Humor

=Humor in Your Classroom=

Research
Below are resources to read or to watch. Some are digital, some are not. The one with an asterisk is required for you to use. Additionally, using appropriate college-level research skills, you must find at least one resource not on this list that gives you additional insights to this topic. A professional interview with an expert-in-the-field is an appropriate resource. You need a total of three resources.
 * *Read the [|preface] and [|chapter 2] in the book //Reviving the Wonder: 76 Activities that Touch the Inner Spirit of Youth// by Rick Stuecker
 * [|The National Education Association has great suggestions of how to use humor to engage students in your content]
 * Review of Humor in Educational Settings (2011) by Banas...yes, there is research on this topic
 * [[file:Review of Humor in Educational Settings_Banas_CE2011.pdf]]

Reflect
Create a reflection (write/record/document) in your personal digital teacher tool kit that captures your reflections on your research. It should be apparent from your documentation that you actually took in information from the 3 sources, i.e. don't just list the book you read or the video you watched, but include some actual information from the resource. In your reflection you can agree and/or disagree with the author/creator(s) of each resource. Questions to consider
 * What made Victor Borge's comedy routine funny? Is it safe humor to have in your classroom, why or why not?
 * What parts of the Stuecker chapter or preface did you agree with or disagree with and why?

Resolve -- Proactive
Now that you have this information on humor in the classroom, what are you going to do with it? How will you apply it to how you want to manage your classroom? Describe one or more proactive approaches to this topic that you hope to incorporate into your classroom management.

Resolve -- Reactive
Even though you have a great proactive approach to dealing with this topic, there will come the day when the unexpected situation will arise concerning humor. Using one of the given scenarios or creating one of your own, describe one or more reactive approaches you might take. Be sure to document how/why you know this is an effective reactive technique (i.e., cite one or more of your research sources).

Scenarios
//Pick one of these scenarios or make up one of your own related to humor in the classroom. Describe the situation you're reacting to as well as describe the reaction you hope you would have. When applicable, your reaction should be based on the research you've done.//
 * Think of a time when you personally were hurt by someone's humor. Describe the situation. How did the teacher handle it? How do you wish the teacher would have handled it? How will you handle it?
 * Often times you'll have students who don't have their necessary materials. Should you penalize them for it? Who ends up suffering if you do that? Do you provide the materials? If you do, will students learn responsibility? Do you loan them materials? If so, will you ever really get them back? [|Here's how one teacher handles students who don't bring their pencils to class. Would this be effective in your class?]
 * You've given all your students nicknames that are appropriate and establish a positive relationship. It's now the third week of the semester and your second period has a nickname for you. It could have two meanings and the second one is NOT appropriate. By the next day, everyone, even students not in your classes, are calling you by this new nickname.