Frutchey 1

Matthew Frutchey
Professor Reilly
Field II
16 May, 2016
Personal Theory of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment: II
With another semester of educational training under my belt, my original three factors are
either strengthened or altered slightly. Of course, educators should always be relatable to their
students to create a comfortable environment for learning, the usual mix of formative and
summative assessments are essential for both teachers and students, and self-regulation strategies
are tools students can use to benefit them throughout their lives. Those principles that I believe in
will likely always be emphasized in future classrooms. Through field work and classes, however,
some elements of those three themes need to be slightly amended.
The most prominent of these is that you not only have to be relatable, you should be
engaging when presenting content. It seems like common sense; students bore easily, they may
not see relevance in material, and the lesson of the day just might not appeal to them. Having an
engaging lesson that is more geared toward interaction and presenting content, especially in
social studies as a story is a great way to "hook" them a bit further. In my observed lesson, I had
a mere twenty-two minutes to squeeze over a decade's worth of information. This forced me to
rely on a college-style lecture. Most students were attentive, a few participated, and a few more
laughed at my attempts at humor but ultimately I felt a sense of dread that at least 50% of my
information was for naught. Upon reflection and hearing suggestions, incorporating more

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picture-centered slides would be a great idea moving forward. They allow me to tell a story
without the guidance of text that students could read, it allows me to move around the room
(something I need to improve upon), and engage students with interaction and let their voices be
heard.
The uniqueness of my lesson and observations in general has also led me to place a
greater value on being flexible in the classroom. Various disturbances, obligations, and setbacks
undoubtedly happen on a daily basis. However, depending on the teacher, students more or less
do not notice all of them because of the teacher's ability to adapt. The most prominent example
of this was in my much shortened amount of time to teach. While I did not have the required
time to do everything I would have liked with this lesson, learning that it would be a shortened
class led me to pick and choose key elements of my lesson to focus on. Minor things too, such as
students entering and exiting class, phone calls, and/or events such as fire drills break up the flow
of lessons. Having a strong set of rules and expectations helps to manage this greatly. While I
was only observing when instances like this would occur, I gained an appreciation for what the
teachers I was with must have established earlier in the year. For the most part, students were
unfazed by the typical distractions and I believe that is mostly due to the teacher having set firm
expectations for behavior. Classroom management skills have always been of value to me, to
learn them and to use them, but this semester was the first time I saw a direct cause and effect
relationship, deepening my appreciation for them.
Using formative and summative assessments effectively, along with helping students
build strong self-regulation skills certainly remains a priority of mine. However, after this
semester, twenty hours of field observations, and teaching an actual lesson, I have a stronger
appreciation for presenting content in a more digestible form and the value of establishing strong

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expectations to help manage the classroom. I believe a mix of all the aforementioned elements
lead to creating a fun and engaging learning environment, help you as the teacher adjust as
necessary, prepare students for the next step in their educational or professional careers, and
make life easier for everyone by having well-defined expectations for behavior in the classroom.