Humor in the philosophy classroom:When is it pedagogically useful and when is it destructive?

2010 AAPT Workshop-Conference

Coastal Carolina University

July 31, 2010

Dennis Earl (dearl@coastal.edu)

Nils Rauhut (nrauhut@coastal.edu)

Our plan here

Presentation (15-20 min.) Why are we interested in humor and teaching? The use of humor in Plato (Rauhut) Review of empirical studies of the use of humor in the

classroom (Earl)

Group work (30-35 min.) What types or examples of humor have “worked” for you in

philosophy classes? Why was that? What hasn’t? Why was that?

Debriefing/conclusions (5-10 min.) What maxims can we take away from this, if any?

The function of humor in Plato

In Plato there seems to be a strong connection between philosophy and humor

Helping the interlocutor: the example of Hippias Major: “Beauty is a beautiful girl” Socrates response: “That’s a brilliant answer!”

Showing multiple levels of complexity: the example of the Myth of Er in  Republic X

Humanizing Philosophy: The example of Alcibiades in the Symposium.

Review of empirical studies of the use of humor in the classroom

What kind of experiments and research are we talking about here?

Is humor connected with student learning? Possible benefits of using humor Kinds of humor to consider Appropriate vs. inappropriate uses of humor

Possible benefits of using humor in the classroom1

reduced anxiety, tension, and stress reduced boredom increased comprehension increased interest increased motivation increased/better communication increased satisfaction with learning promotion of cognitive activity better performance on tests/exams

1. Berk 1996; 71, 73; also Garner 2006; Wanzer et al. 2006

How can humor undermine student learning? One answer: By being perceived as inappropriate

What is perceived as appropriate and what’s not? (Wanzer et al. 2006; categories generated from student responses):

Categories of appropriate humor: humor related to course material humor unrelated to course material self-disparaging humor unintentional humor

Categories of inappropriate humor: disparaging humor: targeting students (as a group or

individually) disparaging humor: targeting others offensive humor self-disparaging humor

Discussion

What counts as success in using humor in (philosophy) teaching?

What types or examples of humor have been successful for you in philosophy classes? Why was that?

What hasn’t? Why was that? What maxims about using humor can we take away from

all of this?

Discussion

What counts as success in using humor in (philosophy) teaching?

What types or examples of humor have been successful for you in philosophy classes? Why was that?

What hasn’t? Why was that? What maxims about using humor can we take away from

all of this?

Two principles for using humor effectively

If a humorous device is likely to improve student learning, consider using it.

If a humorous device is likely to undermine student learning, don’t use it.

Question: How does (or might) humor improve student learning?

“Debriefing”--What maxims can we take away from all of this?

Two suggestions (which are sort of obvious by now)

If a humorous device is likely to improve student learning, consider using it.

If a humorous device is likely to undermine student learning, don’t use it.