Class Dojo - a fantastic behaviour management tool.

I am a huge fan of Class Dojo.

I first heard about it in September last year when Alex Bellars talked about it at the MFL Show and Tell at Cramlington Learning Village. I've since heard other teachers praising the virtues of Class Dojo, so I thought I'd give it a go.

Class Dojo is a web-based application which allows teachers to give points to students for positive behaviour and take points away for negative behaviour.

You can start using it in fewer than 5 minutes and it will have an immediate effect on most students.

To set up a class just paste in your class list and Class Dojo will create avatars, store your classes and keep the students' scores.

To use this app you can use your computer, IWB (this is best as the students can see rewards as they happen) or even your smartphone. just click on the student's name and choose positive (or negative) behaviour and click the reason you gave the points:

Not only will all your scores be saved but you can also get a summary of the percentage of positive to negative points for each class and you can email results to parents should you so wish.

    

I was sceptical at first but after a few minutes of using it in my class I became hooked. My students think it's a good idea, too. They like to hear the "ping" as points are awarded. 

One of my colleagues, who is a self-confessed technophobe, has started to use it recently on my recommendation (and tuition) and has found that it has had a great effect on some of her most difficult students.

I don't pretend that it is a surefire way to improve the behaviour of unruly pupils but it certainly has helped with my classroom management.

I recommend that you give it a go.

If you do and like it, tell your friends and colleagues. It could make a huge difference to the way they teach and the way their classes respond.