Keep the groups. Plan where they go next.

Station Rotation GeneratorClear stations. Planned rounds.

Build a timed classroom or workshop schedule for existing groups, with station capacities, explicit waiting and a complete rotation matrix.

Plan station rotations See capacity and timing rules

Existing groups · Station limits · Complete printable matrix

A miniature reading nook, microscope station and discussion area form a learning circuit around a teal clock with amber arrows

Which groups are visiting which learning stations?

The sample uses three groups and three stations for three ten-minute rounds, starting at 09:00 with two-minute transitions.

Groups and learning stations

One existing group per line. 1–20 groups, 120 characters per label, 6,000 input characters. Matching names keep different group IDs.

One station per line, optionally name | capacity or name followed by a tab and capacity. Default 1. Example: Experiment | 2. Up to 12 stations, 120 characters per name and 6,000 input characters.

UTF-8 TXT up to 24,000 bytes per file, using the same line formats. Import replaces that list and clears the old plan.

Capacity counts whole groups, not individual people. Each station allows 1–20 simultaneous groups. Remove unusable stations; zero capacity is invalid.

3
Groups
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Waiting entries
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Repeat visits

1–30 rounds. Work 0.1–180 min, transition 0–30 min, at most one decimal place. Gaps occur only between rounds. This is a plan, without a live timer.

No station is overbooked. Waiting mode assigns exactly the excess groups to visible waiting positions each round; otherwise generation stops.

Three groups, three stations and three ten-minute rounds are ready from 09:00, with two-minute transitions.

Timed station rotation

Generate to see planned times, each group’s station, waiting and coverage.

Group labels, stations and schedules stay in this tab and its local worker, without upload or saved browser storage. Export before refreshing or leaving.

Turn a list of groups into a timed station plan

Group membership stays fixed while the activity location changes.

Schedule groups, not individual student names

A station rotation generator answers where each existing group should work during each round. Enter your group labels, give every station a recognizable name, and set how many groups it can host at the same time. The result keeps each group intact and assigns it to at most one station per round, with a named waiting entry when the room lacks capacity. This is a time-by-group-by-station schedule rather than another way to divide a roster into teams.

Prepare the station lists
Students work at reading, microscope and discussion stations marked by activity icons while a teacher supervises and floor arrows indicate rotation

Check the whole matrix before the first group moves

Browse individual rounds to see each group’s destination and each station’s actual load against its capacity. Open the complete matrix to follow one group across all rounds, including first visits, repeated visits, and waiting. The coverage summary counts different stations reached by every group, so an unfinished rotation is visible. Copy, CSV, and Print include the full plan; choosing another round on screen does not remove information from an export or mark a round completed.

Inspect the sample matrix
An organizer checks a landscape rotation timetable on a small stand beside a teal clock, books and a miniature microscope

How to create a classroom station rotation schedule

Set the physical limits before deciding how many rounds fit the lesson.

  1. 01

    List existing groups and station capacities

    Paste one group per line and one station per line, or import separate UTF-8 TXT files. Use a pipe or tab before an optional station capacity, such as Experiment | 2. A station without a capacity, or with a blank capacity, defaults to one group. The page supports one to twenty groups and one to twelve stations, each name at most one hundred twenty characters and each list at most six thousand characters. Matching names retain separate numeric group or station IDs.

  2. 02

    Choose the rounds, work time, and transition time

    Set one to thirty rounds, a planned start time, a shared work duration from 0.1 to 180 minutes, and a transition gap from zero to thirty minutes. Decimal minutes allow at most one decimal place. The transition occurs between rounds, never after the last one. All stations use the same round length and groups move together. These times form a plan, without a live timer, sound cue, individual station duration, calendar date, or automatic adjustment when an activity runs late.

  3. 03

    Choose whether insufficient space may create waiting

    When total station capacity is smaller than the number of groups, allow waiting or require every group at a station. Allow waiting assigns as many groups as can fit and explicitly lists the remainder. Require every group stops with a capacity message rather than overbooking a station. Generate, review the end time, loads, coverage, and repeated visits, then copy the plan, download CSV, or print. Any change to lists or settings cancels the old plan and unfinished calculation.

Capacity stays hard; repeat avoidance is explained

The displayed scheduling method tells you what is guaranteed.

Station capacity counts groups, not people

Each capacity is a whole number from one to twenty groups that can use that station simultaneously. It is not the number of chairs, individual students, devices, or minutes. Two groups may share a station only when that station’s limit allows it. Different group sizes are not entered or checked. Confirm the physical room and equipment can support the groups you already formed. Remove an unavailable station from the list rather than entering zero capacity; a successful plan never exceeds any entered station limit.

A cyclic method covers distinct stations when capacity permits

When the number of groups divided across stations fits within every station’s capacity, the tool shuffles group and station order and uses a cyclic schedule. Each group visits every station once in the first cycle, whose length equals the station count. Fewer rounds cover only part of that cycle; extra rounds revisit stations and are labeled repeated. Surplus stations can be idle in a round. Multiple groups can share a station when capacity allows, while each group still receives one destination per round.

Uneven capacity uses round-by-round matching

When the cyclic layout cannot fit, a capacity-respecting matching algorithm builds each round. It first keeps waiting counts balanced, then minimizes already-visited station assignments for that round, using visit counts and randomized ties. Across any prefix of the schedule, waiting counts differ by at most one. This does not guarantee the lowest repeated-visit total over the entire plan or complete station coverage in a fixed number of rounds. The actual repeats and a mathematical lower bound are displayed instead of an unsupported no-repeat promise.

