Behaviour Management
It could be said that Behaviour Management is not a teaching pedagogy, however the Productive Pedagogies framework was unable to separate them (Fields, 2004, p. 4). Therefore, as teachers, we must consider how to align our teaching style with our style of behaviour management (Fields, 2004, p. 4). It should also be noted that best practise for behaviour management is as important and evidence-based teaching pedagogy (Fields, 2004, pp. 3-4). In this artefact I will explore this issue in line with the Web 2.0 tool Class Dojo. Indeed, if class behaviours are disruptive, then this will have an impact on the teaching and learning achieved. Negative behaviour tends to dominate the teacher’s attention, leading to a loss of instruction time for students (Dadakhodjaeva, 2017, p. 10).
Class Dojo
Class Dojo is an App that allows teachers to create an online avatar for each student in the class, based on a monster theme. These avatars can collect Dojo points, for specific behaviours during the day. The aim of Class Dojo is to create a positive culture where students are encouraged for positive behaviour (Class Dojo, 2018, para. 3). It is a free app and is quick and easy to download and incorporate into your lessons. I have been able to start using Class Dojo in my year 1/2 special needs classroom. The artefact above shows the main screen and the class story. I use the main screen to project onto the Interactive White Board (IWB) at the end of each lesson; I award points based on the behaviours I want to encourage. In our class we are focusing on building social skills, so we reward: helping others, being a good friend and sharing.
Ethical Issues
One of the major aspects of both a Positive Pedagogy and Classroom Management is a “Supportive Classroom Environment” (Fields, 2004, p. 4). Indeed, research shows that creating a caring atmosphere in your classroom with good relationships has a positive impact on learning (Hattie, 2012, p. 26; Wilson, 2017, p. 22 ). Being able to directly communicate with parents during the school day to share a video or picture of the class builds the sense of community. There is one aspect of Class Dojo that find concerning, you have the ability add and remove points from a students’ avatar. This public removal of points has recently been reported to have a negative impact on not only the child, but the whole class community. It has been reported that removing points publicly will elicit feelings of shame and training is required for teacher prior to using Class Dojo that explains how to avoid these issues (Krach, McCreery & Rimel, 2016, p. 273).
References
Class Dojo. (2016, March 9). Introduce Students to Class Dojo [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzzb5cmNoc0
Class Dojo. (2018). Class Dojo. Retrieved from https://www.classdojo.com/en-gb/?redirect=true
Dadakhodjaeva, K. (2017). The good behavior game: Effects on and maintenance of behavior in middle-school classrooms using class dojo. Retreived from https://aquila.usm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1386&context=dissertations
Fields, B. A. (2011). Productive pedagogies and discipline: The challenge of aligning teaching and behaviour management. University of Southern Queensland. Retrieved from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/11040309.pdf
Hattie, J. (2012). Visible Learning for Teachers. London: Routledge.
Krach, S. K., McCreery, M. P., & Rimel, H. (2017). Examining teachers’ behavioral management charts: a comparison of Class Dojo and paper-pencil methods. Contemporary School Psychology, 21(3), 267-275. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michael_McCreery/publication/310545464_Examining_Teachers%27_Behavioral_Management_Charts_a_Comparison_of_Class_Dojo_and_Paper-Pencil_Methods/links/59d2a3fa4585150177f64068/Examining-Teachers-Behavioral-Management-Charts-a-Comparison-of-Class-Dojo-and-Paper-Pencil-Methods.pdf
Wilson, R.M. (2017). ClassDojo.com: The effects of a digital classroom management program. (Order No. 10257246). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1916555633). Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/1916555633?accountid=10344