Today we are winding down my Behavior Management Mini-Series. Today's topic is one I am incredibly interested in because it has a parent notification element. Parent Communication is kind of a "buzz word" at my school.
Today we're looking at Class Dojo. Since the website pretty much holds your hand and walks you through how to set it up and how to use it in your classroom, I wanted to get real teacher's opinions about how it worked for them - what they liked, what they didn't like, etc...
I interviewed 7 teachers from a variety of elementary grades and 7 out of 7 said they used it and liked it!
All 7 teachers said that their students enjoyed hearing the little dings knowing that someone earned a point.
Last year I read a parent written article about ClassDojo that claimed it made her child feel bad to hear the dings. So, I was a bit worried that it would be a negative reinforcement, but all 7 teachers interviewed said it was much more of a Positive Reinforcement.
Bex Mawn from Reading and Writing Redhead reinforced that it could be used in a positive manner. "I liked it because it was a quick, easy and visual way of reinforcing behaviors. I mostly used it reinforce positive behaviors. I could also have the scree off and then the kiddos would just hear the sound."
Caroline from Giggles and Grades with Mrs. Gallagher made a great point, "I loved using Class Dojo! I had always used the card flip previously. I feel like kids were to focused on their color and other kids colors. I know my niece who was in kindergarten this year would always tell me what color a boy in her class was on (because he'd always get in trouble). I think the kids were more focused on themselves with Class Dojo- which is how it should be."
Miss Martin from Miss Martin's Classroom said something that intrigued me as an Upper Elementary Teacher. "I was worried that the little monster characters would seem babyish to my fourth graders but they loved it! They became infatuated with seeing their graph throughout the day and trying to do better than yesterday. It was almost like a game, and yet it was giving me constant data! When I showed them their individual graphs throughout the day, we could have a quick, meaningful discussion about what the positive and negative points were for (because it listed it clearly at the bottom)." #Data
Both Teresa Kawant and K's Kreations both said they used Class Dojo to give classroom incentive parties, which is something I hadn't thought about.
K's Kreations also said her parents liked that she used Class Dojo. "I had many parents tracking data daily. It was a great tool to send home quick messages and updates directly to the parents. I always print a copy of the reports at the end of the week for the families without internet."
Getting Nerdy with Gerdy commented that parents would email her to ask about negative behaviors. Jessica Hamilton from Hanging Out in First says, "My parents LOVE class dojo! Many of them have the app on their phone and are able to track their child's behavior throughout the school day." Jessica also has a blog post with a freebie about using Class Dojo, click here to read it.
This Little Piggy thinks I'll definitely give it a try next year! What about you?
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