ALTERNATIVE TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH LOW TECH, HUMOR, AND COGNITIVE DISRUPTION: HUMOR Robert Perret Washington Library Association 2016
ALTERNATIVE TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH LOW TECH, HUMOR, AND COGNITIVE
DISRUPTION: HUMORRobert Perret
Washington Library Association 2016
LIBRARY INSTRUCTION IS BORING.
FOR EVERYONE.
BOREDOM KILLS RETENTION.Craig and Graesser, 2004
BOREDOM KILLS ENGAGEMENT.
BOREDOM KILLS INNOVATION.Podsen, 2013.
WHAT IS HUMOR?
Intentionally incongruous behavior
WHAT IS HUMOR?
Superiority Theory Plato and Aristotle Laughing at the misfortune of others
(schadenfreude) Laughing at the ignorant, infoerior and ugly
because of our joy in feeling superior -Scruton
THEORETICALLY FUNNY
Benign Violation Theory One’s concept of how things ought to be is
threatened The threat is perceived as benign Violates some but not all norms Psychological distance from norm being
violated – Warren and McGraw
THEORHETICALLY FUNNY
BENEFITS OF HUMOR IN THE CLASSROOM?
Humor forces the listener to identify and resolve the incongruity
Forces engagement Studies have shown more areas of the brain
get used Attention is directly related to memory
Rewards engagement
WHY DOES HUMOR WORK IN THE CLASSROOM?
Ameliorates “Library Anxiety”
Reduces avoidance behaviors
Generates positive feelings that transfer to the material
BENEFITS OF HUMOR
Builds rapport
Increase approachability
Increases perceived competence and credibility
BENEFITS OF HUMOR
“DRAWBACKS” TO HUMORDrawback Response %
Off-putting/Offensive 20 39%
Perceived to be out of touch 16 31%
Credibility undermined 11 22%
Not professional behavior 11 22%
No drawbacks 7 14%
May cause confusion 3 6%
Cause inappropriate behavior 3 6%
Perret, RUSQ 2016
GOOD HUMOR?
GOOD HUMOR, MANHumor Type Response %
Relevant 11 24
Puns 9 20
Self-deprecating 9 20
Funny sources/topics 9 20
Silly 7 15
Anecdotes 6 13
G-rated/Politically Correct 5 11
Pop Culture 5 11
Memes 4 9
Sarcasm 4 9
Witticisms 3 7
Jokes 3 7
Topical 2 4
Absurdist 1 2
Accents 1 2
Impersonations 1 2
Physical 1 2
BAD HUMOR?
IN A BAD HUMORHumor Type Response %
Belittling of an individual 17 36
Belittling of a group 16 34
Offensive 12 26
Racy/Bawdy 7 15
Distracting/Too Much 7 15
Too sarcastic/dark 7 15
Slapstick 2 4
Gross out 2 4
Most humor 2 4
Lame puns 1 2
Nothing 1 2
Perret, RUSQ, 2016
Start small add one or two moments of humor per class Grow your patter over time
Script your known hiccups Database always takes forever to load? Hold process clunky/cumbersome? Lights have a mind of their own?
SO YOU WANT TO BE THE “FUNNY” LIBRARIAN
Outsource the funny Colbert Report, Sesame Street, IT Crowd,
Monty Python The Information Cycle,
Why Citation is Important, Study Like A Scholar The Onion
Funny canned topics Roswell, Cats – Humor, Elvis is alive
SO YOU WANT TO BE THE “FUNNY” LIBRARIAN
Let the students be funny too
SO YOU WANT TO BE THE “FUNNY” LIBRARIAN
Get into a game of one-upmanship with your audience
Belabor a joke at the expense of teaching the material
Continue to be “funny” if it is confusing or aggravating your audience
Be too dated OR too trendy
SO YOU WANT TO BE THE “FUNNY” LIBRARIAN DON’TS
It’s not you, it’s them Or the weather, or the time of day, or the
regular instructor, or the traffic
Get back on the horse as soon as possible
Try material at least twice before you abandon it
Even in classes I perceived as bombing I got many positive comments, incl. humor
HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB