Not Your Average Funny Business
At a Saks Fifth Avenue Store, Winona Ryder examines four distinct blouses, five distinct dresses, and two distinct handbags. How many different combinations of items can she shoplift if she takes exactly one blouse, two dresses and a handbag?
This is a typical question you might read in The Laugh Out Loud Guide to the SAT subtitled "Ace the SAT Exam without Boring Yourself to Sleep!”. Charles Horn, a comedy writer who has worked on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Robot Chicken, wrote the book with the intentions of helping students prepare for standardized testing without falling asleep face-first in their test prep books.
But does it work?
I certainly understand that comedy can increase a kid’s attention span. When I use comedy in the classroom, (think irony/wit vs. shtick/slapstick) I can actually see my students’ eyeballs instead of the tops of their heads. And if they’re paying attention, there’s a good chance they’re learning. I can’t teach someone who’s asleep.
But is prepping for the SAT the same thing? I’m not so sure about that. The questions the kids are going to have thrust on them during the actual SAT aren’t going to be cute. They’re going to look more like this: If 6x - 5y = 25 and 3y - x = 12, then what is the value of 5x - 2y?
Not quite the same.
Horn’s book may give the kids a false sense of security if they’ve only prepared with humorous questions. The kids could be in for a gigantic shock when they realize the questions they’re getting tested on are as boring as dirt.
And that, ladies and gents, is nothing to laugh about.
Photo © Flickr user psmithy
Comments
Actually the book discusses that very point. And its effectiveness stems from what you described in terms of attention span. Rather than give students a false sense of security, the book gets them much more involved in the learning process. What happens is it gets them much of the way there so they can then practice on actual SAT exams and take it the rest of the way, while with many other test prep methods they can get bogged down initially and don’t get as far.
No matter what test prep method students use, they need to practice on actual SAT exams as part of the process, and the book explicitly guides them on that point.
The other benefit of comedy that should be mentioned is an increased recall of the material. Research shows comedy is an effective tool in that manner. The student will remember the concept better from the funny question and then apply that concept to the boring question.
There is definitely a fear factor associated with the SAT, but to anyone who is afraid of this book, I would say to try it *in conjunction with* whatever other test prep you’re using rather than turn it into an either-or choice. You will find that comedy will enhance whatever other test prep you’re using.
Best of luck to anyone taking the test!