Plenary Session at LWI

The LWI Conference started off with a humor-filled presentation on the "Divine Secrets of the Ha-Ha Sisterhood"--tips on using humor in the classroom.  Sheila Simon of Southern Illinois, Mary Beth Beazley of Ohio State, and Hollee Temple of West Virginia Univ. talked about creating a persona for the classroom (the coach, the rock star, the ogre), taking risks and being willing to look silly, and giving students implicit permission to share in the humor to create a classroom community and defuse tension.

They concluded with a creative new version of "Summer Nights" from Grease that included these lyrics:

There were sessions, made just for me / Where I learned, pedagogy / I can make, my students smile / 'Cause I know, each learning style! / Summer fun, gets the job done, a-at ah L-W-I . . .

Great fun and what talent!!

(njs)