Professors and students seem to come from different planets (or candy bars). Barriers frequently exist that impede their communication, such as age, income and cholesterol level.Humor can break down these barriers so that professors can better connect with their students and other audiences. It can be used as a teaching tool to facilitate learning. Ron Berk describes and illustrates a wide variety of techniques that can be integrated systematically into instruction and professional presentations. For professors who consider themselves as "jocularly arthritic", this book moreover provides a special feature: it is close-captioned for the humor impaired.Berk's techniques are "the product of ten years of inadequate development, testing and research." But why take the author's words at their face value? Consider the testimonials of those who have actually attempted these methods in their own classes and presentations:'Before I tried Ron's methods in my philosophy class, I had an attendance problem. Now, no one comes to class.' -- H.I., Slot Machine U., Nevada'Applying humor to my engineering courses led me to understand the meaning of humiliation and rejection.' -- J.K., Toyota College, Kentucky

About the Author
Ronald A. Berk is Professor Emeritus of Biostatistics and Measurement and former Assistant Dean for Teaching, The Johns Hopkins University. He received the University's Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award in 1993 and Caroline Pennington Award for Teaching Excellence in 1997 and was inducted as a Fellow in the Oxford Society of Scholars in 1998. He has published 11 books and 130 journal articles / chapters. These publications reflect his unwavering commitment to mediocrity and his motto: "Go for the Bronze!" He is a popular speaker on teaching and assessment throughout the U.S. and Europe.

Reviews
Berk provides a fairly comprehensive approach to humor, exploring its sources and the reasons for using it. Humor is not just for finding laughs, he writes, but for having fun and adding stimulation to teaching and learning. The book is light-hearted and offers many examples of wholesome, low-risk jokes, anecdotes, cartoons, 'top-ten lists,' and generous amounts of silliness. The material may be especially helpful to those whom the author describes as being 'humor challenged' or 'jocularly arthritic. - NACADA Journal



Book Information
ISBN 9781579220709
Author Ronald A. Berk
Format Paperback
Page Count 185
Imprint Stylus Publishing
Publisher Taylor & Francis Inc
Weight(grams) 272g