Laughing and Learning: An Alternative to Shut Up and Listen - Softcover

If you want your ideas to 'stick,' if you want to institutionalize values, beliefs, and outcomes, then Laughing and Learning will revitalize the way you lead and learn. -- Lance D. Northey Principal Riverview Middle School Founder-D, principal, Riverview Middle School, and founder, DifferentiatedLeadership.com Peter Jonas, author of Secrets of Connecting Leadership and Learning with Humor, has done it again with Laughing and Learning. Using research, theory, and a practical step-by-step guide, he demonstrates how learning can be maximized with a light heart, good humor, and carefully selected strategies. While this book is a scholarly pursuit of learning excellence, it is written with, wouldn't you know it, humor! His engaging style and creative examples will have you head-nodding, belly-laughing and most importantly thinking critically about your application as a school leader or teacher. In this era of oh-so-serious school reform, Jonas is shouting, 'Lighten up, people! Learning should be, can be, and must be fun again!' -- Nancy Blair, professor and coauthor of Mindful Leadership and Leading with the Brain in Mind Laughing and Learning is in touch with how the brain naturally learns. In referencing relevant research to practical examples of how humor promotes learning, the author describes educational practices that support physiological wellness, productive social-emotional relationships, and the disposition to be creative and curious. -- Michael Dickmann, coauthor of Mindful Leadership and Leading with the Brain in Mind Jonas (Cardinal Stritch Univ.) investigates the numerous ways humor can be used to make learning and presentations more exciting. To craft ideas into a cohesive and practical model Jonas uses existing empirical research and anecdotal data. Supporting data concerns a myriad of topics like when and how to use humor, what people think of those who teach using it, how different genders perceive humor, and what kind of humor is appropriate for which educational settings. Jonas offers a number of "action steps," each of which is then supported by research and followed by practical examples and suggestions for application. This book is well researched, and Jonas has scoured numerous studies in order to weave them into an easy to read "how to" book. He also incorporates some of the latest research on brain-based learning....Educators at all levels will leave this work with a better understanding of how using humor has the potential to change a school's learning and working environment, as well as the interpersonal relationships therein. Recommended. General readers, upper-division undergraduate students, and above. * CHOICE, September 2010 *

This book explores the ways in which humor can enhance the learning environment. Drawing upon empirical research and brainbased concepts, Jonas presents a theoretical model of humor, along with practical examples for enhancing learning in schools and classrooms.