Humor
I tend to use humor and current topics, to help steer some of my lectures. It helps stimulate their thought process and helps them tie in with what I am trying to tell them.
Harold,
this is an excellent mix & good skills to use for the reasons you stated here.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I tend to mix humor with storrytelling in my classroom, I maintain students attention and make them relax at the same time.
Clifton,
and when we share humorous stories of our own mistakes, they provide valuable learning material & show our transparency.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I tend to use humor relative to the class. It is use to emphasize points but some times show my humanity. It seems to keep the students learning and staying on track through the lecture and the class as a whole. Students now will tell other students that they gain much from the classes and the approach.
Glenn,
yes, the humorous stories with a key point or that illustrate a key point are a great way to connect & to make the information come alive.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I too have found humor as one of the most effective ways of engaging my students. Humorous events that have occurred throughout my career always seem to work well. I am always looking for opportunities to use these stories to enhance my teaching.
I really like that idea. I never thought of bringing that kind of humor in for students to learn.
I have seen humor backfire when an instructor gets off topic and continues with a stand up comedy routine instead of his lesson plan. I think humor is a good tool as long as it stays under control.
It's backfired for me on occasion. If the joke doesn't come across, it can bring the class to a halt and distract, rather than engage and help with retention. But it's a pretty rare occurrence, at least for me.
Dena,
and these humorous stories provide those memory triggers for the students when they are out in the field.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
If there is something funny that happened during my time in the field, I like to relay it to my students, sometimes it was a mistake that I made while working in the office but they always remember the day we talked about "speific gravity" in the classroom and I had a chance to share something funny with them. The student will always remember that noew when she hears that term.
I agree with this statement. Humor is very critical not only in the classroom but in daily lives. However, learning humor is not some easy tasks. It will take work and developing it is crucial success.
Karen,
very true & I agree with you that the humor can help the students to relax & not take themselves too seriously.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I like the use of humor in the classroom. As long as you acknowledge that most responses in the classroom have nothing to do with you, the instructor personally…you will be fine. Perception is everything, and how I perceive a humorous comment may be different than how someone else perceives it. If I joke about an upcoming quiz/test, and some students look disgruntled, then I will use humor even further in an effort to try and remind them to relax. Tests are an everyday thing no matter what your position. You must learn to breathe and take them at face value, (they are just one piece of the puzzle). Humor reminds all of us that we are human.
Candace,
this is always a potential problem. It can get out of hand, be offensive, or just not be funny. You have to weigh your own abilities with the nature of the class to determine if appropriate.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Has humor ever backfired for anyone?
I tend to stay away from too much humor as it can backfire sometimes.
I like to time the humor in order to keep the class stirred up and awake.
Joseph,
this is a great combination as it helps them see the relevance & the humor can also help with retention.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
