Field Observation Packet

Zachary Truett

Prof. Connie Christensen

Education 202

11/30/ 2018
Assignment #1

1. The first impression I had when walking into the classroom was that it was very serious

at first, but as the class went on, I realized there was respect for the teacher and everyone

came to class to get things done. As class went on, I was kids lighten up and joke around.

One could say the physical classroom was dirty and cramped. But that is just the

atmosphere of most gyms, you could hear the sound of metal plates clanging together and

grunting. This sets the tone that hard work was done in that room.

2) The makeup of the class was mostly kids from the ages of 15-18, mostly male, and were

African American ethnicity. Many of the students in the class played sports at school and used

the class to become more athletic for sports.

3) There were not many class rules but the one that was posted many times around the class was

a sign that read “No Phones” with a picture of a cell phone with an X covering it. Also, many of

the kids were told to be to class on time.

4) Coach Ward enforced these rules with no exceptions. If someone broke one of these rules

Coach Ward would tell them to get on “The Wall”. This meant you had to sit on the wall in a 90-

degree squat until Coach Ward thought they learned. If the student was still breaking the rules,

he would write down their name and take points off for the day.

Assignment #2
 1) The workflow of the classroom is unique because it is a weight room. There is very little

room for instruction and most of the class space is used for exercising.

2) The classroom space could be improved with newer equipment and a proper place for

instruction. Having the equipment so close to each other could be hazardous for exercises

that require more room and if space wasn’t so crammed there could be much

improvement.

Assignment #3

1. The daily and weekly schedule posted was when each period ended, passing time, and

what week they were on. The school worked off a block schedule and each day they

would rotate certain classes.

2) The instruction was given to the whole class what he wanted everyone to complete during the

class period. Students would then get in groups to do a warmup and then execute the workout.

3) The teacher had a more Progressivism take on how he executed the class. He would tell the

class what the topic to be executed and then the students would have free range to do the

workout as they thought fit.

4) Everything that Coach Ward does in class is hands on, there are no written tests or quizzes.

The grades given are based on if the student gives an honest effort and changes for class.

5) Students seemed very engaged because while observing there was not one point, I can recall

the students stopped moving for a long period of time. After roll was taken students would

perform a warm up exercise that was either running or fast walking around a track. After the

warm up was performed the students were told to carry out a workout of the day and it was

programmed that most would not finish before the class ended. This was why the students were

engaged the whole time.

6) Students in the class were never isolated, they were encouraged to work with others to

workout. This was all under the supervision on Coach Ward.

7) The transitions from roll to warm up to workout was almost unnoticeable and smooth. Coach

Ward would simply tell the students to execute the next thing on the list and then they were

carried out by the students.

8) The one thing Coach Ward did to get everyone's attention was yelled “Listen up” his voice

carried and was easy for students to focus attention on him.

9) There seemed to be a very high respect for Coach Ward from the students so there were very

few issues from the students. One that re occurred was students not dressing for class and the

way Coach Ward addressed this was writing names down and taking points away from that
student for the day. Even though students did not dress for class they were still required to

participate for the day.

10) Classes were an hour and a half, so it was easy for Coach Ward to plan a full workout for the

students to do. There was not anything I can recall that hindered the instructional time. Class

moved very smoothly, and Coach Ward had no complaints.

Assignment #4

1. My first impression of the school when parking in the lot was how big and how there

were so many kids in the morning, just walking to the office I could see swarms of

students going to their classroom. The front of the building had police officers and

administrators to make sure the morning was carried out safely. Walking to the classroom

where I would be for the 10 hours, I noticed announcements on the walls for student

events coming up and was looking at teachers names posted outside the classroom on the

brick wall.

2) The interior of the schools seemed like the school was older, the walls had cracks in

them and the doors had nicks and cracks. The lighting was very dim all around the school

luckily Las Vegas is always sunny, and most classes had big windows. The inside of the

weight room had very old equipment and there was a water puddle in the middle of the

floor, it also didn't look like the weight room had been cleaned in a very long time.
Culture of school:

1. The Mission statement is “Cheyenne High School prepares students academically

and socially, enabling them to be well-equipped to pursue their goals and become

successful members of our diverse and changing technological society.”

