In Königsberg Artnau) often paid the restaurant bills for me… I did not protest… All these circumstances made me feel close to Artnau and often without holding back I blurted out to him all kinds of secrets about the situation in the Soviet Union… Sometimes, when I was drunk, I was even more frank with Artnau and gave him to understand that I personally was not wholly in agreement with the Party’s line and with the existing Party leadership. Things got to the point that during one of the conversations I directly promised Artnau to discuss a series of questions in the government of the USSR concerning the purchase of livestock and agricultural machinery, in which Germany and Artnau were very much interested….

[Here the source continues with new material, not printed earlier as a part of this confession.]

Since I knew about Zhukovsky’s cowardice and stubbornness I did not consider it necessary to keep him up to date about conspiratorial matters. I only introduced him fully to these matters in the Spring of 1938. Then he was appointed my assistant and headed the whole accounting of the NKVD and the GULAG. We conspirators had special plans about the GULAG about which I have given detailed confessions, and I decided to bring Zhukovskii up to date. By this time the people who could have exposed Zhukovskii along the lines of his Trotskyist and espionage connections were already condemned and the danger of Zhukovsky’s arrest had passed. I told Zhukovskii about the existence of the conspiracy in the NKVD, that the conspiratorial organization is connected with governmental circles of Germany, Poland, and Japan. I don’t remember exactly now, but I think that I told him about our desire to get into contact with the English. Then I told him about the leading members of the conspiratorial organization and about our plans, specifically about our terrorist plans… What assignments did you give Zhukovskii concerning the GULAG? The conspiratorial assignments concerning the GULAG that I gave to Zhukovskii consisted in this: we sent to work the GULAG a very great quantity of compromised people. We could not leave them in the operational work, but we kept them in the GULAG for the purpose of forming a sort of reserve for conspiracies in the case of a coup in the country. I assigned Zhukovskii to maintain these people, but not to connect himself with them along conspiratorial lines, but to carry out all conspiratorial assignments that came to the GULAG through these people… Investigator: Did you give these terrorist assignments to Zhukovskii at the time of his work in the section of operational technology? Did you talk with him about the terrorist tasks of the conspiracy. Ezhov: Yes, I talked to him. There were two variants of our plans. The first variant: in the case of war, when we proposed to carry out the arrests of the members of the government and their physical removal. And the second variant: if there were no war in the immediate future, then to get rid of the leadership of the Party and the government, especially Stalin and Molotov, by carrying out terrorist acts against them. I firmly remember that I told Zhukovskii about this after I had entrusted him with the existence of the conspiracy. Investigator: Suspect Zhukovsky, did you receive from Ezhov the criminal assignments about which he has just spoken? Zhukovsky: I did not receive any such criminal assignments and am hearing about terrorist tasks for the first time at this face-to-face confrontation. You have nothing else that you want to tell the investigation? [ asked Rodos to Zhukovskii and, having received a negative answer, pushed the button to call the guards to take them away.]

Ezhov interrogation 07.24.39 by Rodos, including a quotation from a Frinovskii interrogation

