Explores how elementary children reflect upon a wide variety of visual humor, and what beliefs and assumptions arise in their responses. Finds that children found amusement in popular art, but not in fine art; have shared assumptions and understandings about humor by grade two; and that visual humor can expand children's concepts of art. (DSK)

Compares the effects of different types of humor in the classroom: humor drawn from literature, humor at the expense of literature, humor that puts someone down, humor that builds up or shapes identity, and humor as a classroom-management tool. Shows how teachers can use laughter as a conduit for students to find humor in what they read and write.…

Argues that humor is an invaluable teaching tool in English classes. Describes how the author and her students: found humor an important means of discovering profound truths in Shakespeare's dramas; enjoyed the epic "Paradise Lost"; worked with satire in Chaucer; and used humor in students' own creative activities. (SR)

Assesses the correlation of burnout among community college nursing faculty members and their use of humor to mediate academic stress related to burnout. Differences in burnout between high versus low humor usage respondents showed a higher sense of personal accomplishment with high humor usage. Of those with low humor usage, workload was related…

The adventure field has long recognized the influence of the mind on the body. The state of "relaxed alertness" induced by fun and humor facilitates the integration of mind and body for learning. The perspective of the whole, aided by humor, is key to achieving goals and creative problem solving, essential leadership skills that…

Tested Freud's theory that sexist humor may be associated with hostility toward women. The humor of 10 sexist jokes was rated by 399 college students. Enjoyment of sexist humor was positively correlated with rape-related attitudes and beliefs, the self-reported likelihood of forcing sex, and psychological, physical, and sexual aggression in men.…

Finds that joking in computer-mediated communication constitutes a hybrid form of discourse, mingling the conventions of print and speech. Notes that students use typography and space to better capture the rhythms and inflections of oral joking, but such joking instantly organizes participants into hierarchically differentiated groups, creating…

Successful principals are goal-oriented, get control of paperwork, lead by consensus but take charge when appropriate, develop people skills, recognize and utilize others' expertise, keep in touch with the kids, communicate clearly, have a concrete discipline plan, celebrate success, and maintain a sense of humor. (MLH)

Notes the relationship between thinking and playfulness. Demonstrates that playful language is a valuable way for adolescents from varied cultural backgrounds to express their thinking. Explores in depth four approaches to writing that encourage linguistic play: choosing playful topics; emphasizing characteristics of linguistic play; selecting…

Confronted by her cancer, a medical librarian finds her own best information sources and redefines "information therapy." Discussion includes sorting through the information, the positive effects of humor and staying productive and at work. (AEF)

In this study, we investigated the use of humor in college classrooms. We examined how students perceived professors' uses of various types of humor during class and the types of humor that students and faculty recommend for use in class. We also correlated the way professors incorporated humor into their class lectures with their perceived…

This article focuses in on one teacher's kindergarten through grade 5 classroom experiences at Tennessee's Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences. While, this teaching range allows the teacher to witness the growth and development of students, as with every school, there are times when young people's attention tends to wander, and the…

The present study described the development of the Mentor Behaviour Rating Scale. In the Dutch secondary educational system, the mentor is a teacher responsible for individual students' academic and socio-emotional progress throughout the academic year. In order to assess the mentor behaviours conducive to pupils' acceptance levels of their…

The procedure for the development of a measure of humour appreciation among a convenience sample of 53 primary school children attending a one-week summer program held in Hong Kong is described. Two sets of visual stimuli depicting pictures of local celebrities portrayed either veridically (congruously) or incongruously were established from a…

The development of a humor measure was described in a brief report in this journal. In that report, a series of suitable congruous and incongruous pictures were developed with a community sample of children. The findings of that study were consistent with those reported by others (Chik, 2001; Masten, 1989; Schultz, 1972), indicating that…