Gamification with ClassDojo

On the last day of school I gamified my class using ClassDojo. 

It was the last day of the year and I was defeated. I had just received word that my math scores were not very good on the end of year state tests (I know test scores aren't everything). Don't get me wrong, I can teach math, but I must have been doing something wrong. The worst part was there was one day of school left and nothing I could do about it ... right? 

Wrong! I did a Twitter chat that night and it was all about gamification. So I collected some resources, read some blogs, and had a pretty good idea about gamification. It was all about a state of mind and was something I had passion for. So I rewrote my last day lesson plans.

I decided to create a list of ten geometric challenges involving some math concepts we struggled with this year.

The next morning, just before launching the lesson, I realized that I could add even more to this using weighted points in ClassDojo. I created a system where all group members received points for completing challenges in addition to the stickers. The Dojo points really made this lesson work. Students really enjoyed seeing their point totals rise for each challenge. 

I grouped my students heterogeniusly and set some rules. Each person much solve every other challenge or rotate if you had a group of three. They then brought me completed challenges and I gave them a sticker and Dojo points or feedback on why it didn't meat the challenge. For example several students brought me a square for a quadrilateral that isn't a rectangle. 

The next thing I knew I was standing at my computer awarding Dojo points, giving feedback, and stickers. Students were engaged, communicating, collaborating, and solving math problems. I also set a timer every five minutes when I would stop and teach a quick lesson on each challenge. By the time I got through all ten lessons most everyone was done, but it helped reinforce the concepts I wanted to practice.

Did I mention this was all on the last day of school when everyone else was having parties and watching movies? We were working hard, having fun, failing, and getting better at math. 

I finished my year strong, proved, I could teach kids math (every group finished the challenge), and the students had a great time. 

This lesson was really something I can build off of going into next year and adding more gamification type elements to my classroom.