- Polianskii 272-275

Recently Frinovskii gave confessions about your terrorist activity. Now I shall read them to you: "When Zhukovskii was chief of the 12 th section, Ezhov gave him an assignment to develop poisons with the aim of using them in carrying out terrorist acts. Ezhov, speaking with Zhukovskii in my presence, said that it was necessary to work on the question of poisons that would work instantaneously, which could be used on people but without [leaving] visible traces of poisoning. Ezhov also clearly said that we needed these poisons for use within the country." Do you confirm his confession, Ezhov? I cannot confirm that. At one of the interrogations I said that I had no relation to this laboratory. Frinovskii and Zhukovskii took care of it. I did not give them any tasks concerning poisons and did not have any conversations about these poisons. Stop lying! You are incriminated not only by Frinovskii but by Zhukovsky, Alekhin and Dagin. You stood at the head of the conspiracy and gave directions to prepare poisons for the villainous murder of leaders of the Party and government. Here is some more of what Frinovskii confessed about this: "I must say that the open use of servants for a terrorist act was not essential, servants could be used secretly, because the laboratory and the preparation of products were in the hands of Barkan and Dagin, they could poison the products in advance, and the servant, not knowing the products were poisoned, could give them to the members of the Politburo. Ezhov gave Zhukovskii directives about the preparation of poisons, after he left the 12 th department Zhukovskii transmitted these directives to Alekhin, and I and Ezhov confirmed these directives more than once. In 1937 and 1938 there were several joint conversations in Ezhov’s office between myself, Ezhov, and Alekhin. We were constantly concerned with how to carry out this work in the laboratory. The point is that those poisons that were being developed in the laboratory had had some kind of taste or left traces of their use in the human organism. We set the task of developing in the laboratory poisons that would be without any taste, so that they could be used in wine, drink and food, without changing the taste and color of the food and the drink. We proposed to invent separately poisons of instantaneous and of delayed action, and also whose use would not cause any visible destruction in the human organizing so that it could not be determined by autopsy of the body of the person killed by poison that poisons had been used to murder him. What do you say to this? I seem to remember a few conversations with Frinovskii about poisons. But I do not remember that I gave him any directives about their preparation and use. But you will remember, think about it. I am convinced that the memory of traitors and scoundrels such as yourself is quickly restored in punitive cells and isolation cells. Everybody remembers after a few days. The use of poisons for the purpose of terror against the government was discussed by use, when our original plan of a coup d’état and seizure of power fell apart. Tell us about this in more detail. Already in the summer of last year [1938 – GF] our organization took the decision to organize a military coup on the 7 th of November. Who was present at this assembly and where did it take place? It took place at my dacha. Present were Frinovskii, Evdokimov, Dagin, Zhurbenko, Zhukovsky, and Nikolaev-Zhurid. That was, so to speak, the general staff of our subversive organization. Oh, I forgot, Litvin was also there, he was coming to Moscow at that time on official business. Did you call together this meeting specially so that your general staff of bandits could take part? Yes. The staff’s presence was essential, as the coup was to take place also in Leningrad and the staff was supposed to guarantee everything. It was for this purpose that you also moved Zhurbenko to be the head of the UNKVD for Moscow and Moscow oblast’, so that he could be there to guarantee your treasonous conspiracy? Yes, that is so. I specially appointed Zhurbenko to this position before Beria’s arrival in the NKVD. Continue. What did you discuss there at the dacha? We decided that the interior troops [of the NKVD – GF] that were in Moscow and were under the command of Frinovskii as first assistant to the Commissar would carry out the coup. As for him, he should prepare a fighting group that would annihilate the members of the government in attendance at the parade. Then we decided to confirm a final plan for the coup in September or October and to send around directive to our people in the republics and oblasts’ about what they should do on the seventh of November. And this meeting took place, who was present at it? There were only three of us: Frinovskii, Zhukovsky, and I. Either the end of September or the beginning of October we met in my office. And what did you discuss? At that time the possibilities of our organization had been seriously disrupted by the arrival of Beria in the NKVD. He replaced Frinovskii, and we could no longer use the internal troops. But why, he must have had his agents there? Yes, he did have his agents, but obviously Beria already had information about our conspiracy and arrested almost all of them in September. I could not prevent these arrests or I would have exposed myself. Then Frinovskii proposed that we put off the coup and take power by means of poisoning the members of the government and in the first place Stalin, Molotov and Voroshilov. Their deaths would have immediately caused confusion in the country and we would have taken advantage of this and seized power. We calculated that we could then arrest all the people in the government and the NKVD who were unsuitable for us, and to claim that they were conspirators guilty in the deaths of the leaders. What low-lifes! What could have stopped you hoodlums? Frinovskii then said that Dagin would carry out the poisoning, and that Alekhin and Zhukovskii would give him the poisons. But it would be necessary to prepare the poisons, and we decided to carry out this terrorist act when the requisite poisons were collected. We agreed to meet when Dagin had the poisons and to put together a detailed plan for the coup. But Zhukovskii was unexpectedly arrested, a few days after this meeting, and after him Alekhin and Dagin, and I do not know whether or not Dagin received the poisons.

Ezhov interrogation 08.02.39 by Rodos

- Polianskii 275-280 (plain text); Briukhanov & Shoshkov 139-142 ( italics) ; in both of them ( underlined).

Tell us in detail about the sabotage activities that were carried out by you and your colleagues on the economic properties of the NKVD – said Rodos, preparing to write down the confessions. In addition to the large quantity of economic properties that had been under the direction of the NKVD under Iagoda and which had developed greatly during the years 1937-1938, that is Kolyma, Indigirka, Norilstroi and others, I succeeded in significantly increasing the economic activity of the NKVD by means of new properties. During these years I succeeded in carrying forth in the government the question about the transfer to the direction of the NKVD of many forest regions of the Commissariat of Forests, in connection with which the production program of the forest camps of the NKVD in the preparation and export of wood products in 1938 comprised almost half of the whole program of the Commissariat of Forests. Into the direction of the NKVD were transferred the construction of railroad lines that had the most important defense significance, such as the Baikal-Amur railway, the line from Ulan-Ude to Naushi, the Soroka-Pliasetskaia, the Ukhto-Pecherskaia line, and others. Among the purely defense-oriented properties I achieved the transfer under the direction of the NKVD of the construction of the Archangel shipbuilding factory and almost all the powder cellulose factories in Archangel, Solikamsk and other places, at the same time having organized the construction of ten smaller cellulose factories. On the initiative of the NKVD, on top of the programs confirmed by the government, the NKVD was given the construction of the world’s largest hydroelectric station – the Kuibyshev hydro network.

