One of the first things I learned last year as a “newbie” was that if didn’t have control of the classroom, there definitely wouldn’t be any learning happening. So with this in mind, I thought back to my pre-service teacher days and reviewed my classroom management plan (you know the one that I so delicately put together during my pre-classroom experience) and tried to find a solution. Alas, although I could find plenty of “teacher jargon” (references to proximity, hand signals, respect and the like) there was no immediate solution that jumped out at me.
Enter – ClassDojo –
Their FREE product is really awesome so click here to watch their video and become acquainted with the wonderful world of online classroom management.
ClassDojo has allowed me to switch the focus from highlighting negative behaviour to rewarding good behaviours in and outside of the classroom.
We follow a “Perfect Day” system for infractions paired with a “Student of the Month” assembly for the student with most perfect days. I simply incorporated the two systems together . This way I am only inputing the positive behaviour as it happens while still using the “Perfect Day” system (letters decreasing from A-F) for the negative behaviour. At the end of the day I deduct points depending on which letter they got that day. If the student received an “A” then they get a point for having a “Perfect Day”.
I also deduct points on the ClassDojo for smaller things like not having their homework completed or not having their gym clothes.
During my search I stumbled across a great video about how to start your day with ClassDojo. Not only does Mr. Hurst incorporate the SmartBoard, he also encourages the concept of personal responsibility by having them write the learning goal each day.
One of the really nice things about using ClassDojo is that it is multi-platform. I can use it on my computer, tablet or phone depending on where I am with the students. This enables me to give instant feedback to students. Did I also mention that all of this is FREE? Yep, there’s my favourite word again, FREE 🙂
On top of the fact that this tool is really engaging for the students it also makes them accountable for their own behaviours and learning and they can customize their own monster avatar 🙂
My students absolutely loved being able to make their own monster!
Sometimes I swear, it’s all in the small things…
So far this year, ClassDojo already has 2 new amazing features! One is the ability to communicate directly with parents (without having to show your cell number or e-mail address) and the ability to share classes with other teachers at your school. Since i’m sharing my class with four other teachers this year, this aspect has been a godsend! I also really love the communication tool because it has really helped me to acknowledge the good behaviours more (since sometimes a phone call is too much for the little acknowledgements).
Lastly, I wanted to point out that it is completely up to the teacher whether or not to have a reward system paired with their ClassDojo. I have one set up with my class and love the drive I see in my students to achieve the next level of points so that they can get a special treat. I have both individual and group rewards and so far my students have only opted for the whole class reward (which I love to see).
Here is the link to the free reward poster that I edited on TPT (God, how I love that site!) for your reference, and for you to use as you like.
If you’d like to get started with ClassDojo, their website also offers a bunch of free resources to help you along the way!
Hi Ashley,
I just saw a tweet from LCEEQ & have been exploring the links to the different things you do ~ I like the enthusiasm and creativity and was about to recommend to my students at McGill. Until I ran into your Class Dojo recommendation. How do you use it as the app is a very traditional behaviour/mode app. I’ve seen some really negative use of the app with students and parents, over the years? Why use it at all?
Too bad I didn’t run into you at LCEEQ.
Sam
Hi Sam,
This post was written at the end of my first year of teaching and although I have been using Class Dojo in my classroom for the past three years, I have used it in a modified fashion. I’ve taught grades 2, 5 and 6 and have primarily used it to track things like attendance, job and homework completion on top of rewarding positive behaviour (such as kindness, hard-work and cooperation).
I have also been using it for parent communication, however I have noticed a drop in parent engagement over the past year. This being said, I’ve been looking more closely into possibly using Remind or Classcraft next year. I really like that with Remind a parent does not need to have a smartphone to receive communication from me. Whereas I think that Classcraft would promote more teamwork and internal motivation in my students.
I also moderate a Blab show called Teaching Tech where we discussed the pros and cons of various parent communication tools in this particular episode.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. Which tool would you suggest above all of the others?
Cheers,
Ashley