A Spoonful of Humor Makes the Lesson Go Down

Heard the one about the professor who's so funny he's got students rolling in the aisles?

Probably not. But that doesn't stop professors from trying. Some do it just to keep students awake. Others honestly believe it's an effective teaching method.

And others do it just to amuse themselves.

"Humor is a way for me to lower the stakes," says Mark A. Kishlansky, Baird Professor of History.

Kishlansky teaches History 97a, "Sophomore History Tutorial," in the socratic method, with liberal doses of humor sprinkled in.

"My purpose is not to have people laughing, it is to teach important points," he said. "If [my lectures] have got to be dry as dust, then that's the right thing to do," he said.

Kishlansky, who routinely gets high marks in the CUE Guide, says the reviews don't influence his teaching style.

"I love to have fun," he says. "Teaching is fun."

Humor may be fun, but does it have a place in actual teaching philosophy?

Michael J. Sandel, professor of government, says he uses humor underscore important points in his course, Moral Reasoning 22, "Justice."

"Humor is an important leavening device for a subject that at the same time is deeply serious. Philosophy has often worked by moving back and forth between playfulness and sobriety, and the humorous moments in the course, as well as the deeply serious moments, reflect a drama that I think is true to the subject matter," he says.

Students, however, say that his interaction with students--Sandel paces across the stage, calling on students who wish to speak--is what makes Sandel a good teacher, even more than his humor.

Sandel says the course-wide debates, which are the hallmark of the class, adds lots to the course.

"Inviting students to argue back gives the course a spontaneity that it wouldn't have if I just lectured for 50 minutes straight," he says.

Yet students see more to his teaching than just interaction and humor.

"I like his style; he's a great orator," says Luis A.P. Gonzalez, Jr.'01, a student in "Justice."

But Sandel emphasizes the courses' curriculum rather than his own skills as a teacher. The subject matter, he says, is what makes "Justice" popular.

"Students find it exhilarating to be provoked and inspired into examining their own moral and political convictions with the help of the great philosophers," he said.

Both Sandel and Kishlansky plan their teaching for maximum effect.

"I plan my teaching very carefully," Kishlansky said.

But organization is not required for high marks. Stanley Lieberson, Lowell professor of sociology, said "evaluations criticize me for being disorganized; I'm sure it's true."

Yet this disorganization doesn't mean Lieberson fails to put time into crafting his lectures.

"I put thought into [my lectures], I care" whether or not lectures are good, he said.

CUE guide evaluations for Lieberson's course Sociology 150, "The Social Underpinnings of Taste" note that one half of students particularly praise his sense of humor.

Lieberson says humor can cause students to perk up in class.

"What will anyone remember in any class anyway? Probably little," he says. "It's good in the class if you're a little witty. It makes things more lively for [students]."

"I'm never sure what I'm going to say in class, something comes up [and I run with it]," he said.

CUE guide evaluations also show that one third of all students fault Lieberson's organization. Yet Lieberson doesn't worry about his CUE rating.

"You can't appeal to everybody," he said.

Then there's Associate Professor of Linguistics Bert R. Vaux.

"I don't think I'm very good in the performance aspect [of teaching]," he said. "I speak in a monotone, forget where I'm going [with a certain point], only look at one side of the classroom. I find my talking and teaching totally unbearable," he says.

Vaux says he videotapes his lectures occasionally.

"It's profoundly depressing to watch myself," he says.

Yet, since Vaux began teaching, he's seen class sizes balloon from 15 when he first taught to 450 in his current class.

Vaux does teach with humor, often making sarcastic remarks during his lectures.

"I'm not interested in people learning a specific body of facts from rote. I'm more interested in that [students] are satisfied with the way they spent their time," he said.

Students seem to be satisfied.

"I enjoy his class," said Jessica M. Matthews '04. "Humor makes his class more interesting."

Other professors, however, don't place much stock in humor.

Harvey C. Mansfield Jr.'53, Kenan Jr. professor of government, says "My style is somewhat formal...[though] now and then I'll formally tell a joke."

Mansfield cautions against humor for the sake of being adored by students.

"Above all, don't try to be popular. If it happens, let it happen. If you try to be popular, the students will see through you," he says.

Martin S. Feldstein'61, Baker professor of economics and teacher of Harvard's largest class, the 802 person Social Analysis 10, "Introduction to Economics," also doesn't put much stock in the CUE Guide, which gave him a 3 out of 5 for the class in its last book.

"I've heard from a lot of students who like [the class]," he said.

As to humor in his lectures, while Feldstein says he "occasionally quotes jokes," he adds a lot of humor is "just not my style," he says.

Feldstein says a formal style goes well with the austere atmosphere of Sanders Theatre--he notes that he always wears a suit and tie to lecture.

"That can't be the right criteria for judging whether someone is a good teacher," he said.

Patricia A. Graham, Warren professor of the history of American education at the Graduate School of Education, agrees.

"The point of teaching is not being a good teacher, it's helping the students learn the material," she said.

Should humor be used?

"The trick is for the faculty member is to figure out what in their own

makeup is most effective in engaging the students to [learn the material]. It's very hard to make a general point about humor, yes or no....It's really a

relational question about a particular class," she said.

Graham does say that humor has a purpose.

"It's a way of putting students at ease," she said, adding that "it's not the crucial issue in teaching."

Popular opinion says otherwise.