Sabotage and mismanagement in the construction sites flourished with complete impunity. We managed to go over completely to questions of defense construction, achieving practical control over a significant part of it. This gave us the possibility in case of need in our conspiratorial goals to vary and carry out different subversive measures which could help accomplish the defeat of the USSR in wartime and our coming to power. …The greatest population of prisoners was the border regions of the far Eastern borders. Here it was very easy for us to take over different economic tasks of a defense nature because of the lack of workers. However the camps of the Far Eastern Region were situated not only near to the borders but we sent there mostly prisoners sentenced for espionage, diversion, terror and other more serious crimes, and we sent almost no so-called "ordinary" prisoners. In this way along the borders of the FER, in the direct rear of the Red Army was prepared the most active and embittered counterrevolutionary force, which we planned to use in the widest possible manner in case of complication or of war with the Japanese… A significant quantity of prisoners were concentrated on our western borders of Ukraine, Belorussia, the Leningrad oblast’, and the Karelian ASSR, especially in road construction. … The whole conspiratorial plan of the regime we created for the prisoners consisted in that the most privileged conditions were created for the prisoners sentenced for the most serious crimes (espionage and terrorism), since that was the qualified force that would often be used for directing the administrative and economic work in the camps. In their hands was concentrated also all the cultural and educational work of the prisoners. It is clear in what spirit they were educated. Finally the regime created in the camps often permitted the counterrevolutionary activity of the prisoners to continue with complete impunity. In the camps the work of the so-called 3 rd sections was so badly organized and the camps were guarded so poorly, that the prisoners had the possibility of creating their own counterrevolutionary groups in the camps and to associate with each other at will. Facts like this were many. The guard of the camps was extremely small, made up of unreliable people, the material situation of the soldiers and the command staff was very poor, and, finally, the prisoners themselves were used in many cases in the capacity of guards. As a result of a security organized like this there were many cases of mass escapes from the camps. We fought against this evil poorly and did so consciously, in the hopes that the escapees from the camps would continue their counterrevolutionary activity and would become a force that would spread all kinds of anti-Soviet agitation and rumors.

I achieved the transfer under the direction of the NKVD a series of working factors of the defense industry. The reason for that could not have been the use of the labor of prisoners, since among them were the Pavshinskii factory, the Tushinskii factory of aviation motor construction, and others. Besides that, the NKVD organized a series of new factories on its own initiative, which carried out defense production… What, do you think we called you here to report on behalf of the NKVD about the successful fulfillment of the Five-Year Plan! You are a bandit, a conspirator, a saboteur, a terrorist, and a traitor. Answer the question asked you to the point. Sabotage and mismanagement in the construction sites flourished with complete impunity. I’ll bet, with a Commissar like that. – said Rodos with a grimace, not stopping his note-taking. We managed to go over completely to questions of defense construction, achieving practical control over a significant part of it… Who is this "we"? Well, our conspiratorial organization. Myself, Zhukovsky, Frinovskii, and others. I have already named them all earlier. This gave our organization the possibility in case of need in our conspiratorial goals to vary and carry out different subversive measures which could help accomplish the defeat of the USSR in wartime and our coming to power. In which areas was the subversive activity of your organization mainly distributed? The greatest population of prisoners was the border regions of the far Eastern borders. Here it was very easy for us to take over different economic tasks of a defense nature because of the lack of workers. However the camps of the Far Eastern Region were situated not only near to the borders but we sent there mostly prisoners sentenced for espionage, diversion, terror and other more serious crimes, and we sent almost no so-called "ordinary" prisoners. In this way along the borders of the FER, in the direct rear of the Red Army was prepared the most active and embittered counterrevolutionary force, which we planned to use in the widest possible manner in case of complication or of war with the Japanese. Did you send Liushkov there specially. What assignments did you give him? At the beginning of 1937 Frinovskii and I conferred with each other and decided that we had to have our own man in the Far East, through whom we could maintain contact with Japanese intelligence. In the event of an attack by the Japanese he was to let the counterrevolutionaries out of the camps, seize with their help the stores of arms and military supplies, and then head terrorist-diversionist work in the rear of the Red Army. We thought about this and chose Liushkov for these purposes, whom I had already recruited to our organization in 1936. Then I transferred him from the Azovo-Chernomorskii region and made him the head of the NKVD in the Far Eastern Region. In which other areas did you create the same kind of espionage-diversionist centers? We also did this in the western borders of the USSR. A significant quantity of prisoners were concentrated on our western borders of Ukraine, Belorussia, the Leningrad oblast’, and the Karelian ASSR. In Leningrad oblast and Karelia Litvin was in charge for you, of course? Yes. I sent him there specially at the beginning of 1938 instead of Zakovskii, whom I could not fully trust. And in the Ukraine? There Uspenskii all the assignments, including contact with Polish and German intelligence. That is why I made him Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Ukraine. When was he recruited by you? At the beginning of 1937. He came to Moscow from Novosibirsk before he was appointed to the position of chief of the UNKVD for the Orenburg oblast. I knew that Uspenskii was anti-Soviet, anti-party, and for that reason he immediately agreed to work in our organization. In Belorussia you sent Boris Berman? Did you know that he was an old German agent? Yes. Artnau told me that Berman was working for German intelligence as soon as I became Commissar of Internal Affairs. He had been recruited at the beginning of the ‘thirties, when he was

