FLIF ...or how I survived my demo

Well, we're nearly done....for some reason, the timing of this mini-course that I thought was just perfect for a low business period was completely out of whack.  Crazy busy is how I would describe my working and personal life over these past 3 weeks.  And this made me think about the quality of my attempts in the classroom...a lot.  I think I'm capable of crafting good enough, perhaps even periodically outstanding product for the classroom, but my attempts are frequently confounded by the multitudinous obligations that careen around my existence on a seemingly daily basis.  I don'y plan it t be this way, it just, well, happens.  And it affects my teaching and the products I generate, just as it affected what I did for my demo last week. And what happens if I can't find the time to go over before I do it again?!  Do we have enough time to do the job we're supposed to be doing?  It appears so on paper but I'm less inclined to agree, even tacitly.  Is it the pedagogy that we don't know or the time we don't have?

On to FLIF and how my presentation went.  Sage advice from our Andrea here on this one...here I am thinking I can shove bucketloads of information into the observers...I guess I'm like a value shopper in this sense....give 'em lots, so what if they gag on it!?  I timed my presentation and it came in just about right...only possible when I cut it in half.  BOPPPS worked for me for sure and I have to include it in everything I do from heron in...you know, with all of that time I have as mentioned above.  But do it I must.

'F' or how did I feel?  More bothered than normal because I don't want to look bad in front of colleagues whom do the same thing as me every day.  But it went better than I thought it would and I could see how pace and feedback works very well when I'm paying real attention.  Methinks that I sometimes focus too much on what the information is as opposed to the rate of delivery and whether they're getting it.  I suppose I would classify myself as 'impatient'...it's true!  Me!  My almost complete inability to wait more than a millisecond after asking a question was all too self-evident...my pace isn't everyone else's, which in some ways is a total bummer, but it's okay too.

'L' or did I like what I did.  Yes, I love karate and I felt glorious and free whilst demonstrating it and having others get it.  Competence in others is truly gratifying...it's their achievement, but I still get a buzz.  The negatives came up in the form of wishing I'd done something just a little differently...repeating the move(s) and allowing people time to practice setting.  Perhaps my nervousness simply got the better of me and I felt time was a-wasting?  You see, I commit to Total Quality Management (LEAN) but my practise shows I have a long way to go before I give the goods that optimize client satisfaction.

'I' or improve....in retrospect, I could write a book about a 10 minute demo, but I won't.  Pace - too fast; repetition - not sufficient; ppt! - wish I had one like my two colleagues!  And so on and so forth...

'F' or feedback.  Holy awkward!  You want to be positive, you want to be constructive, you want to be honest.  And I was, to the extent that I felt comfortable.  I figure that if I'd known everyone a bit more thoroughly and for a longer period of time, it would have been easier.  As it was, I'm the geezer teacher whilst my colleagues as relative newbies put forward a solid effort.  Made me think of asking students to deliver a seminar when they don't have anywhere near the experience I have.  Construct and commit get better.  The feedback given to me was very spot on...you generally have a pretty good idea where you muffed it up...nothing surprising except perhaps that they all picked it up!  Blimey!  It's that obvious?  So clearly I need to adjust and adjust I have.