Transcript Using Humor/One Hour Presentation

Using Humor
to Maximize Learning
Mary Kay Morrison
www.questforhumor.com
[email protected]
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Information Explosion
Contributes to our Knowledge of Humor
Three forms of Biological Inquiry
(Sylwester 2000)
Genetics (cells)
Imaging Technology (brains)
Evolutionary Psychology (Human
Societies)
The brain needs movement
Text
Pages 8/9
to facilitate the flow of energy and
information.
2
Humor
Ball
Toss
Magic
Dance
Music
Every
10
Yoga
Games
minutes
Group
work
PairShare
Chants
Cheers
Hi-Five
Mind
Maps
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A Closer Look at Humor
What is Therapeutic Humor?
Therapeutic humor is any intervention that promotes
health and wellness by stimulating a playful discovery,
expression, or appreciation of the absurdity or
incongruity of life’s situations.
AATH Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor
What is Humergy?
“Humergy describes the energy that radiates the
optimistic joy of our inner spirit, reflects our unique
personality, and nourishes a healthy mind/body
balance.”
Mary Kay Morrison
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New Finding!
Research Causes Cancer in Rats
 Learning must go through our emotional filter. Our memories are
composed of experiences that are linked to emotions. Thus
emotional memory is a critical component for the learning
process. These emotions are either positively or negatively
linked.
 Adrenalin not only activates the stress response, it also has the
potential to put information into the long term memory.
 Anything you do which engages emotional/motivational interest
will naturally engage the adrenalin system and results in
stronger memories.
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Fear
 Fear is our most powerful emotion. It has the primary
purpose of protecting us from harm. We are
programmed to pay attention to our fears because
this emotion alerts us if our safety is threatened.
Fear has been the focus of considerable cognitive
research.
 Imagining technology makes it relatively easy to
locate fear in the amygdala and hippocampus regions
of the brain. Fear signals DANGER. Fear immediately
alerts us to pay attention.
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Stress and Learning
 Excess Fear causes stress. There is mounting
scientific evidence that suggests that excess stress
has an adverse impact on learning.
 There has been an increasing pressure to focus on
what is tested (reading and math) at the expense of
the arts, physical education and play. Grades are
considered extremely important and actually drive
most students learning instead of the desire to learn.
 A look at some of the research heightens our
awareness of the possible dangers that excess stress
creates for learners.
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I THINK IT’S STRESS
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Understanding Humor
through
A Framework for Learning
Content
Process
Context
Copyright Humor Quest
9
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Contributes to
Mind/Body Balance
Maximizes Brain
Power
Enhances Creativity
Facilitates
Communication
Supports the
Change process
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Contributes to Mind/Body Balance
 Humor relieves stress
Excess fear and anxiety can cause severe stress.
This stress can lead to health problems.
Humor can relieve stress and promote healing.
 Laughter is linked to healing
Humor is being used in Therapy (Association of Applied and
Therapeutic Humor)
Laughter releases endorphins in subjects watching comedy (Loma
Linda University study-Dr. Lee Berk, California)
Vigorous laughter is stimulating, increasing heart rate, blood
pressure, and circulation; circulating immune substance
effectiveness, pulmonary ventilation, and alertness; and exercising
the skeletal muscles. Following laughter there is a brief period
during which blood pressure drops and heart rate, respiratory rate,
and muscle activity decrease, resulting in relaxation (Fry, 1994). 11
Research on
Positive Psychology
 Humor is a complex, developmental, cognitive
process that requires an environment of trust.
 Research generated from the National
Association of Mental Health on Positive
Emotionality identified the characteristics of
these individuals as those who are alert,
enthusiastic, and energetic. Imaging technology
on their brains reveal the opposite patterns from
those of people who are depressed.
 Humor activates the frontal lobes of the brain
and requires several cognitive processes; working
memory cognitive shifting and abstract thinking.
 Fun and play can minimize the stressful
conditions prevalent in most systems.
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Maximizes Brain Capacity
 Humor alerts the limbic system, the attentional center of the brain.
 Information is more likely to be remembered if it has meaning and
contains an emotional “hook”.
Humor gets attention.
 Humor requires processing of language discrepancies in order to “get
the joke”
 Humor increases memory retrieval.
 Advanced language skills are at the core of humor development. One
quality in identifying gifted students is recognizing their sense of
humor.
 Humor is the number one characteristic that students desire in a
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teacher.
Enhances Creativity
 The same qualities that are necessary for creative
thinking are found in the expression of humor:
Imagination: Seeing the world a little differently is the core
of humor
Risk-taking: The ability to express “wild” thoughts and
ideas
Divergent thinking: making unusual connections and linking
different elements emerge with both humor and creativity
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Facilitates Communication
 Humor provides insights into your own behavior and that of
others. Humor is part of emotional intelligence. It is the
ability to recognize our own emotions and the emotions of
others and to respond with positive energy-humergy!
 Humor:
Mirrors confidence and the ability to laugh at yourself.
Mirrors anger, fear and other emotions.
Mirrors communication skills and risk taking ability.
Mirrors temperament and mood.
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A Humor Communication Skill:
Self Deprecating Humor
The ability to laugh at oneself comes from an inner confidence
and the skill to encourage others to laugh at you as well.
It sends the message that you are human and make mistakes
and allows others the freedom to do the same.
Some examples:
– Appearance
– Aging process
– Mistakes made
If we are what we eat, I am cheap, fast and easy!
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Supports the Change Process
 Change is difficult.
 When we can find the humor in a difficult situation
we can begin to cope with the change.
 Group humor can emerge from coping with the change.
It is often negative in nature.
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Reflections
Expands
comprehension
Increases
Opportunity
for Retention
Helps
Learners
Cope;
Reduces
Stress
Captures and
Retains
Student
Attention
Sense
of
Humor
Creates a
Nurturing
Environment
for Learning
Builds
Relationships
with Students
and Colleagues
Supports
Classroom
Management
Enhances the
Joy-Flow
Experience
 Review the benefits of
humor with your partner
and discuss what aspect
of humor you benefit
the most.
 What are some things
you do to infuse humor
in your work?
 Share with the group.
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Humor Development
Growing Up Funny
 Peek a Boo- Birth to Two
 Knock-Knock- 2 years to School Age
 Riddle De Dee- Early Elementary Years
 Punny Funny- Later Elementary through Teen
Years
 Fun Finders- Peak Experience/Utopia
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We might as well post this sign
in many of our institutions!
Humans have the longest period of play
of all animals.
This is in direct proportion to the level
of mammal intelligence.
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Why Play?
As educators become more concerned with assessment and
federal mandates, time for PLAY gets shifted to the bottom of
the priority list. Some schools have eliminated recess and there
are new schools being built without playgrounds.
Play is important to intellectually enhance new learning, increase
creativity, solve problems, and provide motivation for
intellectual engagement.
Along with getting more exercise and eating well, nearly every
listing in the top ten ways to reduce stress and create a more
balanced lifestyle includes making time for laughter and play.
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Humor is Risky!
A lot of folks practice safe humor. They only feel safe
laughing in the following situations:
With children
With animals
With drugs, alcohol
With strangers
Making fun of someone else
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Myths about Humor
There is no doubt that we have been asked to accomplish
more and more in our jobs. I think that the stress that
this creates has led to several belief systems that
permeate our culture and inhibit humor development.





