I have a confession: I used to be jealous of teachers who were organized enough to keep track of behavior with marbles and tally marks. I would try using tally marks on the whiteboard to point out positive behaviors and erasing tallies for less desirable behaviors. I would always start out strong, but inevitably it would lose its allure. I’d give points sporadically, never being truly consistent, and in the end, it really didn’t mean much to my students.

I wanted it to work, it just didn’t work for me.

Then, I found ClassDojo.

Forget buying marbles and wasting your Expo markers on tally marks, ClassDojo’s point system allows you to personalize points for your unique group of students, allowing for specific and timely feedback. Do you need to give points for “Always keeping their water bottle in their cup holder?” Probably not, but I do. And, how about the student who always has that water bottle rolling across the floor? In my class, they might get a neutral “needs work” point. These gentle reminders not only help me to be everywhere in my classroom at once, better yet, this is where the accountability factor comes in!

Reflection is vital to growth, so at the end of a busy day full of learning, students get a chance to log in to ClassDojo themselves. Logging in independently gives them the opportunity to see their feedback total and reflect back on the day. Not only do they see the positive, neutral, or “needs work” but they see the reason for each. Better yet, students in my class complete a Google form where they “check out” at the end of the day. They answer questions like:

• What did you accomplish today that made you feel proud?
• Was there something you could have done differently?
• Did you get a point deduction? If so, is there anything you want me to know about it, or one of their neutral points?

Having students self-reflect on their actions at the end of the day, or even the end of the week has really helped build a strong classroom community. Their points are private to them - I never open the classroom view in front of my class, it stays minimized or in a different tab. I don’t share the results of their reflection forms, but instead, review their responses and use them to inform my teaching and what we talk about during our morning meeting. Using ClassDojo in this way has taught me a lot about my students, and more importantly, has taught my students a lot about themselves!

My classroom is filled with positivity, even when students don’t know who is being awarded. The happy chime helps every kid sit up a little taller and the gentle cue signaling a neutral point keeps everyone on task. They even get excited for each other when they know a classmate has been rewarded. This magic combination makes me want to (and more importantly, remember to) keep up with it for my students, even during a busy day full of learning.