Random Groups

Random group generator

Names 12 names

Split by

Per group 4

Press Draw to see the result

Seed (optional) Type anything here and the same seed always gives the same result — useful when somebody wants the draw checked.

Local · nothing stored between visits

Paste the register and choose how big the groups should be. The list is shuffled and dealt out evenly, so nobody is left in a group of one and the sizes never differ by more than a person.

How to make random groups

1 Paste the names, one per line.

2 Set the group size — four is the usual default for project work.

3 Draw. Draw again if the mix looks wrong; use a seed if you want to be able to reproduce it later.

For classroom work, fixing the group size is almost always the right mode: the activity is designed for groups of three or four and the class size varies week to week. The other mode, fixing the number of groups, suits a room with a set number of tables. Random grouping is doing something specific pedagogically — it breaks up the clusters that form when students pick their own, which is usually the point of grouping them at all.

Questions

Which mode should I use for a class? −

By size. The activity dictates the group size, and the class size changes.

What happens to the leftover people? +

Can I redraw if a group looks unbalanced? +

Can I save the grouping? +

Does it favour anyone? +

Sources

MDN — Crypto.getRandomValues()

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INTERNAL SIGNAL ONLY · WE USE IT TO FIND TOOLS WORTH REBUILDING