If we have fun, work will not get done!”
“If I am silly, I will not be seen as a professional.”
“If we are laughing, they will not be learning.”
“I don’t have time for humor.”
“We cannot measure humor and the effect that it has so
it is “soft data” and does not have a place in the serious
world”
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Humorphobia:
The Fear of Fun, Laughter and Humor
Fear of Loss
of Work Time
Fear of
Punishment
Fear of
Looking Silly
Humorphobia
Fear of Loss
of Control
Fear of Being
Made Fun of
Fear of
Inadequacy
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Humordoomers; people who use negative
humor to control and manipulate others
Humorphobia breeds humordoomers, skilled
crafters who use subtle techniques to
suppress humor in the workplace.
Humordoomers are usually unhappy
individuals stressed by the duel demands of
accountability and limited time constraints.
Handout
A7
The humordoomer is a pessimistic leach,
who can suck the humergy right out of you.
Grown in a petrie dish of fear and anger,
they are threatened by joyful energy and enthusiasm.
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Inappropriate Humor
When the impact is hurtful,
it is usually inappropriate, even if the intent is not so.
Ridicule
Sarcasm
Ethnic Humor
Gender Humor
.
“I hate being laughed at!”
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The Trust Factor:
A Critical Component in creating an environment
An indicator of trust in an organization
is the ability to have fun
FunWorks by Leslie Yerkes.
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Individual Reflection Activity




Write down your goals for incorporating humor
practice into your life
Examples: laugh more often each day, try a new
form of play, use hook, line and sinker, tell more
funny stories, find a supportive colleague.
Set a time line.
Example: by the end of the month I will have two
coaches in place and will have tried a new form of
play each week.
Identify your support system
Celebrate your success; PARTY
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Summary



Humor defined; humergy
Humor is developmental
Humor benefits include:
Contributes to Mind/Body Balance
Maximizes Brain Power
Enhances Creativity
Facilitates Communication
Supports the Change process
Creates an Optimal Environment for Learning
Humordoomers and Humorphobia challenge humergy

Review the description of Humordoomer and Humorphobia
Understand differences between Intent and Impact of humor
Write your goals to increase your humor practice
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READTEXT
Using Humor To Maximize Learning
by Mary Kay Morrison
Chapters
•The Tonic for Tired Educators
•Developing your Humor Being; A Nut is Born
•Mouse Droppings :Examining Brain Research and Humor
•Hurtful Humor; NO Laughing Matter
•The Humor Workout; Pumping Up with Practice
•It’s a Circus Out There
•Survival Humor for Stressed Leaders
Using Humor to Maximize Learning
Mary Kay Morrison
Rowman and Littlefield Education.
Blue Ridge Summit, PA. Dec. 2007
http://www.rowmaneducation.com
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Humor Resources
A complete bibliography can be found on Mary Kay’s web
site at:
www.questforhumor.com
Reference Books




The Psychology of Humor, Rod A. Martin 2007
Why Zebra’s Don’t Get Ulcers, Robert Sapolsky 1998
FunWorks, Leslie Yerkes, 2001,
A Biological Brain in a Cultural Classroom, Robert Sylwester, 2003
.
Additional resource;
Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH)
http://aath.org/
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