I am always thinking of ways to improve classroom management and keep my students engaged. Honestly, I despise the "Pull a Card" system as it is referred to at my school (each student starts on green and if they misbehave they can go to yellow, orange and finally the dreaded red card. When you change a card it is either the teacher doing it on her own or saying to the student "go pull a card."). There are various ways to display pulling cards, there is the hanging chart of colored paper and move the clothespin down as behavior worsens method or keeping all student names on the board under the "good" color and changing the "bad students" to red when they misbehave method. However, I see several problems with this: one being, when we focus on bad behavior, we usually get bad behavior. Second, no one likes being singled out for "being bad" and it just makes the student resent you more as a teacher. Third, it is embarrassing for the student. Last, at the end of the day, most students are on green or yellow, but the same one or two students are consistently on, red each day, obviously the card system isn't working for them.
I have an alternative method of using classroom management and it involves technology, which always engages students. The site is called, "Class Dojo." Click Here ->
Class Dojo <- As a teacher, you create an account and input your students (you may even have separate classes if you teach more than one class each day). Once every student is in the system they will be given an avatar, you are able to change it from the characters they have, but my students like the characters, so I never do. If you have a projector in your classroom you can project your student names and avatars during class. What this program allows you to do is give positive points to students as they exhibit the behavior you want. Class Dojo has options to choose from like, "helping others," "creativity," "on task," and "participation." You can even add your own positive points if you don't like their options. Each time you reward a student, or whole class points, the students points show up next to their name. There is an option to show negative point behavior exhibited by a student publicly, however, I turn the negative option off so if a student does lose a point, the whole class is not aware of it. I only show positive points earned; the behavior I praise and recognize the most will be the behavior I receive!
There is also a reports section that keeps track of all student behavior, both positive and negative. You can get reports daily, weekly, monthly or whatever you choose. This is great for parent teacher conferences, or to just inform parents on their child's behavior. In fact, you can also create parent accounts within your classes and parents can check up on their individual student! This is new and I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I think the parents and I will really like it.
I usually set a goal each month, "If you receive 40 positive points this month you will get 15 extra recess minutes, or a free homework pass, or attend a recess treat party," etc. This way I feel like I am forced to continually look for the positive and continue the praise. After the first couple of months I tend to slack on positive reinforcement, but positive reinforcement is what keeps my class on their best behavior. Who doesn't like hearing praise about themselves? ;)
My student's also like seeing who has the most points. 6th graders can be competitive and anything you can make into a game is usually a success. Anyway, check this out, download the APP on your phone and create an account online. It is a great resource tool!
