Utilizing Humor in the Classroom

Presented by:Patrick Clancy Kelly Keim

Joe Mihalick Libby Molloy Mary Williamson

Why try to be funny in the classroom!?

To increase student attention and involvementIncrease learning retentionCreates a comfortable social environmentGets discussions started faster and encourages participation in discussions

Facts about Humor!80% of TV shows are comedies. Many commercials rely on humor. Most newspapers have comics and political cartoons (Cornett, 2001, p. 8). English is filled with references to laughter, e.g., “I nearly died laughing!” We are ten times more likely to laugh than to express any other emotion (Medgyes, 2002, p. 3).

What does the research say?

“A small joke may go a long way”o Creates an open environmento Strengthens teacher’s credibility and imageo Reduces students’ fears/anxiety

Difficulties:o Know your audience o Jokes have to be shorto Jokes have to be aimed at yourself o Being a talented comedian

Using Nonverbal Humor!

“Teachers’ report of how they used humor with students perceived use of such humor”

o Humor reduces stress and students pay more attention when it is usedo Humor creates a healthy learning environmento Humor motivateso Humor helps reinforce knowledge and provokes thinkingo Helps explain complicated material, encourages class participation, and helps students remember

Difficulties:o You need to understand your students’ cultureso Does not necessarily help control student behavior and it does not necessarily help develop student self-imageo Humor might exacerbate a difficult situation (litigious society)

“Humor Increases Student Participation in Online Courses”

Makes learning more enjoyableStudents feel more comfortable in classActs like a social lubricantIt suggests that you want the students to say “I can’t believe my instructor wrote/said that.”

“Using humor in the college classroom to enhance teaching effectiveness in

Dread Courses”

Humor could be presented at any time during the year or in various phases of the instructional processTeachers who use humor in “Dread Courses” (Statistics, Research and Design, etc) break stereotypes that the class/content is boring. Using humor helps teachers build a sense of community, promote creativity, and reduce conflict.

Teaching and Learning with Humor:

Experiment and Replication

Using humor in the classroom increased test scoresWhen you relate the humor to the content, the content becomes more clear and easier to understandThere are NO differences between the genders, both genders benefit from humor.

DifficultiesTeachers are NOT trained in using humorTeachers have to become actors in the classroom and again they are not taught to do this.Sarcasm has negative effects on students.

Victor Borge’s Phonetic

Punctuation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUm787cz460&feature=related%C2%A0That

DO’s and DON’TS of Classroom

Humor!

Think - “Pair” - ShareTalk to your group about ways that you....

use humor in your classroom ORwould implement some of these ideas in your own classroom

HAVE 2 EXAMPLES READY TO SHARE WITH THE CLASS!!!