[Soviet] resident in Germany. I immediately established espionage contact with him, then he was the assistant chief of the INO. In 1937 I specially sent him from our organization to Belorussia and made him Commissar of Internal Affairs. There he met with German agents and received assignments and instructions. That means your widespread espionage organization in the case of an attack on the USSR by Japan and Germany could seize power not only in Moscow but in border areas, opening the road to the invaders. Do I understand this correctly from your confessions? Yes. That was exactly what we had planned. It’s useless to deny such things. Tell me, was counterrevolutionary work carried on by your confederates in the camps for the purpose of establishing there bases for sabotage and anti-Soviet activity? In the camps the work of the so-called 3rd sections was so badly organized and the camps were guarded so poorly, that the prisoners had the possibility of creating their own counterrevolutionary groups in the camps and to associate with each other at will. Facts like this were many. The guard of the camps was extremely small, made up of unreliable people, the material situation of the soldiers and the command staff was very poor, and, finally, the prisoners themselves were used in many cases in the capacity of guards. As a result of a security organized like this there were many cases of mass escapes from the camps. We fought against this evil poorly and did so consciously, in the hopes that the escapees from the camps would continue their counterrevolutionary activity and would become a force that would spread all kinds of anti-Soviet agitation and rumors… [At that moment the telephone on Rodos’s table started to ring.]

I am leaving right away, I will be back at four o’clock for sure. We shall continue the interrogation tomorrow, and you remember what concretely sabotage work you carried out with your confederates in the economic properties of the NKVD.

