Use sections in written assignments

lightbulb_outline Sections were previously called flow groups.

Sections allow you to structure written assignments and personalise forms for each learner. By organising exercises into sections, you can control how exercises are presented and selected, ensuring students receive content that matches their level while reducing repetition.

When generating forms for specific learners, the system takes student tags and previously answered exercises into account. This means learners are more likely to receive new and relevant exercises, improving both variation and learning efficiency.

A section is a collection of exercises within a written assignment. You can group exercises together and configure how they are selected when generating forms for learners.

To create and use sections in your written assignment, follow the steps below.

Each section groups a set of exercises. When forms are generated, the system selects exercises per learner based on configuration, tags, and previous attempts. This helps ensure that each learner receives a tailored set of exercises.

Options for sections

• Shuffle sections
  Shuffling sections allows instructors to shuffle the order of sections within the assignment. This option can be enabled in the Layout section in the Written assignment settings. Under 'Shuffle sections', selecting the option All sections shuffles all sections in the assignment. The order of sections will be randomised for each participant. This adds another layer of variation. If the option No shuffling is selected, sections are shown in the same fixed order for all participants. Click Update to apply the changes.
  
   
• Pin sections
  Sections can be pinned in order to limit the shuffling of sections to a set number. This option can be enabled in the Layout section in the Written assignment settings. Under 'Shuffle sections', selecting the option Specific sections allows you to select the sections that should be shuffled. The order of sections that are not included will have a fixed position per participant. This is indicated with the push_pin -icon next to the section name in the Table of contents panel. 
  
   
• Shuffle order of exercises
  The order of exercises in a section can be shuffled by clicking on the more_vert -icon next to the section title. When enabled, the order of the exercises within that group randomised for each participant. This is indicated with the purple shuffle icon on the left of the section title. When disabled, exercises within the section are shown in the same fixed order for all participants.
  

Match custom fields to a student's course value

Sections in written assignments can select question bank exercises based on custom fields. This makes it possible to deliver different exercises to different students within the same test.

This can be used for: 

• Assigning exercises by skill level, such as Maths: Level 1 or Reading: Level 3.
• Giving English exercises to some students and Dutch questions to others.
• Providing topic-specific practice without creating separate tests.

How it works 

1. Add question bank exercises with custom fields to a section.
2. Set the section to pick a certain number of exercises for a custom field value.
3. Set a default value setting. If a learner is not assigned any value, they will receive exercises with that value. 
4. In the course’s student overview, assign student tags for each custom field value (for example, Language: English or Skill: Level 2). Learner values can be updated at any time, and future tests using that tag key will reflect the changes.
5. Generate written assignment forms for groups, classes or individual learners. 

Example 

A section contains exercises with a custom field for different reading levels. The default value setting is Level 1. A learner with the custom field Reading: Level 3 receives a Level 3 exercise. A learner with the custom field value Reading: Level 2 receives exercises with the custom field value Level 2. Learners that have no values assigned will receive exercises with the custom field Reading: Level 1.