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