Then also watch the lessons presented by these two history teachers. The first gives a lesson on Patrick Henry? Then this second teacher teaches his students about kamikaze pilots. Do you think that those were effective lessons?
Finally, check out this list below that a former student sent to me, in his reflections about the links above. The list is from an essay entitled, “Ten Specific Techniques for Developing Humor in the Classroom” by Richard L. Weaver II and Howard W. Cotrell:
6 comments:
I absolutely think there is a time and a place for humor in the school setting. I think it is important to note that it is imperative that the humor is ‘content-appropriate.’ I think that too much humor can lead to the students either thinking that you aren’t taking class seriously or that the students are your friends, blurring the line between student and teacher. However, as the powerpoint says, when used appropriately, I think humor can help students to comprehend material, relax before a test, or feel that the environment is relaxed enough to truly be themselves.
I think that both the kamizake lesson and the Patrick Henry speech were effective because they were memorable. The lessons that they taught will stay with the kids because both of these teachers opened up. They weren’t afraid to be silly or goofy to make a point. That can be a very effective teaching style.
I personally have used humor in the classroom to show the students that I am human and make mistakes too. I think it is an important quality for teachers to be able to laugh at themselves. I also find that when I put a humorous question in the middle of a multiple choice section of the test, it helps the students to relax. If they get that question right (I always make it obvious), it can even turn around their confidence and lower the test anxiety that might be building during a test, as the powerpoint noted. I think the bottom line is that teachers need to be themselves. Humor is not something that you can force, but I think it can go a long way to show students your quirky or funny side.
I like to use humor in my classroom. I think it breaks up a lot of tense situations and makes children feel like I am a human being rather than a robot. I find that my humor is quite different than my students, as my maturity level is a little higher than that of an 8th grader. Sometimes students do not always understand my humor, but I still try to use it when I can. Students have trouble decided what is sarcastic and what is humorous sometimes. I avoid sarcasm as much as possible because I have had some sarcastic comments misunderstood in the past. I enjoy putting cartoons and comics up in my classroom or on students’ worksheets and tests to help them loosen up and learn to enjoy what they are studying a little more. I encourage students to bring in jokes and humorous things they find about math so I can share them with everyone.
My principal is very logical and linear in his thinking. He has a dry sense of humor and does not show much of a lighter side. He is new to our building this year and I hope as we grow closer as a faculty with him as our leader, he will loosen up and joke with us some. We have some serious problems to deal with right now regarding TCAP growth scores and I think we are all feeling a bit rundown. I find that teachers encourage one another with little jokes and humorous comments via email and in the hall when times are tough. This really helps lift spirits and encourage everyone to keep working toward the goal. When you can joke with the people you work with, you know you have a solid personal relationship too. Relationships are the basis for a good working environment and humor is an important piece of that puzzle.
These 2 videos of teachers, by adult standards, "acting crazy" in front of their students probably presented one of their most memorable lessons of the school year. It's ok to act crazy in front of your students if you've already earned their respect! They will love you for it! I have done some crazy things to get my students' attention and hold it for topics that are important for them to remember. They need to see that their teachers are fun, human beings that can relate to them. Achievement can only follow when we have their attention and know they are listening.
In my experience, humor certainly enhances learning. The video “Humor in School” advocated that humor reduces test anxiety, increases learning speed, and positively affects content retention in students. When I utilize humor and encourage my students to laugh, the classroom environment immediately shifts from stiff and, perhaps, stressful, to calm and relaxed. Even second graders get nervous about performing well. Creating cartoons or telling students comical stories calms them. They also respond well to subtle sarcasm. My students almost always remember the stories we have read that made them laugh. More than remembering the stories, they also remembered the key lesson points I tied to these stories. For instance, they remembered the spellings of long e when we read a humorous book titled “The Bee and the Flea.” Additionally, the video notes that humor helps students focus more. Just like fluctuation in my voice, humorous comments engage my second graders. I imagine it does the same for older students as well. In fact, I paid most attention to my college professors who employed humor in their lectures. The ones who told silly anecdotes or spoke in multiple voices were the ones who kept my attention. It was in these classes where I retained the course content. Admittedly, I also believe that humor affects teachers and job satisfaction. I am much more content and excited about teaching when my principal creates a faculty meeting environment where laughter is the norm.
The videos kept my attention. I imagine they did the same for the students in the class. The first teacher jumped on the table, which surprised and enticed me to continue listening. I will certainly not forget this moment. Hopefully, the students remember why he screamed. The second teacher seemed a little more outrageous. Humor certainly needs to be appropriate as well.
I absolutley believe there is a place for humor in schools! How boring would it be if there was no humor. I am a goof ball and love to make people laugh. I was very glad to see the research that the makers of the video had done. I do wish that the makers of the video would have put a little more humor into their teaching. In a place where there is no humor people tend to lose heart in doing what they do. People that are happy usually have humor in their life. Laughter is a sign of happiness. When you are happy you are more open to things and can learn new and exciting things. Bringing humor into the classroom allows learning to be more fun. It also allows learning to be more meaningful. When a student learns can remember a concept it is a monnumental thing for a teacher. They can remember things taught because of the humor that triggers their memory!
I think the most important point to remember is that humor needs to be used "constructively." Children can easily get off task and an instructor simply being silly could take the student's attention away from the tasks at hand. But useful humor in the classroom could absolutely be a good thing for students.
I know some of my favorite teachers were those that used humor. A specific history professor in college kept us laughing the entire class and I could always seem to recall answers on his exams based on jokes he had used in class. I still remember certain names and terms from his class now!
After watching the two instructors using humor on YouTube, I watched a few other "funny teacher" videos that were listed on the side of the screen. It is easy to see good and bad uses of humor in the classroom and get examples of where it isn't useful anymore but just becomes distracting and silly. But if instructors can find a balance and know when they have crossed that line, I love the idea of humor in the classroom!
I feel that humor definitely has a place in the classroom. It is important for the students to see your funny side. I love hearing my students laugh. Of course they are Kindergartners and they giggle a lot but I couldn't imagine not hearing those giggles all day long. When I think back to my elementary days the teachers that I enjoyed the most were those teachers that were funny. I still remember that in the 5th grade my teacher was giving us a spelling test and accidentally spelled the word for us. We all thought that was hysterical. I can remember laughing a lot that year. I enjoyed watching both of the videos with the teachers. I know those students will remember their teachers doing that. It is great that they both were willing to make themselves look silly. For me it is easy to be that way when no one else is watching. I know that I need to work on being more comfortable with people observing. As teachers we want to appear that we have everything under control. When students are laughing it may seem that things are not under control but it is obvious from the videos that those teachers were able to use humor and still maintain control of their classes. I know that I have become more comfortable in my teaching since I first began and I hope to continue to be comfortable with my students so that we both will enjoy learning.
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