Conflicts, disengagement and silos are realities that teachers face. There many ways to address these challenges; one of the most often employed, but least studied strategies is the use of affiliative humor (Avolio, Howell & Sosik 1999; McCartney-Matthews 2011). Recent events have highlighted the way that humour can be a point of unity or division.
The presenter has worked in a variety of post-secondary settings, from large research universities to small private schools to polytechnics. These schools have been in North America, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe. Humour was always a strategy employed to address classroom management. Now as a member of a faculty development team there has been an opportunity to conduct deeper study into how and why humour works to bring learners together.
This session will explore the benefits of instructor usage of positively-valenced humour in the classroom, focusing on its ability to reduce barriers between the instructor and learner, as well as between learners. The presenter will draw from prior research on the role of humour in organizations and educational anthropology (Collins 2012; Treece 2010; Vogler 2011). The audience will not leave with a list of knock-knock jokes, but they will gain an insight into how humour might be used to strengthen enhance engagement and improve classroom management.
Avolio, B.J., Howell, J.M. & Sosik, J.J. (1999) A funny thing happened on the way to the bottom line: Humor as a moderator of leadership style effects. Academy of Management Journal 42(2), 219-227.
Collins, P.E. (2012). Leading higher education organizations: The role of humor. MA Thesis. Gonzaga University.
McCartney-Matthews, M.L. (2011). A funny thing happpened on the way to the hippocampus: The effects of humor on student achievement and memory retention. EdD Dissertation. Arizona State University.
Treece, B.P. (2010). Humor as a desired leadership quality compared across four professional fields in Findlay and Hancock County, Ohio. EdD Dissertation. Northcentral University.
Vogler, W.B. (2011). Humor and work: Toward a more contextual understanding of humor in the workplace. PhD Dissertation. Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
