I've been hearing a lot about Class Dojo lately, so I decided to look into it and created an account for myself. For those of you who aren't familiar...
You can log in on a computer and see your class
(Note: this is a sample class. I do not teach Matt Damon and Johnny Depp)
Or, you can use the Class Dojo app on your iPad or iPhone
From the data perspective, I think this looks like a great way to collect data on student behavior and have sufficient info readily available for report cards and conferences.
However, I am not sure I really understand how this motivates kids and how functional it is to keep track of an entire class using this system. I thought I heard that the app makes different noises depending on whether you make a note of positive or negative behavior, but that's not happening when I use it on my phone. Maybe I need to change a setting or something...
Anyway, I have also run into this article on facebook a few times this week. It has got me thinking about the behavior management system I use and, honestly, has got me feeling a bit defensive due to all the educators out there arguing that a visible behavior management system (like the red, yellow, green stoplight one pictured in the article) is "publicly shaming" children. I do not at all feel that the system I use shames children or embarrasses them in front of their peers; yet, that article just makes me think because I would never want that to be the case and many educators are against such systems.
Things that make you go hmmm....
So I looked into class Dojo as an alternative. If I managed this data on my iPad, it wouldn't be "out there" for all students to see. Yet, am I not supposed to let a student know when they are not behaving according to my expectations? Is that supposed to be a secret? If I make a verbal comment about who is getting a point or losing a point, then the kids are still aware of who is "good" and who is "not good." If I don't say anything and just plug it in, how exactly are kids getting specific feedback?
Can someone walk me through this please????
Do you Dojo?
What makes Class Dojo different from those others systems?
Do you find it easy to manage?
The system I currently use involves each child having three sticks that they keep/lose based on their behavior. At the beginning of the year sticks are replaced daily, then as they become competent with rules/procedures, the sticks are only replaced weekly (Once a stick is lost, it is out for the remainder of the week). Sticks are lost when students are not following expectations. Each students' sticks are in a little pocket so they can see how many they have. If all three sticks are lost, a student does not earn choice time on Friday. Instead of choice time, they sit with me and talk about why they lost sticks and I fill out a note to send home to parents that needs to be signed and returned. Students who have 1, 2, or 3 sticks on Friday get to have choice time (which lasts 15 minutes). Students who keep all 3 sticks for the whole week get a special certificate to acknowledge their good behavior on Friday and we clap for them.
Personally, I don't see anything horrible about this system. Yet, comments from other teachers on the stoplight system post made me feel uncomfortable. When teachers throw out words like "punitive behavior management" and "publicly shaming" to describe something that I am doing, I do not feel good about it. I don't agree; yet, these are knowledgable professionals who are finding huge fault with something that I am using. It's not personal, but it is. Is calling a child out for poor behavior truly "shaming" them? I don't want children to feel stress or embarrassment, but I do want them to know what is okay and what is not okay.
Some things I am considering for this year:
- using numbers instead of names on the chart I have posted (easy)
- moving the chart closer to my desk so it is more private (easy)
- replacing lost sticks during the week for good behavior (not sure how this would play out)
- using a new system altogether (maybe Dojo)
Please tell me your thoughts!
I want my behavior management system to focus on the positive and I think I do that because kids are excited to keep their sticks and most kids keep their sticks most week. If a stick is lost, it comes with a reminder that whatever behavior that caused it is not okay. I'm not mean, I don't yell, and I certainly don't shame kids when they lose a stick. When three sticks are lost they don't play, but is this a consequence or punishment? What's the difference? Most of the time every child earns choice time. Most of the time, kids who lose a stick realize they don't like to lose sticks and make efforts to keep them by following expectations. When kids struggle with the system, I don't let them continuously fail, I provide them with something more tailored to their needs.
Lots of questions in today's post because I really want your feedback and input!
3 comments:
I haven't used Dojo much myself but it DOES play a ding if you have it displayed on a whiteboard. If I were to hook my computer up to my ELMO so it displayed on the screen for the kids to see, it would "ding" when I added points or took them away. Try it on your laptop or desktop computer and you should hear it. The idea with the phone is that you can then add/remove points from any point in your classroom without having to go over to the computer that is displaying it. Does that make sense? I'm not sure I explained it well.
I use the clip chart system for many of the reasons you mentioned. Our entire district is focused upon Positive Behavior (we are all PBIS schools) but that doesn't mean I am never going to address negative behavior. With the clip chart, this solves a lot of that because if a child does go down a level (a warning) they CAN earn their way back up.
I think what appeals to me about Dojo is that I would be able to document how many times a child is moving up or down the chart. With only the clip chart, unless I make a note every time I ask them to move their clip, it can be easy to forget if someone moved down before lunch but then turned it around and had a great afternoon and moved back up. Those are things that I would love to be able to document, both for myself and for the child and his/her parents.
Raye
The Caffeinated Teacher
I basically agree with you about behavior plans- I think that the vast majority of children are capable of controlling their behavior and therefore should receive consequences if they don't (assuming we are taking precautions to make things appropriate for the kids). Like you said, for kids who can't control things different things need to happen. The only problem I run into is that kids don't always get this- so for example last year I had a really tough kid who could not handle any kind of plan, I feel like the other kids were kind of like- why does he NEVER behave and not have the same consequences...
As for the visual thing, my principal is against them. I'm not, but my principal is and she is the only principal I've worked for so I have had no choice but to not do something like that. A few teachers at my school with tenure choose to do a stoplight with numbers and as far as I know she looks the other way on that.
The past few years I have done a yellow and red clipboard system. Kids have to write their name on yellow if they get a warning, on red if they already have a warning and have a second difficulty. Red misses 5 minutes of choice or recess. It's not the only thing I do- sometimes kids miss something or gain something depending on behavior separate of the system. To be honest, I don't love it- parents are always asking about it and seemed to get more worked up than when I just say "5 minutes lost" to a kid. I mainly have done it because i've had aides who have needed something like that in order to manage the kids when I'm not in the room or out at recess. For the first class I did it with it worked really well, they were loud, active but pretty good overall. This past year it didn't work at all and frankly nothing did. This year I'm hoping to avoid any kind of "system" if possible. It's always a challenge though!
The music teacher at my school used Dojo as his classroom management system and was quite successful with it with the kindergarteners. He picked a "secret student" each class and set a goal for points earned. If the secret student reached the goal by the end of the class the class got a reward. He used a good system for picking students that ensured success for students that often had trouble in his class.
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