HUMOR IN THE CLASSROOMBen Urick

My humor role models-Life

My humor role models-Teaching

Distance Between the Planets

• Bill Nye

Planet Distance to the Sun (km)Mercury 57,910

Venus 108,200

Earth 149,600

Mars 227,940

Jupiter 778,330

Saturn 1,429,400

Uranus 2,870,990

Neptune 4,504,300

Pluto (technically a planetoid)

5,913,520

Distance Between the Planets• How many times farther from the sun is Pluto compared to Earth?

• 40

WHY USE HUMOR IN THE CLASSROOM?

Why Use Humor in the Classroom?• Psychological benefits:

• Reduce anxiety• Decrease stress• Enhance self-esteem• Increase self-motivation• Create positive emotional and social environment• Improve student-instructor relationship

Why Use Humor in the Classroom?• Physiological benefits:

• Improved respiration, circulation• Lower pulse, blood pressure• Release endorphins

Why Use Humor in the Classroom?• Improves student engagement, ratings• Improves attendance• Students with funny teachers learn more

Source: Garner RL. Humor in Pedagogy: How Ha-Ha Can Lead to AHA!. College Teaching. 54(1):2006 p177-180.

http://xkcd.com/552/

GRAMMAR

Comma Definitions• Merriam-Webster definition of a comma:

1. A punctuation mark, used especially as a mark of separation within the sentence

2. Pause, interval3. Any of several nymphalid butterflies (genus

Polygonia) with a silvery comma-shaped mark on the underside of the hind wings

Commas are used…• To separate items in a list • Along with a conjunction to connect two independent clauses

• When providing definition to a previous subject/noun

• Too often• Not enough?• For many reasons

• A panda walks into a bar, sits down and orders a sandwich. He eats the sandwich, pulls out a gun and shoots the waiter dead.

• As the panda stands up to go, the bartender shouts, "Hey! Where are you going? You just shot my waiter and you didn't pay for your sandwich!"

• The panda yells back at the bartender, "Hey, I'm a PANDA! Look it up!" The bartender opens his dictionary and sees the following definition for panda:

• "A tree dwelling marsupial of Asian origin, characterized by distinct black and white coloring. Eats, shoots and leaves.”

• A panda walks into a bar, sits down and orders a sandwich. He eats the sandwich, pulls out a gun and shoots the waiter dead.

• As the panda stands up to go, the bartender shouts, "Hey! Where are you going? You just shot my waiter and you didn't pay for your sandwich!"

• The panda yells back at the bartender, "Hey, I'm a PANDA! Look it up!" The bartender opens his dictionary and sees the following definition for panda:

• "A tree dwelling marsupial of Asian origin, characterized by distinct black and white coloring. Eats shoots and leaves.

PHARMACY

Pharmacy JokesResident: I’ll perform the digitalis exam on Mr.

Jones in room 3Attending: Better use the foxglove!

Digital vs. digitalisFoxglove is the another term for digitalis

Direct to Consumer Advertising• Is it LowT?• Havidol!

WHEN AND HOW TO USE HUMOR

Why is Humor Difficult to Use?• Personal• Subjective• Contextual• Unpredictable

Effective Use of Humor• Specific• Targeted• Appropriate to the subject matter

• Humor in pedagogy vs. joke telling in the classroom

WHAT ABOUT UNTARGETED, GENERAL HUMOR?

PLANNED VS. UNPLANNED HUMOR

Planned• Anticipatory set• Woven into case scenarios, examples• Doesn’t require comedic timing

Unplanned• Impromptu stories• Responses to students• Keep humorous responses “loaded in the chamber”

WHEN HAVE YOU FELT HUMOR IN A CLASSROOM SETTING ADDED TO THE CONTENT OR ENVIRONMENT?

WHEN HAVE YOU FELT HUMOR IN A CLASSROOM SETTING DETRACTED FROM THE CONTENT OR ENVIRONMENT?

WHEN IS IT NOT APPROPRIATE TO USE HUMOR?

WHAT IS THE DISTANCE FROM PLUTO TO THE SUN?

Resources• Resource websites: • Use of Humor in the Classroom (Book Chapter): https://

www.uab.edu/Communicationstudies/richmond_files/Richmond%20Humor%20in%20Classroom.pdf

• Humor in Pedagogy: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/detail?accno=EJ744358

• Best Teaching Practices: Humor in the Classroom: http://www.plattsburgh.edu/offices/centers/cte/humorintheclassroom.php