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."
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