Matthew Frutchey

Professor Reilly
Field I
25 October 2015
Field Reflection #1: Setting, Interactions, Environment, & Motivation
One class that really left an impression on me as a well-rounded instructional period was
a lesson prepared by Mr. Nolan of Valley View Middle School. The lesson consisted of the early
days of American civics, the Ratification of the Constitution, the key people associated with it,
and the long-term effects it had on the United States. It was evident that the students had a prior
homework assignment or reading to prepare them to participate in class on this day. The lesson
delivery consisted heavily on direct instruction and was usually broken up by checkpoint
questions directed to the class. My role in this was simply as an observer; I was not asked for
input. I was simply a release point for the teacher to look at and shake his head or roll his eyes in
sarcasm to a comical response from a student.
From an interaction stand-point, it was apparent that the students in this particular class
had a good rapport with not only Mr. Nolan, but also with each other. Most notably, in my
opinion, was that since it was an inclusion class, whenever a special education student
participated and provided a correct answer, the class rewarded them with a quick clap or whisper
of praise. When a student responded with an incorrect answer, the teacher would have him/her
recall key vocabulary terms to steer the student toward the correct response. Another interesting
facet to interaction during this lesson was the use of a poster in the back of the classroom. The
discussion at this time was which states signed the Ratification and the order in which they did.
This poster listed the states by their license plate, in order of when they signed, and included the

state capital on each license plate. I thought this was a great tool to have not only for a civics
classroom, but also the perfect poster to have for this very lesson. The students seemed interested
in it after the topic was finished and came up to it after the instruction was concluded to
investigate it further.
Students had this time at the end of class to further look at this poster because it seems
that free time is a major motivational factor in this class. In just about every class I have
observed with this teacher, it seems to be an understood rule that if all the work for the lesson is
completed and the students behaved well, they will be rewarded with time to mingle and talk
amongst each other for however much time is left until the bell rings. Personally, I do not know
how I feel about this strategy. I have heard frequently through other teachers and even media we
have watched in our graduate courses that teachers often find there is not enough time to teach
everything in the curriculum, whether it is due to meeting the accommodations of certain
students or just the sheer amount of work to be done. Therefore, I do not know how wise it is to
allow anywhere between five to fifteen minutes to slip through the cracks on a daily basis. On a
separate day, students took a simple map test of the Thirteen Colonies, most of which finished
within five minutes, and then had an entire free period to do other work while the teacher either
read the newspaper or was doing something else. Often times, I had conversations completely
unrelated to school. Leah Davies, M. Ed., suggests that intangible rewards such as free time are
more potent that the quick fix of something tangible like candy for good behavior. However, she
notes that these period of free time should be earned from accumulating points and having the
class choose when to spend them. In essence, I agree with Ms. Davies that it should be a
"special" reward, not an everyday occurrence for staying on task.

Another form of motivation I witnessed throughout his classes was the use of sarcasm
and almost belittling students. Quotes like, "Based on what you know about American history,
and based on earlier classes, I'm not expecting much" were rampant in lessons. However, mixed
with his sarcasm and humorous personality, it did not come off as brash as it might have simply
reading it in this reflection. Still, I could not gauge how students reacted to this, or if they even
had a reaction. Personally, I found it humorous but could see problems arising from it. I found
myself wondering how many conversations he might have had with students after class or with
parents about using that sarcasm as a way to crack some smiles or raise motivation to do better.
Conversely, he also would compare classes to one another, giving praise to the class that
achieved the most, behaved the best for the substitute, or did the most homework collectively. It
was this form of motivation I found myself liking the best as it almost allowed a team-like
atmosphere and environment to manifest.