Motto In coach Wards classroom was: “Our Mission is to use the game of football

to teach young men to be Successful at home, in the classroom, in the community,

and in LIFE after FOOTBALL.”

Mascot is: The Desert Shields

2) Everyone was very polite to each other. All the teachers and administrators

there had respect for each other and seemed to work together to make the school

run more efficiently. If a teacher asked another teacher for something, they were

very quick to help in any way they could.

3) Students seemed very friendly to one another I didn’t notice anything out of the

ordinary. The would greet each other with handshakes or fist bumps. In class

students would conversate between each other talking about sports or things they

had planned for the weekend. There would be quite a bit of cussing in the

conversations but if Coach Ward heard a student cuss, he would make them sit on

the wall till they learned their lesson.

4)Walking through the front doors there I first saw the office located on the left-

hand side. Inside the office there was many office aids answering phones or

helping students and parents. Behind them was the school administrators and the

principle of the school. Before you walked into the office there was the cafeteria

which mad many tables and windows where students would receive their food. To

the right of the cafeteria was a long hallway and at the end of the hallway on the

right-hand side was Coach Wards weight room.

5) The school had many trophies and awards throughout the years for many sports

accomplishments. There was also a could pictures with previous presidents such

as President Obama and President Clinton. I did get the chance to meet the ROTC

director and there was a very high standard held for students in that program.

Culture of classroom:

1. Coach Ward told me at the beginning of the observation that he had a deep

passion for mentoring students to become better versions of themselves.

His deep passion for football is what brought him to become a teacher and

in his classroom, he wants all of his students to give an honest effort day

to day.
2) There was 100% student participation and I believe this is because Coach Ward

had respect for his students and they gave him the same amount of respect back to

him.

3) Coach Ward had a very stern personality and we interacted together very well.

Coach Ward is also a Veteran, so we had many things in common from the start.

The students were very curious who I was, and this brought many questions. They

were very welcoming and respectful, this made me settle in easily.

Assignment #5 (These are all direct quotes from Coach Ward.)

1) “The Game of football.”

2) “Changing the attitudes and behaviors of young people.”

3) “Watching lives change one by one.”

4) “They sit where they want as long as they behave.”

5) “Find a leader in the group and tell to collaborate.”

6) “Not often, mainly because there are no problems in the classroom.”

7) “Graded everyday by 1 attendance, 2 dress, 3 effort.”

8) “Lesson plan is generated based on individuals and it is already in place,

primary focus is mindset.”

9) “Set template to class each workout.”

10) “ I give approval and acceptance but use the “wall” as punishment, that is a

parallel sit on a wall till I feel they have learned their lesson.”
11) “They are not.”

12) “CCSD has an eval system that looks at flow of classroom twice a year.”

13) “They fire you, plain and simple.”

14) Memories, moments, and this is my gift from god so I give back to the young

people.”

Assignment #6

During this observation period I observed a student we will call Jim. What

caught my eye about Jim is that when he walked into class, he was very

talkative to a large group of the class and seemed to get along with most

people. From the start of class, he was very respectful and listened to Coach

Ward brief the classroom without interrupting and talking to other students.

After the class was told the class flow for the day Jim took his friends and did

the warmup without complaining. This was surprising to me because every

other student in the classroom was very quick to complain. Jim seemed to be a

natural born leader. Once they were done with the warmup his group of

friends executed the workout given from Coach Ward together. After listening

in a conversation, I learned Jim was a baseball player at the school and he had

a game later in that week. Jim seemed to have a hands-on learning style and

was a natural when it came to leadership.

Assignment #7
While shadowing Coach Ward the first thing, I realized is much of an

inspiration he was t his students. The students in the classroom seemed to look

up to and respect Coach Ward. Another thing that comes to mind that I

learned is that as a gym teacher a big thing he worried about was setting an

example and respecting each of the students and to form a positive

relationship with all the students. While looking back to the reading and

relating it to the classroom it was clear that Coach Ward had a very hand on

classroom with very little written testing or homework. Looking ahead to

when I will be teaching, I would like to be able to be a positive mentor in

young peoples lives while teaching them how they can maintain a healthy

lifestyle through fitness.