Petra Matkovič, OŠ Vide Pregarc, Ljubljana
Student of the month with the Class Dojo app This paper presents the application Class Dojo as a platform for facilitating effective classroom and behaviour management. It was used as a tool for the student of the month competition, its goal being the promotion of positive behaviour and taking responsibility for ones learning. The main aims of this activity were: to improve students’ academic performance, to encourage students to do homework regularly and to encourage them to offer peer support and to cooperate effectively. Before starting the competition, I notified the parents and they agreed that the competition would be the right incentive that the students needed. I downloaded Class Dojo, a free application which is available for Android and Apple devices. The application was the basis for the student of the month competition. The students first thought about which areas of learning and social skills they would like to improve. Then they each chose their avatar in the application. After careful consideration we formed several categories which we put into the application. We decided to make positive and negative categories. For example, the students were awarded points for positive categories, (doing homework regularly, participation during class, helping schoolmates…, they lost their points in negative categories (disruptive behaviour in class, forgetting homework…). They collected points each month and also helped each other. The students awarded the points in the application by themselves under my supervision. At the end of each month one of the students who gathered the most points received the student of the month certificate. I have been using Class Dojo for the second year now and the results have been really positive and promising. The majority of students made improvements in all the categories. By setting their own goals and thinking about the areas where they have to improve, they took responsibility for their learning and also positively influenced the class dynamics. The student of the month competition conducted in Class Dojo app served as an encouragement and motivation in accomplishing their goals. Evaluation at the end of the year revealed that the students want and need such incentives and they want to continue with the competition in the following school year.