Ezhov interrogation 08.03.39 by Rodos

Polianskii 280-284

"The overwhelming majority of the prisoners were so-called vicious "refusers", as a rule people who had not fulfilled the assigned norm of work, in connection with which these latter were deliberately extremely poorly provided, something we also did for sabotage purposes. This circumstance, and a series of other subversive measures of the conspiratorial organization caused the necessity of more and more prisoners being brought to Kolyma. The government every year devoted enormous expenses to the development of Kolyma, spending hundreds of millions of rubles. If these means had been rationally spent, the mining at the rich Kolyma sites could have been significantly mechanized. Mechanization would not only have reduced the necessity of holding a large quantity of prisoners in Kolyma and of bringing to them a huge amount of foodstuffs and other supplies, but would have increased the yield of metal and sharply lowered its cost. Meanwhile mechanization was slowed down by sabotage and all the extraction was based on muscle power alone. As a result already in 1938 more than 100,000 prisoners were brought to Kolyma. The whole area of Kolyma is rich not only in gold, but in many other ores. Specifically, in Kolyma there are huge supplies of coal and other forms of fuel. With any kind of careful economic approach to the matter it would have been possible without any difficulty to satisfy the demands of Kolyma with coal and even with oil without the costly transporting of them from the European part of the USSR. However the coal deposits of Kolyma are not exploited at all. In Kolyma it would unquestionably be possible to wholly cease the importation even of explosive materials and of the simplest equipment, which also is brought in every year in great quantities. For this purposes it would be necessary to build in Kolyma a very simple mechanical factory of modest size or, even better, workshops that could manufacture the simplest equipment and spare parts. Just as easily and quickly could and should be built in Kolyma an explosives factory of modest size, since almost all raw materials necessary for this exist there. Finally, in Kolyma the importation of foodstuffs could be significantly reduced. Such a possibility is completely obtainable for Kolyma, where meat, fish and even vegetable production could be developed. All this was deliberately ignored by us, and the supply of Kolyma was wholly laid upon the shoulders of the state. I have already said that the region of Kolyma together with the gold-bearing regions are rich also in a whole series of other rare ores. So, for example, there are rich industrial supplies of tin, antimony, copper, micas, and other ores. These extremely valuable ores that have enormous economic and defense significance are not worked at all or are extracted in tiny quantities, like tin, while in Kolyma there are all the possibilities of setting up the extraction of these ores at the same time as that of gold, the more so since the regions with these ores are nearby. It is clear that the parallel extraction of gold and of other valuable ores that are so territorially adjacent where, consequently, it would be possible to set up a unified, energetic, mechanical economic unit, and to reduce to a significant extent the cost of gold and of other rare metals. These questions we deliberately and as an act of sabotage ignored, and did not even present to the government. What role in this was played by the foreign intelligence services with which you were collaborating? They, of course, knew what we were doing and encouraged and supported our subversive work in every way. But as far as I know they did not specially give any assignments either to me or to their other agents, since, no doubt, they were certain that we ourselves knew where we should best carry out the sabotage. Name the concrete properties where sabotage was carried out according to your instructions. The construction of the Ukhto-Pechersk road has a decisive meaning for the development of the extraction of coal, oil, and other valuable products, without which the economic development of the Northern region as a whole is impossible. Meanwhile the construction of this road was retarded by us deliberately and in every way, under various pretexts and the resources allotted to it were spread over a large area of work and did not have any effect. The retardation in the construction of the Ukhto-Pechersk railroad is explained in the main by the lack of a satisfactory plan, which the Commissariat of Roads and Rails should present. The saboteurs in the GULAG and in the Commissariat of Roads and Rails with our support organized a never-ending dispute about the choice of the direction of the roads, which has been going on for a long time now, and the planning and even the exploratory works in many sectors have not been begun to this day. Finally, it was essential not to spread out our resources over a broad front of works, but to concentrate on the decisive sections for the export of production. And precisely the construction of the Ukhto-Pechersk line should have been strictly divided into several stages. In the first part should have been concentrated all the forces and resources to finish the construction of the Vorkuta-Abez’ section, for the purpose of exporting coal. But we hindered that, insofar as all decisions were mine. Further, the construction of the section from the oil-bearing areas of Ukhta to Kotel’nich should have been organized, and these works could have been fully developed from two directions, both from Kotel’nich and from Ukhta. Only in the final stage could have been finished those sections that unite the coal-rich Vorkuta areas with the oil-bearing Ukhta areas and that give in this way an outlet for coal and oil in two directions. But nothing of this was done because of our sabotage. What subversive, espionage and sabotage activity did you carry out in the GULAG itself? * We understood, that the expansion of the economic functions of the NKVD must express themselves in the worsening of our basic operative work. We proposed to widely use the system of camps so as to send there the compromised part of NKVD workers. There are not only drunkards, idlers and wastrels. Among them were people with a Trotskyist past, Rights who sympathized with Bukharin, and Iagoda’s people. De-facto they were all recruited by us since, in sending them to the GULAG, we were hinting to them that we had evidence against them that could be investigated at any moment. In this manner we created a special reserve of people read to carry out any conspiratorial task. But there were many anti-Soviet elements in the GULAG even without this. The conspiratorial leadership of the GULAG remained, for all practical purposes, unreplaced. At the time of my arrival in the NKVD the GULAG was headed by the conspirator of Iagoda’s group Matvei Berman, Boris Berman’s older brother. He had put together a large anti-Soviet group of people who occupied more or less responsible posts in the GULAG. Among these people were a great many Trotskyists, Zinovievists, Rights, and it was easy to attract them to our side after Berman left when the GULAG was headed by Ryzhov, a participant of the conspiracy recruited by men, who was sent to this work on my initiative in order to carry out sabotage assignments. And after his departure for the Commissariat of Forests, the GULAG was headed by the conspirator and spy Zhukovsky, who was connected with me and who was at the same time my assistant. In the summer of 1938 the Central Committee of the Party more than once pointed my attention to the fact that I was surrounded by suspicious people who had come with me to work in the NKVD. In the Central Committee the question of removing Tsesarskii was raised, it was proposed to me that I remove Shapiro, Zhukovsky, and Litvin from the work. That put me on my guard, inasmuch as all these men were my confederates, and that meant that something might be known to the Party about the conspiracy. In order to somehow conceal my anti-government activity I had to agree with the demands of the Central Committee and I decided to send Zhukovskii packing without any fuss, away to the countryside. I carried out this attempt but it did not succeed, since about that time Beria began to work and Zhukovsky, instead of going to the place I had assigned him as director of the Ridder polymetallic combine, was arrested."

__________________

* From this point on the text given in Polianskii here is given in B&S but attributed to Ezhov’s August 2 1939 interrogation.

_____________________________

Ezhov August 4 1939 Confession (published separately)

Ezhov August 4 1939 Confession belongs here.

Ezhov ochnaia stavka with Bulatov 09.20.39

Pavliukov 528 – very brief discussion plus the two sentences quoted below.

Discussion: "There were also those who continued to offer resistance [to the investigation – GF]. For example, in the course of the face-to-face confrontation held on September 20 1939 with his former associate in the Central Committee apparatus D.A. Bulatov, the latter rejected all accusations directed against him and left the interrogation unbroken."

Ezhov interrogation 10.25.39 by Esaulov

Polianskii 285; 286-289.

