Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Class Dojo Tips and Tricks

Hi friends! Are you as frazzled as I am?? Lord have mercy...end of the year is SO stressful!! 


Each day I get excited about having 14 days left and frantic that I only have 14 days to get everything done! I can't wait to spend my days with my puppy, my online buddies, and my sweet brother. Of course my husband too, but that punk doesn't get home until late anyway. :) 

Last summer, I read Positive Discipline and it totally wrecked my world. It changed the way I saw behavior management in my classroom, and challenged me to find new ways to connect with my students and encourage good behavior. I got rid of my clip chart, Class Dojo, and lots of other things. I tried to focus on whole class rewards, and have individual conferences. I still TOTALLY believe in this...I haven't given that up. :) BUT my sweeties had been begging me to use Class Dojo...they use it in specials. And I honestly felt like there were times in our day that they weren't learning as much as they could because our class was getting a little c-r-a-z-y. I saw this photo from the Science Penguin and it really struck a chord with me. 


It reminded me that there isn't ONE way to manage a classroom...each classroom is different, and sometimes each month in each classroom is different! So I decided to give Class Dojo another shot. But I was determined NOT to just use it as a way to ding my kiddos 3 times a day for doing something wrong. I have a few tips for how I have implemented it these past 2 weeks, and a fun tip on changing their avators that I learned from one of my littles! 


First...I do not have a limit to the number of points they can get in a day. I also don't restart it everyday! They love adding them up and I love that they work hard for days (or weeks) for rewards. 


Like I said, I give a LOT of points, hahaha! This group needs constant reinforcement, so it works great! I have no idea how many I give in a day, but I try to give them all day long...ESPECIALLY when I am doing something like guided reading...I can keep my group going uninterrupted, and give immediate feedback to kiddos reading independently. 


I know the whole "everyone gets a trophy" philosophy is not for everyone. And my kids do NOT all have tons of points. But I do my best to make sure that all my sweeties can get points during the day. One of my little friends has a very hard time staying in control of his body. He loves to run, jump, karate kick, etc. :) So...there are times in our day that he is just being calm. And I reward him for that...because for him, that is trying! Of course, he has far fewer points than some of my kiddos with stellar behavior. But I don't ever want a baby to go a whole day without hearing great job and being rewarded for that! 


I love the data piece of Dojo!! For us...we aim to have 90% positive by Friday. If we do, we get extra time playing outside. They think its for them...but it's really more for me! It keeps me accountable that I am constantly finding ways my students are being successful. You can also look at individual kiddos...this is GREAT data. You can use it for RTI and also for self-reflection. If one of my babies has a big percentage of negative points, I know that I have been focusing on that too much. He might truly be slipping up that many times, but no one wants to work for someone who is constantly criticizing. We want to work for people who make us feel proud! 

And now for the big tip...I knew they could change their avatars. But I thought that just meant changing to a different Class Dojo monster. I was SO wrong. One of my kiddos taught me how to do this...his family actually has their own account. I love it! :) So here are step by step directions! 



Ignore "add your students." You just click the one you want to change :). 









SO fun! Our Class Homepage looks like Disney Princess, Pokemon, and Mortal Kombat threw up all over it! And I love it! I hope these tips are helpful to you! I'm sure there are tons of other Dojo tips I don't know about! I can't wait to hear your fabulous Dojo ideas!

19 comments:

  1. I will be moving from 6th grade to 4th grade next year and this was really helpful in deciding one way I can help encourage positive behaviors!! And I love how the older kids can pick their avatar picture!! Thanks so much!!

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    1. I'm so glad it's helpful to you! Good luck with your move!

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  2. Hi. I teach 2nd grade and use clip chart and dojo daily. Beside each section of my clip chart is a number. Where ever their clip is at, at the end of the day is the number they put in their box on their behavior chart. I am very interested in getting rid of my clip chart but need to know.. how do you/your students track their daily behavior other than dojo to let parents know how their day was.. for the parents that don't have smart phones/wifi to use dojo.. Thanks so much! -Kayla Poole

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    1. You can print a report for them, or you could mark their behavior chart for them from Dojo instead of from the chart. In"reports," you can set it to show just that day's points, then quickly record it for each kid. Another way: If they have internet/email, you can email parents right from the app, or, they can log on and see their child's progress and comments you've made. My class loves Dojo because it's private and more positive than a clip chart. I find myself working harder to recognize kids who are doing the right thing. Hope you enjoy it, too.

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    2. Hey Kayla! Fortunately all of my parents have access to internet at work, at home, or on their phones. But I definitely don't use this as my only parent communication. I talk to parents a lot 😀

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    3. I have a class dojo "weekly certificate" that I found somewhere online and modified. It is half a page so I copy 2 per sheet of paper to last me longer. It has a border of class dojo avatars, and inside it says "Congratulations _______ for getting __%__ positive points this week." It goes home every Friday.

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  3. OMG! I had no idea that you could do that with the avatars! I am going to prepare that this weekend. Hopefully that will help motivate my littles to be on their best behavior for the next four weeks. THANKS! :)

    Kristin
    School and the City

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    1. I know! It's so awesome! Thank goodness for my sweetie who showed me!

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    2. I'm working on a blog post about how I use an economy system with Class Dojo. Is it okay with you if I put a link back to this blog post for information about changing avatars? I just think it's the coolest thing! Let me know!

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  4. Thanks! Your post was just what I needed to remind me ti trybti be more positive for the rest of the year.

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  5. Every month, I look at the kids' overall DOJO percentage. Then I make a goal (5%) increase for those students not at 80% or better... Then I print out their reports, have individual conferences with those kids and we work for the next 4 weeks on reaching those goals. On Friday, if they have reached their goal (either 80% or 5% better) that week, they get an extra recess, or special snack or a dip in the treasure box.. it has been very effective with improving behaviors.

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  6. Hi there - I love using Class DoJo. I don't use it as a behaviour management strategy in the normal sense. I use it to acknowledge students improvements - eg students get points for completing homework, reaching a spelling goal, being organised and ready for the start of the day etc. If you're familiar with Whole Brain Teaching, I basically use it as my Super Improvers' Wall. There are no negatives so no lost points. My kids have been very responsive and I haven't had to dish out any prizes etc.

    My parents love the ease of contact with the communication side of it.

    Thanks for the info about loading extra images - didn't know you could do that!!!
    Katrina

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  7. Hello! Excited to start this in my class this year! Thanks for the tips! I've seen many teachers using this with coupons...do you use coupons or incentives of any kind? Thanks!

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  8. Hi There--
    Some of my fifth graders have customized their Dojo Monster, but now have earned enough points to receive an uploaded picture as their avatar. When I go in to change their avatar, it warns me that I cannot override a custom monster. Have you figured out a solution to this?? Thanks! ---Stacey

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