How to adapt game to restorative justice model

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So our school is shifting to a restorative justice model. I know just enough about it to 1) be on board with the shift but be little more than a bit dangerous until I receive more training, 2) know that the sentences students earn as consequences in the game are going to be problematic, 3) worry that students protecting each other may be problematic.

So here's what I'm thinking so far: Keep all the positives: gold (which is also used in our real-world item shop) and XP (which students enjoy for powers) and leveling up - they get excited every time they hear the level-up sound. Keep doling out damage at the end of class as now, so that teammates can protect (and encourage healers to heal as needed), and keep following it up with XP and gold (optimistic closure?). 

Here's where I'm lost: What do I do about sentences? Right now, we have two sets of sentences – one for when a character falls at their own hand, and one for when a character falls due to a random event or fellow student falling. The first list includes more standard consequences: detention, copying a behavior lesson, be silent for the class, clean up the hall, do extra chores at home, etc. The second is a bit more light-hearted.

My first thought is to eliminate all the serious consequences and – when appropriate – have students think of a serious way of making up for their behavior in addition to the lighthearted game consequence. My other thought is to keep the serious consequences and have students have the possibility of replacing the serious consequence with a way to make up for their behavior, provided that I agree that it's adequate. 

I know that I can't eliminate the sentences, as that takes away a good amount of the teeth in the game. Alternately, I can think of removing AP and/or gold when a student falls, but what happens if a student doesn't have any of that to take away? 

Thoughts? Advice? 

4 comments
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Our school implemented the RJ model 2 years ago. This semester I discovered Classcraft and have been piloting it in a particularly troublesome class period of 7th graders. Knowing that I needed to keep my "laments" geared toward the RJ model, I pretty much deleted everything that was built into the system when I set up my class and started over. I went with things that aligned with the RJ model and have been discussed in our PDs. Right now I have 3 (keeping everything small and simple as we pilot through this): Clean up the classroom - which means the student(s) have to put away and plug in everyone else's Chromebooks and clean up any trash on the floor; Create a poster on the lesson - the student will need to create a 1-page poster that summarizes and illustrates the week's topic and their poster gets added to our class bulletin board; Complete self-reflection form - we use a school-wide student self-reflection form as part of our RJ system - if students get this lament they will need to sit in the reflection corner and complete the form. This gives them opportunities to self-correct and consider the consequences of their choices without any of the consequences being truly punitive. Hope this helps!

My only consequence last year was a teacher and student phone call home explaining why they fell in battle. The 3 of us would then discuss if a lunchtime detention is neccessary. Only 3 fell all year, but of course these 3's parents never answer the phone! I like the idea of filling out a reflection sheet and having a parent sign it. Part of the reflection sheet would reqyire rj action. I would email the parent to let them know to ask for the reflection sheet. Thoughts?

I think the idea of filling in a reflection form and considering how to repair the damage done is the best response. I am thinking of doing this and writing on the form 'what were the reasons why you fell in battle?', 'what were you thinking when this happened?', 'what have you thought about since it happened?', 'how can you restore the damage done?'. 

I also like the light-hearted sentences. I was thinking about having sentences like 'fill in a reflection form and your team has to sing a song for the class'. But I am concerned that creating a perception that sentences were not serious might be counter effective. 

Is there any way to be able to allocate the light-hearted sentences to the random event and other sentences for when they fall on their own hand?

The light hearted sentences can be shifted to the random events. 

Go into any class and click the gear icon that has the settings. 

From there you can select Random Events, then a large green button will be at the top to add a new event. This is also where you can remove events. 

 

One thing to keep in mind when you are designing this form of reflection: HP can be lost in boss battles as well as behaviors. It could be a string of bad behaviors over the course of a month before someone falls in battle, especially if their teammates heal and protect them. Thus a form reflecting on how they got their may be hard for them to remember all the things they did wrong. 

 

I would recommend a few sentences instead of just the form. The main reason being is that "Cheat Death" power of the mages can't be edited. If behaviors have been a main issue, retraining those behaviors after school (when student's time is valuable to them) would be a good thing. 

 

A simple reflection form that is recommended at my school has only two sections: 1) What are you going to do do fix the issue. (Here pick the worst behavior issue you are seeing) 2) What should the penalty be for not following through on your plan. Here this isn't about HP anymore. If they fail to follow through, instantly the penalty comes into play. Let the students pick their poison. Sometimes you have to lower them down a notch, other times you have to send them back to think about it some more.

Once either of these sentences are carried out, I would restore their life at least halfway. Having them at a 1-more strike and your in trouble again doesn't give them time to fix their bad habits. 

 

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