Class Dojo to the Rescue

   

Class Dojo is an instrumental resource teachers use to help with managing the classroom and keeping parents engaged in their children’s education.  Class Dojo also keeps parents informed with students’ behavior, in real time.  At the start of this school year, I suggested to my Principal, that we use Class Dojo as a tool to engage parents in the learning of their scholars, and he agreed.  The entire school adopted Class Dojo as resource to communicate with families of scholars enrolled in our school, and now, we are glad that we made the change.  Class Dojo increases communication between families and school, helps with classroom management, and provides resources to enhance classroom instruction.

     Before this pandemic, we had about half of our families sign up on Class Dojo, but now we have almost 100% of our families signed up on “Dojo", as I call it.  Each grade level communicates daily messages and parents can easily communicate with teachers.  Members of the leadership team, teachers, and other staff members of the school can upload documents and pictures for families to see or download. Parents can communicate directly with teachers through Class Dojo, and because teachers need to take a break from work, they can easily set quite hours and days.  For example, my quiet hours during the weekdays are from 7:00 PM - 6:00 AM, and my quiet days are Saturday and Sundays. The majority of my parents love Class Dojo because they can keep in touch with their children’s teachers. 

     Class Dojo is a great tool for helping to manage a classroom.  For example, teachers can create skills that they want students to exhibit in the classroom, such as following directions, completing assignments, or participating in class; as students exhibit skills they are awarded “Dojo” points.  When students do not exhibit skills, such as not following directions they loose points (Needs Work skills); however, students can always earn points back.  As students are earning and losing points, parents receive notifications to their devices in real time.  Parents find this feature to be helpful because if there is a day where a scholar is “needing work” in several areas, the parent can have a discussion with their child about their behavior; no delay. Research indicates that when parents are more visible and involved in the school community, student discipline and academic achievement improve (Brown & Beckett, 2007).  Even though parents are not physically in the classroom, they are still informed participants of the classroom through Class Dojo. 

     Class Dojo has great tools that enhance classroom instruction.  There is a section called “Toolkit.”  In the toolkit there is a timer, a noise meter, group maker, platforms for messaging, and music.  My favorite tool is the timer because it keeps my scholars informed of time remaining to work on a project.  A favorite tool of my students is the group maker which creates student groups; the teacher can designate how many members of each group and can even identify which students should not be grouped together.  Class Dojo also offers Social and Emotional Learning features called “Big Idea,” which consist of short video segments with “Mojo” (Class Dojo character) is facing various challenges, such as learning from mistakes (Growth Mindset).  Videos are accompanied by discussion questions and activities.  Teachers can also create assignments for students to complete on Dojo; students enter Class Dojo through another site (dojo.me).  However, parents are not signed up on Class Dojo students will not gain access.  Assignments can be submitted in video or text format; students can even draw pictures or use music to complete assignments.  

     When all stakeholders are using Class Dojo, it becomes a powerful tool that provides a platform for communication, classroom management, and enhances classroom instruction.  If your school is not using Class Dojo, I suggest you check it out for yourself and share with other teachers and administration in your school;  it is also a free App.   Check it out!  

References

Brown, L.H., & Beckett, K.S., (2007). Parent involvement in an alternative school for students at risk of educational failure. Education and Urban Society. 39(4), 498-523. doi: 10.1177/0013124507301579

Writing Increases Learning

     Reading is a skill required in all subject areas, even math, and when students' reading levels are below grade, they develop serious problems, such as achievement gaps or disengagement from school.  These problems can also lead to students becoming at risk for dropping out of school.  Reading and writing go together, like peanut butter and jelly on bread.  Whenever, I assign my students a text to read, they automatically know that some type of graphic organizer will follow; writing when they read is so ingrained into my students that whenever they read they now request for a graphic organizer or asks if they can write key facts in their science journals. During my focused lessons, I, again, require my students to write down science notes in their science journals, which I require all of my students to have for science class.  Their science journal is where all of their written work, including data collected from science investigations are housed.  

     Howard Gardner believed that people possessed multiple intelligences: verbal/linguistic, logical/mathematical, naturalist, spatial, kinesthetic/bodily, musical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal.  Every time I plan for instruction, I consider these eight multiple intelligences; I think about each of my scholars and how they have exhibited different learning styles.  Writing along with reading assists the linguistic and the kinesthetic learners because writing requires the movement of the wrist, hand and fingers (fine motor skills); the movement of writing is not as large as dancing and exercising; however, their is fine motor movement that can help kinesthetic learners concentrate as they write - increasing comprehension. There are a plethora of wring strategies that can be used in the classroom to increase writing and learning.  My top three strategies used in my science classroom are note taking, graphic organizers, and “Write to Teach and Speak."

Note Taking

     Note Taking is a skill gradually released completely over to students by the end of the year.  At the beginning of the year I will begin with crafting notes on a particular concept, such as the cell theory (See below) and I instruct my students to write in their science journals.  Below is an example slide I used when discussing the cell theory; the three key facts about the cell theory is what my students must learn and apply this information to future assignments. I create notes on either Power Point or Nearpod.com.  In science, there are so many different details to accompany the many topics of science, and there is no way students will be able to remember all the information without writing down key facts.  By the end of the year, students are able to read informational text and write key facts about scientific concepts.  As information is written down on paper, the information also written in the memory of scholars; most times.  (An adolescent's memory is tough to penetrate...LOL!)

Graphic Organizers

     Graphic organizers are fun and my students love using them when reading or researching information.  I obtain different types of graphic organizers off of a website called Eduplace.  There are several different types of graphic organizers teachers can use with just about any assignment.  I like using the describing wheel when students are reading about a particular topic, such as animal and plant cells, volcanoes, or genetics (See Below). 

     In the center of the wheel, students write the name of the topic of the text or research topic, and then fill the wheel up with information relevant to the topic.  Graphic organizers can also be used as annotation tools to assist students with comprehending the text; as students are reading they can write notes based based on the text in the graphic organizer.  My students love using this graphic organizer because it helps keep information organized and it makes a great study tool. Students enjoy writing facts in graphic organizers because of the visual way information is stored.  This strategy will increase student engagement when reading. Organize away!

Write to Teach and Speak

     Literacy skills are important in every subject, even math.  In addition to reading and writing, speaking and listening are also considered literacy skills.  In science class, students work in groups to complete projects or assignments, which require groups to present to the class their findings or their finished projects or assignments.  Their presentation can be in Power Point format, when technology is available, or they can use chart paper on which to write their information; in either case, writing is required.  Each team is given a task card which provides the criteria for the project or assignment, such as discuss at least 10 key facts about topic and include two review questions based on information discussed in presentation.   As teams prepare presentations, students are engaged in productive talk around their assigned topic and discussing relevant information to share with the class (speaking) (See Below). Scholars are also engaged in researching information about their topic (reading and writing). The teacher becomes more of the facilitator and less of the primary instructor; students are learning from each other.  Once teams have gathered substantial amount of information, then they begin to create their presentations or "topic lessons" which requires writing and some illustrating pictures or diagrams that are associated with their topic.  This activity is definitely a favorite among my scholars; the most disengaged student becomes suddenly engaged and wants to participate.  

Conclusion

     Writing is a skill that has to be practiced, and reading is a prerequisite to writing; writing is dependent on reading.  Literacy skills are key factors to creating successful student outcomes, which is why I focus time in my science classes on developing the literacy skills of scholars.  Speaking seems to be the literacy skill many scholars prefer to use all the time; however, writing, reading, and listening must be incorporated into weekly classroom instruction.  Let's help our scholars become advanced in literacy.