Class Dojo

I’ve been using a new classroom management tool this year with my kids, and they’re loving it! Class Dojo is a free app that helps me track specific positive and negative behaviors of students.

Each student has a profile and is able to choose an avatar. Teachers can assign positive and negative points to individual students based on classroom behavior. Parents are then able to view student profiles at home to keep up with how their child is performing in the classroom.

The site includes predetermined categories for both positive and negative behaviors. For example, a student can be awarded points for helping others, staying on task, or participation. Students can lose points for talking out of turn, being off task, or being disrespectful to others. Additional categories can also be created by the teacher. For example, I created a category for running on the stairs as a negative behavior.

I carry my iPad around with me so that I am able to award points during class instruction or transitions. At the end of each month I let students spend points they have earned for rewards such as treasure box visits, lunch with a friend and the teacher, or homework passes.

Teachers are able to print daily, weekly, or monthly reports that give a breakdown of behavior of the overall class or for individual students. I use these to see where my students are struggling or excelling, and I’m thinking they’ll be a great reminder to me of specific repeated behaviors when it comes time for parent conferences!

If you have any questions or if you’re interested in using this in your own classroom, feel free to email me at cmorgan@stmga.org or to stop by my classroom (4M) for more information!