Rules, Laws & RTL's?

When I first heard that we would have to prepare and teach a lesson on a completely random topic within only a few days, I was nervous. When I received my slip of paper, and read “Rules vs. Laws”, I became even more nervous. I had no idea what I would do or how I would teach this odd lesson. 

I knew one thing; that I did not want to stand in the front of the room the entire time and lecture. I did, however, know that I would have to do this to a point to get the information across to my ‘students’. I decided that the best way to approach this unconventional topic was to create a guided notes sheet that would (hopefully) keep my audience engaged while I lectured. I then came up with the idea to create an activity where students would be broken into groups and asked to determine if certain things were rules or laws.

During my RTL, my ‘students’ were engaged, although I think that I could have presented the information in a more interesting way than a lecture. I think that my guided notes helped to keep them on track, but I can't help but wonder how this would have looked if my 'students' were in high school. I also believe that the activity part of my lesson went smoothly. The ‘students’ seemed to enjoy it, and it helped gauge whether or not they understood the content.

While watching the recording of my RTL, I was surprised at how confident I came across. I sounded like I actually knew what I was talking about, despite stumbling upon a few minor details. I did rely on my notes sheet, but not as often as I was expecting to.

               
My RTL video really revealed to me some of the flaws that I have in presenting. I never recognized how many times I say “um” or “so” while speaking in front of others. This makes me sound unsure. I also never noticed how much I use my hands. I believe that this is a good thing, because it helps make my presentation more interesting.

Next time I teach a lesson, I would like to utilize more varied activities, which rely less on me lecturing. I would also like to try to be more aware of the filler words that I use. I think that eliminating these fillers would improve my performance.