Kauchak Post

#1 According to Kauchak (1998) what are three functions of teacher questions? What role does technology play with accomplishing these functions?

According to Kauchak the three functions of teacher questions are 1) assessing current understanding, 2) increasing learner motivation, and 3) guiding new learning.

Technology can help accomplish these functions. You can use clickers and have informal questions to assess student's current understanding. Using clickers would make this step so much faster and easier. Technology is also a great way to increase learner motivation. By using new methods of technology, like clickers or blogs, I think that students will get more motivated about answering questions since it won't be the same, old methods that they are used to. Technology can also help guide new learning. It has the ability to open up discussions because of the resources available to students.

New Baby!

My sister had her baby today. A healthy 7 lbs baby girl. Her name is Mckenna Lehn Summerhays and she is so cute. I am so excited to see her but I have to wait two weeks until I can go to St. George to see her.

Roblyer Post

Question #2 What is the difference between acquiring knowledge and the employment of knowledge as described by Tennyson (1990) in the article?

Tennyson describes acquiring knowledge as the verbal information and procedural knowledge. When I think of this I think of lecturing and very passive learning.

Employment of knowledge is described as contextual skills, cognitive strategies, and creative processes. This makes me think of more hands-on and active learning. The students are really able to apply what they have learned.

I think that both ways are important in the learning process. I like how Tennyson divides time between the two as 30-70. I think that the employment of knowledge definitely should be the type of teaching we are focusing on. The students should be applying what they learn.

All About Me!

My name is Geneava Francis. I was born and raised in the beautiful town of Moab, UT. I grew up in a big family, 5 brothers and 2 sisters. Currently we have 4 (almost 5) additions to our family, either through marriage or birth.

I lived in Moab, this past summer. working at a summer program for teenagers teaching them life skills and showing them fun, recreational activities to do in Moab. It was a bit challenging at times but overall I enjoyed it. I also was a river guide on the Colorado River during the weekends. If you have never gone on a whitewater river trip, I highly suggest it. It is so much fun.

I really enjoy the outdoors, especially in the spring and summer. I'm not a big fan of winter. I just really hate the cold. I like doing most activities outside including: sports, ultimate frisbee, swimming, hiking, rafting, and hula hooping. Other activities I enjoy are: music, movies, plays, watching Jeopardy, video games, sleeping, spending time with friends and family, and recently quilting.

This is my 3rd year at the University of Utah and I love it. I am a history teaching major and probably still have 2 more years after this one. I like to tell people that I'm a history major because I like fun dates. (I know that's pretty lame and I've actually never used it when trying to get a date). I really do love history. I like learning about the past and how it has or is influencing our lives today. I want to become a history teacher so that I can make history come alive to my students. A lot of people say they hate history because it's just a bunch of memorizing. I want to change that, I want people to actually learn the story and why it is relevant today. I want to teach because I love seeing the look on a person's face when they finally grasp a new concept and knowing that you helped put it there, that's pretty cool.

How would I like to use technology in my future classroom? I think that by using technology I could really make history come alive to my students. I would use technology to spark the interests of my students.