Ask-Dr-Kirk

Humor As A Classroom Management Tool

Here's an article on how to use humor in the classroom, especially in those classes that students all have to take but don't necessarily see as relevant to their major. As the authors note:

"Humor is a valuable teaching tool for establishing a classroom climate conducive to learning...Appropriate and timely humor in the college classroom can foster mutual openness and respect and contribute to overall teaching effectiveness."

They go on to say: "Humor is a catalyst for classroom "magic," when all the educational elements converge and teacher and students are both positive and excited about learning. Instructors can foster classroom "magic" through improved communication with students by possessing a playful attitude and a willingness to use appropriate humor."

Thus, humor in the classroom helps to reduce the anxiety students feel and makes for a positive learning environment. In one of my classes, there were a number of students who came in tardy which is actually very unusual in my classroom. It turned out that there was an event on campus that had filled up the parking lots. I didn't know this and was lecturing and every 2-3 minutes another student would come into class. The first one I ignored, the second one I stopped and looked at, the third one I made a comment. By the fourth person I paused and started laughing. Obviously something was going on out of the ordinary. I then accused the students of all standing outside the classroom text messaging each other and deliberately sending in one late student at a time. The class thought it was hilarious. It made the point that I was paying attention and yet didn't place any blame. I find humor a good way to manage the classroom.

Who Knew? The Internet Is A Lot Like Ancient Egypt

Source: https://www.facebook.com/CatVidFest

 

Nature vs. Nurture: Both Impact A Person's Self-Control

You've probably heard of the marshmallow study on delayed gratification that was done back in the 1960s. The research done at Stanford University found that children that were able to delay eating the marshmallows were more likely to be successful later in life.

Researchers at University of Rochester revisited this study by adding the element of uncertainty and were able to demonstrate that delay gratification is influenced by environment as well as by innate self-control. "Children who experienced reliable interactions immediately before the marshmallow task waited on average four times longer - 12 versus three minutes - than youngsters in similar but unreliable situations." Thus, being able to trust that the reward will, in fact, be given affects the children's motivation to wait. 

 

 

 

How To Craft An Engaging Lecture

Although there's been a lot of press lately on flipping your classroom, it's still necessary for many of us to put together a lecture when teaching our subject matter. Ashley Wiersma shares her tips on how to craft an engaging lecture that will transform the classroom environment from being passive to an active learning experience.

Good Advice On Coping With Rude People

Celestine Chua shares more in-depth suggestions on dealing with rude people here.

Tips On How To Write That First Book

Like many people, I’ve talked for years about writing a novel and have even written a number of chapters. Here’s an interesting post on how to write a novel using the snowflake method.

Michael Hyatt, former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing Company, shares his best advice for first-time authors including links to other authors and ebooks on writing.

And if you need accountability, consider signing up at NaNoWriMo for National Novel Writing Month. Every year thousands of people take the pledge to write a novel during the month of November. The website has lots of useful tips on how to do this.

Can You Change Your Syllabus During The Semester?

Have you ever gotten partway through the semester and wished you had arranged the course differently or developed different assignments or put paper deadlines on different days? Professor Claire Potter gives tips on what she says is acceptable to change on your syllabus and what should stay the same, at least until the next time you teach that class.

Ever Wondered How You Could Use Facebook In The Classroom?

Although I actively use social media to interact with the public, I've been reluctant to open up my Facebook page to my students. Instead I use Facebook to keep in contact with family and very close friends. However, I found this list by Jeff Dunn interesting: 100 Ways to Use Facebook in Your Classroom.

Thanks to Janet Symmons for sharing this on Twitter.

 

Feeling Overwhelmed By Work? Tips To Help

Dr. Susan R. Johnson (University of Iowa), discusses ways to deal with the stress of being overwhelmed with the work load you have.

• Slow down...block out everything and focus entirely on what you are doing in this moment.
• Complete a task. Randomly choose a task from your immediate environment and do it. Your priorities are not important in this step – in fact, an obsession with trying to find the very highest priority task to do may have precipitated the overwhelming episode in the first place!
• Make a list of everything you have to do. The subtext here is that stress is increased the more you try to keep things in your head.
• Clear your workspace. The goal at this stage is not organization, but focus. Thus, it is OK for the short run if you simply put everything from your desk on the floor. This gives you a clear space in which to do each task, without your eye (and mind) being drawn off-task by seeing the other work you need to do.
• Find a 10% solution...it is better to make small adjustments so that you can get back in control. To apply this method, think of activities in your daily life that seem to take too much time, or that specifically add to your sense of overwhelm. Select one, and break it down into steps. Look at each step separately, and see if there is a way it can be done more quickly or efficiently, delegated to someone else, or eliminated altogether.

Dr. Johnson has some great suggestions.  I sometimes ask my students if they use a "to do list" of some sort?  Usually it's about half the class and usually it's my better students.