The Value of Humor in Technology Education.

Abstract

Astronauts never get athlete's foot. They suffer from missile toe! Technology teachers often find themselves in position of defining technology education, then defending its place in school curricula. These efforts are especially needed when others trivialize technology education. McLaughlin (1998) notes that technology teachers are poorly portrayed on television: When did you last see a `shop teacher' portrayed in a serious light? More often than not, that `shop teacher' is portrayed as an aged dullard who is foil for a brighter and more articulate student population (p. 14). As technology teachers steel themselves for battle for recognition, appreciation, and even existence, there may be a tendency to lose sight of lighter side. Humor can be an invaluable tool in technology education, with benefits to students and teacher. Some of these benefits are especially suited to technology education classroom. Stress Reduction, Motivation, and Immediacy One benefit of is stress reduction. The medical profession has recently taken advantage of health benefits from humor-induced stress reduction, but it is important to educators as well. Although technology teachers may think of their classes as relatively low-stress environments, their students may benefit from humor. Rareshide (1993) notes that in classroom can tension, increase motivation, and aid instruction (p.2). Hashem (1994) writes that play and in classroom are effective at relieving tension, facilitating students' understanding of materials or content, and encouraging students' participation. Besides helping to create a more pleasant classroom atmosphere, play and make it easier for students to work cooperatively and learn from each other as well as from (Hashem, 1994, p. 16). An instructor using in a positive way may find that it helps to close gaps between students, stimulating cooperative work and lessening gap between teacher and students. Crump (1996) asked college students about their reaction to a variety of teacher immediacy behaviors, that is, those which reduce physical and psychological distance between those interacting and enhance closeness to one another (p.3). Of 12 behaviors noted, one considered by students to be most motivating was humor. Creativity Humor can be of special benefit if students are to engage in creative problem solving. With reduction of stress through laughter, there is more time and energy left to learn and create. The instructor and students feel a freedom that encourages divergent thinking and creativity (Walter, 1990, p.44). Successful is often based on some deviation from what is expected. This is precisely type of behavior that should be encouraged in creative problem solving. Ziv (1983) noted that the presence of laughter tends to open learners to divergent thinking previously suppressed by critical, traditional self. New, often unlikely and outrageous ideas surface in this kind of environment as `fun mood' increases creativity (pp. 73-74). Edwards and Gibboney (1992) cite a study where researchers tested college students' problem-solving ability. One group watched a film on mathematics, while other watched one on broadcast bloopers. The group that saw humorous film demonstrated greater success in problem solving. Cultural Contexts Sense of humor, and way one views his or her sense of humor, exist within contexts of one's culture. McDowell and Yotsuyanagi (1996) found that a sample of students from a university in Japan rated themselves significantly higher on a measure of sense of than did students from a university in U.S. This included liking of humor, sensitivity to humor, and coping humor (p.3), or how subjects make use of to cope with stressful events p. …