PART 3 You’ve made it to Part 3, if you’re still there. This is where the rubber meets the roadkill. Before we survey a bazillion forms of humor in the classroom, do you ever have a problem finding the right word as you’re speaking? Me neither. But the guy who wrote the sign in this pic had a problem.

18 FORMS OF HUMOR IN THE CLASSROOM

IN THE CLASSROOM 18 FORMS OF HUMOR This upcoming list is a composite from all of my writing and work on humor in teaching over 25 years, plus my latest ideas. I’ve divided these forms into low, moderate, and high risk. Most are described with examples in my three humor books. I’ll provide some examples in Part 4.

LOW RISK This first category consists primarily of print forms you can insert into course materials. Students simply read the material. There is no stand-up joke or punch line you have to deliver. Any one can do this and there are lots of examples in Mars & Snickers.

1. Humorous Material on Syllabus 2 1. Humorous Material on Syllabus 2. Descriptors, Cautions, & Warnings on Handout Covers 3. Humorous Problems & Assignments 4. Humorous Quotations & Proverbs 5. Humorous One-Shot Handouts After seeing my examples of humor in these print documents, think about what you can add to your course syllabus and handout covers. Post your humor entries so we can appreciate your creativity.

MODERATE RISK This next list of techniques requires that they be presented live in class or online. So there is some risk involved because you will see an immediate reaction to the humor.

6. Humorous Questions During Q & A 7. Humorous Examples 8 6. Humorous Questions During Q & A 7. Humorous Examples 8. Anecdotes (Prof & Pers) (PPT) 9. Humorous Images (PPT) 10. Humorous Video Clips (PPT) No. 8 is the most used form of humor in academia. Your professional and even personal stories are real. As you tell them, you get better at delivery and exaggerate more each time. They usually don’t have an exact punch line. The humor is in the telling and your descriptions. Think about one you can tell when we meet in class. I will provide examples of 9 and 10. I recommend Creative Commons and Flickr for images and YouTube for videos related to specific topics in your teaching. You can search these sites just like Google to find what you want.

HIGH RISK This level requires formal delivery of humor before your class. Once you’ve tried several of these forms, you will know where your humor gifts lie. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. The challenge is to pinpoint your humor strengths. With which forms are you most comfortable and successful?

11. Opening Jokes (PPT) 12. Commercial Breaks (PPT) 13 11. Opening Jokes (PPT) 12. Commercial Breaks (PPT) 13. Stand-Up Jokes (1-Liners) 14. Multiple-Choice Jokes (PPT) 15. Top 10 Lists (PPT) 16. Skits/Demonstrations 17. Parody (TV, Movie, YouTube) 18. Game Format for Exercises & Test Review You will see examples of all of these in Part 4 or in our class meeting. These forms will test your creativity. Although you can create 14 and 15 from the one-liners in my books, if you can write your own material, that would be even better, maybe not funnier, but better.

ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY 2. Humorous cover on a handout 3. PowerPoint humor 1. Humor in your syllabus 2. Humorous cover on a handout 3. PowerPoint humor a. Opening joke (M-C, Top 10, image) b. Commercial break (video, etc.) c. Short anecdote Assignment 1: Based on the preceding 18 forms, here is your assignment. Using the examples in Mars & Snickers as a guide: 1. Create a PowerPoint presentation to deliver a lecture in your class. It can be part of any of the sessions you have created for your course plan. 2. Add at least 3 types of humor in the presentation, and create a cover page for a handout with warnings or cautions of your choice. 3. In your PowerPoint, Open with a humorous image, such as I have done in every part of this presentation, paying particular attention to the serious set-up, or a M-C or Top 10 joke. 4. Create a Commercial Break with opening and closing slides and a break, which can be any humor form you pick. 5. Insert the break (3 slides) where you think it best fits on your presentation. Assignment 2: Prepare and plan on delivering a short anecdote that is side-splitting hilarious at our class meeting Thursday July 26 at 5:30 pm in SIM center.