Assistant vice president for academic personnel at public university took notes on incidents that caused participants to laugh during meetings of academic managers between 1988 and 1993. Recorded percentages of males and females in attendance, who conducted meeting, and who initiated laughter. Found differences in how men and women used humor to…

Notes that caregivers of the dying would do well to consider the prescriptive power of humor when confronting the challenges of healthy care for the terminally ill. Addresses laughter as the best medicine not only for the dying person but also for family and principal caregivers. Includes examples of therapeutic use of humor with the terminally…

Debunks five myths about using humor in training: (1) the subject is too serious; (2) "I'm not funny"; (3) someone will be offended; (4) it won't help; and (5) it is distracting. Suggests that humor builds rapport, encourages creativity, makes learners feel safe, reduces fatigue, and activates long-term memory. (JOW)

Presents an interview with Dianne Monson, 1994 winner of the International Reading Association's Arbuthnot Award, a woman of many talents and enthusiasms, all of which are apparent in the way she approaches both teaching and children's books. Discusses her career as a reader, a critic, and a teacher of children's literature. (SG)

Faced every day with the prospect of getting--and holding--the attention of a room full of students, that ever-resourceful professional known as a teacher resorts to the use of a number of tools and tactics. Among these may be humor. This article presents both examples of the use of humor in the classroom, and resources for further exploration…

Four skits depicting the difficulties faced by famous men and women in science for seeking fund for their research are described. It is a spoof on the History of Science.

Like their counterparts elsewhere, Australian children favour humorous novels; comedic writers consistently dominate the preteen and early teen fiction market in Australia. Regardless of its popularity, however, in comparison to more serious writing, humorous literature has received little critical attention. Of the studies aimed at this area,…

Learning and laughter go hand in hand. Teachers certainly do not need to be stand-up comedians and spew out one-liners or dress up like clowns to make their classes fun. A little comedy can bring a lot of joy and learning opportunities to the classroom. In this article, the author shares several strategies on how teachers can put in laughter into…

Friendly humor shows children that adults can be understanding and gracious; that the teacher is working with them and not against them; that the child as well as the teacher has a valued place in the classroom community. In this article, the author cites the benefits of using humor in a classroom environment. The author also provides tips on how…

This essay briefly explores reflections of Anna Julia Cooper concerning the meaning and significance of moments within educational settings when the conditions for laughter and language break down. The author suggests that what she presented as moments of social and political failure have become the aims of contemporary, rigid nonpromotion public…

Article emphasized the need for using humor in the classroom and how it can serve the teacher by helping with his instruction of subjects sometimes difficult to teach. (RK)

Discusses the way in which sexual humor, as an innovative teaching technique, can add a most positive dimension to a course in human sexuality. (Author)

To perceive the incongruous in fiction, children must have internalized the events of the everyday world. Then they can appreciate the kind of joke "frame" (or pattern) that exists in literature. Elements of humor were tested in a study of eight and nine year old children in England and the United States--22 in each country. Selections from eight…

This article explicates the techniques of famous comic playwrights in an attempt to establish prominent parallelisms between the literary and therapeutic use of humor. Using literary devices as a model, the essay elaborates on ways in which the counselor can employ similar strategies with clients. (Author/BW)