Today’s guest post kicks off a new series on the ClubX Blog- “In My Club We…”! Mikayla Cope of Boys & Girls Club of the Gila Valley shares a free behavior management tool that has been a HUGE help at her Club. Read on to learn more about Class Dojo!
Class Dojo is a behavior management app that makes behaving fun! It makes it easy for staff to create incentives, decide who gets to go on field trips, etc. I use it to give points for homework, completing tasks and being kind to others. You can add as many positive or negative “skills” as you want. Each skill has a maximum of 5 points possible either positive or negative.
Any staff member can download it onto their phone to maximize usage, or it can be used on a desktop. Its a great way to deal with behavior in the moment. A child that is about to run in the Club can be reminded, “Running in the Club is negative Dojo points against you…” A member reluctant to clean up can be reminded that cleaning up gets them 3 Dojo points. Our Clubs who use it gives every member who has 80% positive points a donut party at the end of the month!
If a Club is a part of the OJP grant, they can use it to track behavior and target the behavior that needs to be addressed. A member who gets points taken away from talking during assembly can be talked to by their mentor on the importance of showing respect. The reporting feature makes it easy to discuss with parents repeated behavior and eliminates the accusations of staff “picking” on members. If the same issue is being reported by multiple staff it is highly unlikely that child is being “targeted”. Staff create a “teacher” account and whoever is in charge of member behaviors and issues creates a “principal” account. The “principal” should create an account first and add teachers.
All our Club members are separated into “tribes” and we put them into Dojo as “classes”. This makes them easier to find. A staff member can ask a member what “tribe” they are in and then their name to give or take away points.
Dojo has a few classroom features on the desktop site that may benefit tutoring programs as far as keeping track of grades. They also have a group maker, timer, noise meter, music, etc.
Class Dojo is an excellent way to recognize members that are always doing what they are supposed to do and reward them accordingly. Class Dojo can be shared with students and parents so they can track their own progress. We don’t use this feature as we write in updates for staff to see about particular incidents. It’s up to you to use it as you wish. It can make it easy to communicate with parents while on field trips and share what is going on in the Club in a secure way.
Check out Class Dojo to learn more!
Mikayla has been in the Movement 5 years, and serves as Torch Club Director at Boys & Girls Clubs of the Gila Valley. In her spare time, she enjoys working out and cooking!
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