As a component of the University of Alaska's Cross-Cultural Orientation Program (X-COP), this journal provides a forum for rural Alaska teachers to share ideas and insights. Articles in this issue discuss: (1) the inadequacies of educational research for defining the essence of effective teaching; (2) making the classroom culturally compatible…

This study examines the use of teacher and student humor in the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classroom. A summary and synthesis of previous research on theories of humor, humor and its use in society, and applications of humor revealed its importance as an object of study. An analysis of audiotaped transcripts of samples of ESL classes…

This study examined the recent research dealing with humor, praise, and criticism in the classroom and evaluated the results with respect to the early adolescent. It is posited that the use of humor, praise, and criticism can both positively and negatively affect the academic achievement and social growth of students at the middle level of…

Humor can be a very effective tool to make students remember what they should know about the traditions and beliefs, manners and institutions of a culture. The teacher himself should outwardly be the embodiment of the culture which is taught. For example, when a teacher of French walks into the classroom the first day he should introduce himself…

Noting that while laboratory investigations of recordings of children's spontaneous verbal creations or repetitions of traditional forms in their natural play habitats have indicated that they do engage in systematic explorations of language structures in their play, this paper points out that there have been no investigations of whether such…

Definitions are given for over 300 terms commonly used in the field of higher education. Examples of terms are: A and M University, adjunct professor, degree mill, distribution requirement, early decision, elective, honors program, interlibrary loan, prestige, rolling admission, syllabus, and tutorial. Most definitions have two types of comments:…

Any comic strip artist deals in stereotypes. The history of two black comic strips begun in the 1920s, "Bungleton Green" and "Sunny Boy Sam," both of which featured anti-heroes in the "fall guy" tradition, may be traced to show the way in which they portrayed black stereotypes. Black strips engaged in a degree of stereotyping of white characters…

Representing various scholarly interests and ideologies, 7 of the 12 essays discuss ethnographers frequent misrepresentation of Chicano culture because they are unaware of the "performance" element of Chicano behavior; "agringado joking", a tactic used by Texas Chicanos to mark ethnic boundaries and to protect their cultural…

This book seeks to raise some of the critical theoretical issues involved in the study of American negro folklore in all its major forms. Along with the presentation of texts, the concern here is for the meaning and significance of the folklore and its interpretations as expressed by a variety of authors. The selections are divided into eight…

A collection of gross errors in language usage can be used effectively for classroom practice in error analysis and can increase students' understanding of the conceptual and functional frameworks of language use by appealing to their sense of humor. (MSE)

This review of the literature examines the development of humor in infants and young children, and looks at ways in which adults can support children's understanding, appreciation, and creation of humor in play and verbal and social interactions. (BB)

Humor--and communication itself--when translating from one language to another, depends on an accumulation of shared understandings about how people say things in a given culture. Examples are given in translations of Portuguese to English and English to Portuguese. (CB)

Here is a roadmap to success affecting the growth and achievement of all students. This book integrates research about teaching and learning using a variety of sources, both popular and academic, to create a readable text. The author offers: (1) A description of current practices in schools that successfully promote positive relationships; (2)…

Much school humor is more than playful behavior; it is also a form of coping behavior for both students and teachers. Humor aids in the development and formation of the self and in the preservation of dignity and self-esteem, even though it sometimes does so through the humiliation of another. (IS)

A study assessed effects of gender and status on the tolerance of college freshmen (N=377) and faculty (N=83) for gender-based humor, and attitudes toward the humor's acceptability in the classroom, social gatherings, and family parties. Results indicated tolerance ratings were determined by gender, status, and their interactions. Implications are…