"Listen", implored Ezhov, "What kind of spy am I? I have a ‘tail’ behind me at all times, my chauffer or a guard. What kind of a resident could I meet with? And no one recruited me in Germany in 1930. I have been lying a lot. And I lied about Slutsky. I did not give Frinovskii the assignment to poison him, and Alekhin and Zakovskii have nothing to do with it. Slutskii died by himself, from his heart. And lied about everything. You should not lie… … In various documents you stated contradictory and untrue information about yourself. The verification has proven this. Did you do this out of espionage and sabotage motives? Yes. I deliberately distorted my biography. I did this for careerist purposes, to be promoted in the Party. You thought up another biography for yourself not out of careerist, but out of provocateurist motives, in order to deceive the Party, to insinuate yourself into its leadership, and corrupt it from within by means of sabotage and espionage. Was that so? Yes. I did this out of sabotage and prevocational motives in order to struggle against the Party. Now let us move on to an explanation of those facts that you have deliberately distorted. In official documents you lied that you were born in Petrograd. No information about your birth in that city have been found. Where were you born in reality? ... I only know about the place I was born from my mother’s words, from memories of my early childhood. Mother said that I was born in the city of Mariampol, in the former Suval’sk guberniia of Lithuania. Afterwards I went to Petrograd. By means of the facts about my birth in Petrograd I wanted to portray myself in the guise of a deeply-rooted proletarian and old revolutionary. Did you also lie when you said your father was a worker? Yes, I also lied about this for the same reason. Who was your father in reality? My father, Ivan Ezhov, from near Tula by birth, was from a peasant family. Were they well-off? Yes. He served in the army, in a musical unit, as a senior musician in Mariampol. There he also married the servant girl of a choirmaster. What did your father do after demobilization? He was a forester and a switchman on the railroad. In a prerevolutionary Peterburg handbook an Ivan Ezhov is mentioned who was owner of a saloon. Was that your father? For a time my father owned a tea house. We have information that this tea house also served as a front for criminal activities. Is that so? Yes. It was in reality a house of assignation… A bordello. It was a bordello, and my father lived on the proceeds. When they shut down the tea house, he became a painter. Did he hire other workers? I don’t deny that in later years father had one or two hired workers and was something like a contractor. Did you also lie deliberately about working as a mechanic in Petrograd factories? I did this to pretty up my background. I worked very little as a mechanic, my main work was always the trade of tailor. And now tell us what your real nationality is. I have always considered myself a Russian and identify myself as such on official documents. I was born into a Russian peasant family. Aren’t you concealing your real nationality? After all, your mother was from Lithuania. In official documents my nationality is recorded more or less correctly. What does "more or less" mean? That means that my mother was born in Lithuania and therefore was a Lithuanian by nationality. In one of your [biographical] forms you wrote that you know both the Lithuanian and the Polish languages. Did your mother teach them to you? No. My mother and father knew Lithuanian, but never spoke it at home. I served in Vitebsk in the Tsarist army, and there were many Poles and Lithuanians. That’s where I learned a few words and sentences. But I do not know how to speak these languages and wrote on the form that I know them for prevocational purposes. The investigation possesses information that you know Yiddish. Why do you conceal this? I do not know Yiddish, if you do not count a few words and expressions that I learned from my acquaintances who were Jews. And here we have information that you often spoke Yiddish with your wife. That is some kind of mistake. I cannot speak Yiddish. Even my wife, in my opinion, knew Yiddish poorly and never spoke it with any Jewish people.

Ezhov protocol of end of investigation 02.01.40

Pavliukov, 529, Polianskii 290, say this was presented by Esaulov.

B&S 144-145, and Soima says it was Sergienko.

Text identical in Polianskii & Soima; very close to this in B&S.

No text in Pavliukov.

1. Was the leader of an anti-Soviet conspiratorial organization in the armed forces and the organs of the NKVD. 2. Betrayed his fatherland by carrying out espionage work in the service of Polish, German, Japanese, and English intelligence services. 3. Toward the goal of seizing power in the USSR prepared an armed uprising and the commission of terrorist acts against leaders of the Party and the government. 4. Undertook subversive, sabotage work in Soviet and Party apparatuses. 5. For adventurist and careerist goals created a case about an imaginary "mercury" poisoning of himself, organized the murder of a series of persons who were inconvenient to him and who could have exposed his treasonous work, and had sexual relations with men (homosexuality).

Pavliukov 529:

"The last interrogation took place on January 31 [1940], and on the very next day the assistant chief of the investigative section of the NKVD of the USSR A.A. Esaulov composed a protocol of the conclusion of the investigation. Ezhov was given for his perusal 12 volumes of his criminal case. He read through it and declared that he confirmed all the confessions given by him at the preliminary investigation, and that he had no additions to make."

____________________________

Ezhov’s Concluding Statement at Trial (published separately)

A transcript obviously exists, but it is still secret.

Transcript of Ezhov’s final words at trial belongs here.

The following is from Pavliukov, 531-532:

"Then the protocol concerning the conclusion of the investigation was announced, in which Ezhov had confirmed the truth of his confessions with his own signature. Ezhov stated that at that moment he had not retracted these confessions, but that he was retracting them now. He had no connections with any intelligence services, had not planned any terrorist act on Red Square on November 7 1938, and had never taken part in any conspiratorial activity.

