Show Notes:
In this episode, Amanda and Jessica chat with librarians Lee Adams, Stephanie Alexander, and Lana Woods about their work using satirical videos in IL instruction and using humor in the classroom.
Topics & Takeaways:
- Starting with a tool like satirical videos allows the librarian to lean on comedians who are paid to be funny and not have to write their own materials.
- There is a tension of needing to stay “professional” and be funny which can especially be a risk depending on the librarian’s race/gender/class etc. Women are not seen as funny and research has been shown it can be a risk for BIPOC (see show references).
- Humor is not universal so students, context and relation to the material must be considered.
- Ways to start with humor in the classroom:
- Begin the class with humor to spark student interest, raise students’ expectations, lower anxiety, and create a more relaxed, positive learning environment.
- Use humor to encourage deep thinking. Have students work on a difficult concept or equation though a silly or outlandish example.
- Don’t try too hard.
- Don’t use outdated humor/references.
- Why you should consider using Humor in your next class:
- Most literature shows that it puts students at ease and lowers anxiety.
- Engages the students.
- Helps the instructor build rapport with students (more friendlier, relatable etc).
- Helps with retaining content.
Resources referenced in this episode:
- Evoking truthiness: Using satirical news comedies to teach information literacy by Annis Lee Adams, Stephanie Alexander, and Lana Mariko Wood
- Satirical News LibGuide by Annis Lee Adams, Stephanie Alexander, and Lana Mariko Wood
- No News Is Good News? Satirical News Videos in the Information Literacy Classroom by Stephanie Alexander and Lana Mariko Wood; portal: Libraries and the Academy
- Plight of the Funny Female by Olga Khazan, The Atlantic
- Gendered Language in Teacher Reviews by Ben Schmidt
- Making Jokes During a Presentation Helps Men But Hurts Women by Jonathan Evans, Jerel Slaughter, Aleksander Ellis and Jessi Rivin; Harvard Business Review
- Women of Color in Academia Often Work Harder for Less Respect by Nadia Owusu; Catapult
- How Student Evaluations Are Skewed against Women and Minority Professors by Eva Lilienfeld; The Century Foundation
- Using humor in the college classroom: The pros and the cons by Drew C. Appleby, PhD
- Humor as a Teaching Tool in the Classroom by Notre Dame Kaneb Learning Center
- Humor in library instruction: a narrative review with implications for the health sciences by Elena Azadbakht
- Did You Hear the One about the Boolean Operators? Incorporating Comedy into Library Instruction by Kristin Trefts and Sarah Blakeslee in Reference Services Review
- “What Stand-Up Comedians Teach Us about Library Instruction: Four Lessons for the Classroom by Eamon C. Tewell in College & Research Libraries News
- This episode's theme music:
Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go
Here's where you can find us:
Podcast: @Librarian_Guide
Jessica: @LibraryGeek611
Amanda: @HistoryBuff820
Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com
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