Example: three groups, three stations, thirty-four minutes

Work time and movement time have separate places in the plan.

  1. 01

    Read a complete three-round cycle

    Use groups Cedar, Maple, and Willow; stations Reading, Experiment, and Discussion; and capacity one at every station. Choose three ten-minute rounds from 09:00 with two-minute transitions. The planned intervals are 09:00–09:10, 09:12–09:22, and 09:24–09:34. One possible sequence for Cedar is Reading, Experiment, Discussion, while the other groups start at different stations. The shuffle may change those names’ starting positions, but every group reaches all three stations with no repeated visits.

  2. 02

    See how a capacity bottleneck changes the problem

    Now use three groups but only two stations: Experiment with capacity two and Reading with capacity one. Every round must send two groups to Experiment and one to Reading if nobody waits. In two rounds, Experiment receives four visits from only three groups, so at least one visit to Experiment must repeat. Simply requesting as many rounds as stations does not guarantee complete coverage when capacities are uneven. The plan reports the repeats rather than exceeding Reading’s limit to make a prettier matrix.

Make the chart useful in a real lesson

Use the output alongside clear station tasks and a realistic movement routine.

  1. 01

    Reserve instruction, setup, and cleanup outside the rounds

    The calculated end includes only the configured work rounds and the gaps between them. It does not add your opening explanation, equipment distribution, a final discussion, or cleanup after the last station. Subtract those activities from the available class period before choosing a round length. If a microscope station needs extra preparation, organize it beforehand or use the shared transition gap. There is no automatic constraint enforcing a class-period deadline or different work lengths for separate stations.

  2. 02

    Prepare an explicit task for any waiting group

    Waiting can mean a break, independent reading, a preparation question, or another activity you manage yourself. The scheduler does not create a hidden extra station or count waiting as a completed visit. In the selected round, Station loads shows idle stations with zero groups and shared stations with their actual occupancy. Review each group’s coverage before concluding that everybody visited everything. Low capacity at one station can limit that coverage even when other stations have spare group slots.

  3. 03

    Form the groups elsewhere and keep this plan intact

    Use Random Group Generator for a basic roster split or Group Generator with Constraints when membership must respect together and apart rules. Paste the resulting group labels here; this page does not import members automatically or synchronize with those tools. It also does not assign physical movement paths, record attendance, measure learning, or track live completion. Group labels, station names, capacities, and the generated plan stay in this tab and local worker without upload or persistent storage. Export before refreshing or leaving.

Station rotation planning questions

Answers about unequal counts, capacity, timing, waiting and printing.

How do I make a station rotation schedule for my class?

Enter the labels of existing groups and the names of the stations, then set station capacities, rounds, work minutes, transitions, and a start time. Generate the plan and review individual rounds plus the complete matrix. Every group is assigned once per round, either to an allowed station or to a clearly labeled waiting position.

Can I have more groups than stations, or more stations than groups?

Yes. Several groups can share a station if its group capacity permits. If total capacity is still too small, allow named waiting groups or choose the setting that rejects the configuration. More stations than groups leaves some stations idle in a round. The output shows both station loads and each group’s visits rather than assuming counts must match.

Does station capacity mean students or whole groups?

Whole groups. Experiment | 2 allows two groups at that station at the same time, regardless of their membership sizes. The generator does not check individual chairs or equipment counts. Choose capacities that are safe and practical for your actual groups. Zero and negative capacities are rejected; remove a station that cannot be used.

Will every group visit every station without repeats?

The cyclic method guarantees one visit per station within its first full station-count cycle, when its balanced distribution fits every station capacity. The matching method handles other capacities and waiting without a global no-repeat guarantee. Review the actual repeated visits and coverage. Too many rounds or a heavily used high-capacity station can make some repeats unavoidable.

How is the total activity time calculated?

Multiply the work duration by the round count and add one transition gap for every change between rounds. There is no gap after the final round. Three ten-minute rounds with two-minute gaps therefore take thirty-four minutes. The output gives planned start and end times, with explicit day offsets after midnight, but no live timer or calendar scheduling.

How are waiting groups chosen, and what does a repeat count mean?

When capacity is insufficient, the plan seats the maximum number of groups each round and balances waiting counts so their difference is at most one across any schedule prefix. Waiting is not a station visit. A repeat is a group visiting a station it visited in an earlier planned round, even if that earlier visit was not the immediately previous round.

Can I print or export the entire rotation matrix?

Yes. Print includes all groups and rounds in landscape tables with at most five round columns per table, avoiding an unreadably wide single table. Large names or many groups can span pages. CSV includes every group in every round with timing, station ID, capacity, and visit status. Copy also includes station loads and group coverage. The selected screen round never limits exports.

Are duplicate names allowed, and is my schedule saved?

Matching labels remain separate group or station IDs, so label physically different stations clearly. Import a UTF-8 TXT list up to 24,000 bytes per file using the same input format. Editing a list or setting clears the old plan and stops the worker. No names or schedules are uploaded or saved to browser storage; export anything you need before a refresh.

Station Rotation Generator

Give every group a clear next stop

Set real station capacities and enough movement time.

Check waiting, repeat visits and coverage before printing the plan.

Create the station schedule Explore all tools
  • Free to use
  • No signup
  • Runs in your browser

A simple path to your next activity

  1. List the activity

    Add existing groups and station capacities.

  2. Review the rounds

    Check timing, station loads and repeat visits.

  3. Keep the whole plan

    Copy, export or print the complete matrix.

Capacities are hard group limits. The chart is a timed plan, without a live countdown.