Kristen Lafferty's Schools

• DePaul University Bachelors in Psychology Big East All-Academic Team for 09-10

Kristen Lafferty's Publications

• Wakeboarding February, 2011 [Posted at Wikimedia Commons.] By Kristen Lafferty I enjoy a wide variety of outdoor activities including running, snowboarding, wake boarding, and scuba diving. Wakeboarding was first developed by surfers who tied their boards, using water ski rope, to the back ends of boats or trucks when there weren’t any swells. Skurfing was first developed in New Zealand and the idea was passed on to California surfer Tony Finn who took this idea in the mid-1980s and developed a skurfboard under royalty named the Skurfer. However, before the Skurfer was developed two Australians, Bruce McKee and Mitchell Ross, introduced the McSki and later the Water-snake, both Skurfboards. McKee and Ross were granted patents for the binding system in ’84 and the foot plate in ’85. Skurfers employ many of the same carving techniques as surfers. With foot straps that bound the rider’s feet to the board, the riders could gain substantial air off the water to perform various tricks. Both the skurf board and the skiboard gained popularity by 1990 but they each had drawbacks. Skurf deep-water starts were difficult and skiboard durability was an issue. In the early 1990s Herb O’Brien experimented with new materials that would solve these problems, developing Hyperlite, a neutral buoyancy compression-molded wakeboard material. In addition, O’Brien gave the wakeboard a thinner profile and channels on the bottom of the board, improving landings and the feel for the waves. With these substantial innovations in place, the first wakeboarding tournament was held in 1992. The sport grew steadily and in 1998 the Vans Triple Crown of Wakeboarding and Wakeboard World Cup series were created. These annual circuit events offer high levels of competition to this day with course elements including sliders (rail bars) and kickers (jumps) enabling a variety of tricks. Modern wakeboards feature several types of fins as well, which are changed out depending on the trick performed. As a student at De Paul University in Illinois, I am drawn to the fact that you do not need coastal access to enjoy wakeboarding. These days, wakeboarding is most popular on lakes, with waterways near the coast an option as well. I recommend wakeboarding to anyone who enjoys winter sports such as snowboarding and wants an aquatic summer alternative.

• Tips for Tutors - Part 1, by Kristen Lafferty, Kristen Lafferty's Blog on Bigsight March, 2011 1. Apply Different Levels of Thinking Several levels of thinking are required to properly learn any new material, be it vocabulary, mathematical formulas, or dates and events. Help your students learn their subjects by testing their knowledge of the material, which entails repeating memorized information; then rephrasing and rewording the information to make sure the student understands the information, not just memorized data; and finally, apply the information. Application comes in many forms: write an example sentence to test knowledge of a vocabulary word, or solve a math problem using a given formula or step-by-step process. 2. Use Close- and Open-Ended Questions In the instance of learning, both open- and close-ended questions prove useful. Asking close-ended questions, those requiring simple yes-or-no-type answers, allow the student to demonstrate knowledge, comprehension, and application as discussed above. Conversely, open-ended questions require more analysis. When should you use either type? When one type begins to grown stale. Close-ended questions usually call for short, clipped answers. When you notice the discussion beginning to dwindle, switch to open-ended questions to get the student thinking, analyzing, and verbally reasoning out answers. 3. Using Questions Effectively Questions, not the recitation of answers, are arguably your most effective tactic in your campaign to help your student learn any and all subjects. Asking questions forces thought. Ask your student questions as you work together to keep him or her on the path to the correct answer, and more importantly, to understand how he or she arrived at the answer. When formulating questions, do not give away too much information. Students will pick apart your questions word by word, looking for any hints and shortcuts to the answer in order to move on quickly. Next, break up your questions so you only ask one at a time. When your student inevitably gives an incorrect answer, do not simply state that they were incorrect. Ask them to explain how they arrived at their conclusion, then walk them through the process from beginning to end, show them where, why, and how they went wrong, and correct each mistake. READ Tips for Tutors – Part 2, by Kristen Lafferty at http://kristenlafferty.businesscard2.com

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