It was necessary for the court, setting aside its preliminary intention to do without witnesses, to call into the courtroom one of them, Ezhov’s former assistant M. P. Frinovskii. That same day he too was supposed to appear in court and probably was somewhere nearby.

Frinovskii stated that soon after his appointment as Commissar of Internal Affairs Ezhov had recruited him into the conspiratorial organization in the NKVD organized by himself. At first they prevented the exposure of the participants of the Right-Trotskyite bloc as much as possible, and at the end of 1937 they set to the creation of a terrorist group within the NKVD.

Besides that Frinovskii discussed the falsification, in accordance with Ezhov’s directives, of the so-called mercury poisoning, the murder on Ezhov’s order of the chief of the Foreign Division of the GUGB of the NKVD A. A. Slutsky, and of the poisoning by Ezhov of his own wife.

In answer to the questions of the chairman V.V. Ul’rikh Ezhov called everything Frinovskii said to be vicious slander. He did not poison his wife and did not send her luminal, and in relation to Slutskii had had a directive from "directive organs" not to arrest him but to get rid of him by another means, "as otherwise our whole foreign intelligence service would have fled". The need to get rid of Slutskii was dictated, in Ezhov’s words, by the fact that there were very weighty confessions of the former assistant commissar for internal affairs Ia. S. Agranov.

Ezhov continued that he did not take part in the anti-Soviet conspiracy together with Frinovskii. Evdokimov, Dagin, and the other persons whom he had named in his confessions as participants in the conspiracy were in fact not such, or in any case he did not know anything about that."

Comments on Ezhov’s last words from Briukhanov & Shoshkov, 153:

"Reading ‘the Last word’ it is impossible not to notice that Ezhov said nothing about the essence of the accusations leveled against him. He rejected them all, but spoke mainly about his services in exposing "enemies and spies of various types and intelligence services" while stating at the same time he had "such crimes for which I could be shot", promising to discuss them, but admitted guilt only in that he "did not purge enough" enemies.

Ezhov denied his participation in a secret organization directed against the Party and the government, saying that, on the contrary, he had taken all measures to expose the conspirators who had murdered S.M. Kirov. But was there a conspiracy in the organs of the NKVD? Or did those 14 thousand NKVD men whom Ezhov purged act individually – each one on his own?

Judging from the transcript [of Ezhov’s trial] such a question was not raised at the trial: Everything was clear to the court as it was. The "sincere confessions" in his "Last word" did not ring true. Ezhov was careful to avoid any sharp corners. He even distorted the episode that had already figured in the trial of Bukharin, Rykov and the others, concerning the falsification of a terrorist act against himself. As it turned out the "terrorist act" was planned and executed – if we can even use that word in this case – by Ezhov and by the former chief of the counter-revolutionary section Nikolaev in order to increase the authority of the "iron commissar." Having consulted with specialists about the conditions for mercury poisoning Nikolaev had rubbed mercury into the upholstery of the soft furniture in Ezhov’s office and submitted a piece of cloth for laboratory analysis. In the "terrorist act" they blamed NKVD man Savolainen, on whom a vial of mercury was planted. After the necessary "working over" Savolainen confessed to everything.

And Ezhov’s attempt to deny the accusation about dissolution in his morals and private life, to convince the court that he was supposedly loved for his modesty and honesty.

As a whole the ‘Last word’ creates an impression of something not thought through, rambling, incomplete, and dishonest. And yet Ezhov, in essence, had nothing to lose. He could have spoken more frankly."

• English English
• தமிழ் தமிழ்
• বাংলা বাংলা
• മലയാളം മലയാളം
• ગુજરાતી ગુજરાતી
• हिंदी हिंदी
• मराठी मराठी
• Business Business
• बिज़नेस बिज़नेस
• Insurance Insurance

The Financial Express

• PM Modi Oath Ceremony
• IND vs PAK Live
• Modi 3.0 Cabinet
• Mutual Funds
• Loksabha Election
• Budget 2024
• Stock Market Quotes
• Mutual Fund
• Stock Stats
• Top Gainers
• CaFE Invest
• Investing Abroad
• Gold Rate in India
• Silver Rate in India
• Petrol Rate in India
• Diesel Rate in India
• Express Mobility
• Banking & Finance
• Travel & Tourism
• Brand Wagon
• Entertainment
• Web Stories
• Auto Web Stories
• Infographics
• Today’s Paper
• International
• Edits & Columns
• Personal Finance Print
• PRIVACY POLICY
• TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Cabinet Ministers of India 2024 Full List with Portfolios: Meet the ministers in Modi 3.0 Cabinet

Cabinet ministers 2024 full list, cabinet ministers portfolios: modi started his day by paying homage to mahatma gandhi at raj ghat, former pm atal bihari vajpayee at sadaiv atal and soldiers at the national war memorial..

