Tehut's Portfolio

Class Dojo Redesign Project

Timeline

February - March 2025

Role

UX/UI Designer

Tools

Figma, Reddit

Project at a Glance

ClassDojo is a classroom management and parent communication platform used by teachers to share updates, track student behavior, and keep families connected to the classroom.

As a grade school programming teacher, I saw how useful the platform could be, but I also noticed a recurring tension: the same tools meant to support classroom structure could sometimes overwhelm parents, frustrate teachers, and discourage students.

This redesign reimagines ClassDojo as a more flexible, growth-centered experience that supports communication and classroom management without making students feel reduced to a score.

The Problem

ClassDojo serves three very different users: parents, teachers, and students.

Through my own classroom experience, parent feedback, and research, I found that the biggest issue was not one single feature. It was the way the platform balanced information, motivation, and behavior tracking.

Parents wanted important updates to be easier to find.
Teachers wanted more control over how behavior systems were used.
Students needed feedback that encouraged growth instead of comparison.

The Process

I structured my redesign process into three phases:

Empathize

Understanding the experiences, frustrations, and needs of parents, teachers, and students.

Conceptualize

Synthesizing research into key pain points and identifying opportunities for improvement.

Design

Creating feature updates that make ClassDojo more flexible, organized, and growth-centered.

Empathize

So how did we get to the root issues?

To understand how ClassDojo was affecting users in real classroom settings, I started with feedback from parents of students in my classes. I wanted to understand what was helpful, what was confusing, and where the platform was creating friction.

I then expanded my research by looking through online reviews, teacher forums, and Reddit discussions to gather a wider range of experiences from educators and families.

Parent Survey Insights

From parent feedback, I found that many families struggled with communication overload causing them to often miss the most important announcement. Parents also expressed discontentment with the point system concerned about the negative mental toll it may have on their children.

When asked, " How could your experience with Class Dojo be made better?" - some parents responded with:

"Dont enjoy negative points" - Parent 1

"I cant find announcements. Keep missing important ones" - Parent 2

"Too many ads.. why do I have to pay for most features. But ok with for now" - Parent 3

Secondary Research Insights

Online reviews and teacher discussion forums helped me understand how these issues showed up beyond my own classroom. Teachers felt the point system was too black-and-white and unmotivated the students by behavior tracking. They also struggled making sure parents had easy access to important information.

These were some of the things users said online:

Parent Survey Insights

When asked, " How could your experience with Class Dojo be made better?" - some parents responded with:

"Dont enjoy negative points" - Parent 1

"I cant find announcements. Keep missing important ones" - Parent 2

"Too many ads.. why do I have to pay for most features. But ok with for now" - Parent 3

Secondary Research Insights

These were some of the things users said online:

Conceptualize

Now let's synthesize our findings

Current vs. Ideal User Journey

To better understand where pain points occurred, I mapped the current and ideal experiences for each major user group: students, teachers, and parents.

This helped me identify where frustration appeared in the experience and where design changes could make the platform feel more supportive.

For teachers, the goal was to provide more flexibility in how they manage behavior and communication.

For parents, the goal was to make important information easier to find and act on.

For students, the goal was to move away from comparison and toward personal growth.

Affinity Mapping

After gathering research, I used an affinity map to group recurring patterns across users.

The three strongest pain points were:

Demotivation and bragging
When students are ranked or compared through points, some students may feel discouraged while others may brag or compete.
Important information mixed with low-value announcements
Parents can miss critical updates when they are buried under general posts, reminders, and lower-priority content.
Negative perception of the point system
Some teachers and parents felt that behavior points were too rigid or too focused on negative reinforcement.

These insights helped me narrow the redesign focus to three product goals: clarity, flexibility, and growth.

Design

How can we redesign the app to address these problems?

Based on my research, I created feature updates that address the needs of parents, teachers, and students without removing the structure that makes ClassDojo useful.

Flexible Point System

Teachers can toggle the point system on or off depending on their classroom needs.

This gives teachers more control over when behavioral tracking is helpful and when it may not fit their teaching style. Instead of forcing every classroom to use the same reward system, the redesign allows teachers to choose a system that better supports their students.

This feature supports:

Turning points on or off

Reducing over-reliance on numerical feedback
Giving teachers more flexibility
Making behavior tracking feel less rigid

Old Screen

Revised Screen

Smarter Parent Communication

To reduce information overload, I redesigned parent communication around clearer organization and priority

The redesign introduces:

Categorized announcements
Search and filtering tools
Smart alerts for important updates

Teachers can label announcements by type, such as important updates, homework, events, or general classroom news. Parents can then filter information more easily and choose to receive alerts for high-priority updates.

This helps parents stay informed without feeling overwhelmed by every post.

Old Screen

Revised Screen

Growth-Centered Student Experience

Instead of emphasizing total point counts, the student experience focuses on growth over time.

The redesigned student view includes:

Visualized progress
Reflection and self-assessment tools
Goal-setting features
Rewards tied to improvement rather than comparison

This shifts the experience from “How many points do I have?” to “How am I improving?”

To keep the playful ClassDojo experience, students could also unlock visual rewards for their monster as they make progress. This keeps motivation fun while encouraging students to focus on their own growth instead of comparing themselves to classmates.

Together, these features reinforce a growth mindset rather than competition.

Old Screen

Revised Screen

Conceptualize

Now let's synthesize our findings

Current vs. Ideal User Journey

To better understand where pain points occurred, I mapped the current and ideal experiences for each major user group: students, teachers, and parents.

This helped me identify where frustration appeared in the experience and where design changes could make the platform feel more supportive.

For teachers, the goal was to provide more flexibility in how they manage behavior and communication.

For parents, the goal was to make important information easier to find and act on.

For students, the goal was to move away from comparison and toward personal growth.

Affinity Mapping

After gathering research, I used an affinity map to group recurring patterns across users.

The three strongest pain points were:

Demotivation and bragging
When students are ranked or compared through points, some students may feel discouraged while others may brag or compete.
Important information mixed with low-value announcements
Parents can miss critical updates when they are buried under general posts, reminders, and lower-priority content.
Negative perception of the point system
Some teachers and parents felt that behavior points were too rigid or too focused on negative reinforcement.

These insights helped me narrow the redesign focus to three product goals: clarity, flexibility, and growth.

Design

How can we redesign the app to address these problems?

Based on my research, I created feature updates that address the needs of parents, teachers, and students without removing the structure that makes ClassDojo useful.

Flexible Point System

Teachers can toggle the point system on or off depending on their classroom needs.

This feature supports: