I had a difficult class of 11 year olds who liked to make a lot of noise, start fights and avoid work. Plain vanilla praise was often a double-edged sword because of their behavioral issues and problems with authority. I turned to ClassDojo to help with classroom management. It turned out that the least engaged children in that class were also the ones most motivated by ClassDojo and it improved behavior during lessons to a dramatic degree.
Here are some top tips for integrating ClassDojo in a middle school classroom:
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Put the class page up on the interactive whiteboard at the start of the lesson. Give feedback points to students who are ready to start!
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While students are working, pull up the ClassDojo and give feedback to students who are displaying character traits you’re class is focusing on (This might mean you awarding feedback points to ALL students).
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Use ClassDojo while changing from one activity to another, or “transitioning”. If students see that getting down to business quickly is appreciated, time wasting is cut dramatically.
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Use the random feature to select students to answer questions. I like to ask the question first and then push the random button, this gives students time to think about their answer.
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Customize behaviors based on which character strengths you are focusing on as a class. You’ll be surprised which of your students truly rise to the occasion!