Cabinet Ministers Full List and Portfolios: Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India for a third consecutive term by President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday. PM Modi will be leading a coalition government after two full terms with a BJP majority. A total of 72 ministers were sworn-in by the President including Modi. With this, PM Modi now matches the achievement of Jawaharlal Nehru, who won the 1952, 1957 and 1962 general elections.

Modi started his day by paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat, former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Sadaiv Atal and soldiers at the National War Memorial.

Here’s the full list of cabinet ministers in the new Modi government:

Narendra Modi : Prime Minister and also in-charge of: Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space; and all important policy issues; and all other portfolios not allocated to any Minister.

Rajnath Singh

Nitin Gadkari

Jagan Prakash Nadda

Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Nirmala Sitharaman

S Jaishankar

Manohar Lal Khattar

HD Kumaraswamy

Piyush Goyal

Dharmendra Pradhan

Jitan Ram Manjhi

Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh)

Sarbananda Sonowal

Virendra Kumar

Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu

Pralhad Joshi

Giriraj Singh

Ashwini Vaishnaw

Jyotiraditya Scindia

Bhupender Yadav

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

Annapurna Devi

Kiren Rijiju

Hardeep Singh Puri

Mansukh Mandaviya

G Kishan Reddy

Chirag Paswan

Rao Inderjeet Singh (MoS)

Jitendra Singh

Arjun Ram Meghwal

Pratap Rao Jadhav

Jayant Chaudhary (MoS)

Jitin Prasada (MoS)

Shripad Naik

Pankaj Chaudhary (MoS)

Krishan Pal Gurjar (MoS)

Ramdas Athawale

Ramnath Thakur

Nityanand Rai

Anupriya Patel (MoS)

V Somanna (MoS)

Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani

SP Singh Baghel 

Shobha Karandlaje (MoS)

Kirti Vardhan Singh (MoS)

BL Verma (MoS)

Shantanu Thakur (MoS)

Suresh Gopi (MoS)

L Murugan (MoS)

Ajay Tamta (MoS)

Bandi Sanjay Kumar (MoS)

Kamlesh Paswan (MoS)

Bhagirath Choudhary (MoS)

Satish Chandra Dubey (MoS)

Sanjay Seth (MoS)

Ravneet Singh Bittu (MoS)

Durgadas Uikey (MoS)

Raksha Khadse (MoS)

Sukanta Majumdar (MoS)

Savitri Thakur (MoS)

Tokhan Sahu (MoS)

Raj Bhushan Choudhury (MoS)

Bhuoati Raju Srinivasa Varma (MoS)

Harsh Malhotra (MoS)

Nimuben Bambhaniya (MoS)

Murlidhar Mohol (MoS)

George Kurian (MoS)

Pabitra Margherita (MoS)

(The portfolios will be updated soon.)

Get live Share Market updates, Stock Market Quotes , and the latest India News … Read More and business news on Financial Express. Download the Financial Express App for the latest finance news.

• Stock Market Stats

Related News

The 8th Pay Commission, set to be implemented in January 2026, will benefit over a crore government employees and pensioners. With a proposed fitment factor of 3.68 times, employees with a minimum basic salary of Rs 18,000 can expect an increase of Rs 8,000. The commission aims to address salary disparities and provide financial security for public servants and retirees.

Photo Gallery

8 India vs Pakistan: Biggest rivalry in the cricket universe – IN PICS

6 Top 6 World’s most expensive cars cost over Rs 300 crores combined: Cars for the planet’s richest

9 Rs 50, Rs 200, Rs 500 and Rs 2000 notes images: Here are the new currency notes released by RBI

Latest News

Ind vs Pak T20 Match: What exactly are drop-in pitches and how are they different from traditional pitches?

Change of heart? Former Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar deletes ‘end of my public service’ tweet

Iran approves 6 candidates to run for president in snap elections following Ebrahim Raisi’s death

‘Tel lagao Dabur ka, wicket lo Babar ka’ – On Indian fans’ war cry, Rishabh Pant says…   

Marc Desaedeleer quits Suzlon board citing governance issues

Trending topics.

• IPO’s Open and Upcoming 1
• Top Indices Performance
• Stock Analysis
• Financial Literacy
• Gold Rate Today
• NSE Top Gainers 2124
• NSE Top Losers 456
• BSE Top Gainers 3054
• BSE Top Losers 1046
• NSE 52-Week High 0
• NSE 52-Week Low 0
• BSE 52-Week High 0
• BSE 52-Week Low 0
• NSE Price Shocker
• NSE Volume Shocker
• BSE Price Shocker
• BSE Volume Shocker
• NSE Sellers
• BSE Sellers
• Silver Rate Today
• Petrol Rate Today
• Diesel Rate Today