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Evolving Toward Laughter in Learning

Article in Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching · January 2008

DOI: 10.22329/celt.v1i0.3182

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 75

13
Evolving Toward Laughter in Learning

William B. Strean
University of Alberta

Lowman (1995) described the relationship between teacher and student and student engagement
as the two most important ingredients in learning in higher education. Humour builds teacher-
student connection (Berk, 1998) and engages students in the learning process. The bond between
student and teacher is essential for learning, satisfaction, and retention. Humour helps students
to learn better, remember more, improve problem-solving, absorb and retain information more
quickly, and reduce their anxiety about subjects like math and science. Humour also reduces
classroom management problems. This essay reviews research findings that support the use of hu-
mour in teaching and it provides strategies that teachers can use to bring more humour into their
classrooms.

Introduction

A s we explore the evolving scholarship of teaching

and learning, it remains clear that motivational
and interpersonal aspects of students’ experiences are
reasons for using humour, I will provide specific pos-
sibilities and examples of how to include humour in
university classes.
central to effectiveness. In fact, in his classic text on In addition to some of the apparent ben-
teaching mastery, Lowman (1995) identified the two efits of adding humour and laughter to learning
most important ingredients of teaching to be teach- experiences, most of us live in academic environ-
er-student connection and student engagement. One ments that would do well to increase their light-
powerful way both to enhance teacher-student re- ness. Perhaps Henry Kissinger said it best, “Uni-
lationships and to increase student engagement in versity politics are vicious precisely because the
learning experiences is to use humour in the learning stakes are so small.” When we learn to use humour
environment. in our classes, we may experience the pleasant side
The purpose of this essay is to share ideas, effect of building a more humourous perspective
perspectives, and benefits related to laughter and hu- to counter our over-developed ability to take our-
mour in learning. After exploring the context and selves seriously.

75
76 Collected Essays on Teaching and Learning

Support for Laughter and Humour Opplinger, 2003; Schmidt, 2002) have shown that
with humour, (a) students learn better and remember
in Learning more; (b) people absorb information more quickly;
(c) many kinds of information are retained longer;
Laughter helps you learn? (d) there is a reduction in anxiety about subjects like
There are many general benefits of laughter including math and science; (e) there are fewer classroom man-
health (e.g., enhanced immune function, pain reduc- agement problems; and (f ) students are more mo-
tion, stress relief ). With respect to pedagogical fac- tivated to learn and retain information if they are
tors, laughter improves catecholamine levels, which happy and amused.
increase mental functioning (Fry, 1984); and helps the There is also an effect of humour on students’
functioning of both hemispheres of the brain (Derks, perceptions. For example, humour has been seen to
increase students’ enjoyment of learning, perceptions
Bogart, Bartolome-Rull, & Gillikin, 1997; Goldstein,
of how much they learned, and positive feelings about
1976; Svebak, 1982), which has a direct impact on
the course and instructor (Wanzer & Frymier, 1999).
learning; and inducing laughter prior to and during
A sense of humour is one of the most desirable charac-
a topic primes students’ brains to increase alertness
teristics of an effective teacher (Check, 1986; Fortson
and memory. Following laughter, there is also greater
& Brown, 1998; Powell & Anderson, 1985).
interpersonal responsiveness in question and answer
sessions and cooperative learning activities.
Using Humour in the Classroom
What about humour? Many of our experiences as students and as teachers
reinforce what is found in the literature about the ad-
Similarly, humour offers a variety of general benefits vantages of having a classroom sprinkled with laugh-
beyond what is found in the classroom. For example, ter and humour. Yet there are many reasons to beware
humour has the ability to sell, convince, entertain, using humour. Some forms of humour can hurt, cre-
and communicate. There are potential financial ben- ate distance, and be counter-productive to teaching
efits of developing one’s sense of humour as there and learning (Table 1). We consistently seek posi-
appear to be both more job opportunities (appli- tive humour to promote students’ experiences and
cants with a better sense of humour get more jobs) progress. Goodman (1983) provided a list of helpful
and promotions (those with jobs, other things be- comparisons to distinguish the kinds of humour we
ing equal, tend to get more promotions when they desire in class.
are seen as having a sense of humour). Furthermore,
humour can enhance overall well-being as it chang-
es one’s perspective away from stress. Henry Ward Teaching Ideas for Humour in Your
Beecher said, “A person without a sense of humour is
like a wagon without springs – jolted by every pebble Classroom
in the road.”
There are many specific ways to bring humour into a
For our focus here, what is essential is that
college or university classroom. The list here includes
humour builds the teacher-student connection (e.g.,
ideas that do not rely on the instructor’s comedic
Berk, 1998), and this connection is essential for learn-
timing, or “being funny.”
ing, satisfaction, and retention. As John Cleese put it,
“If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better,
which makes you more open to my ideas.” Humour Read aloud something comical or begin class
engages students in the learning process and it can with an amusing overhead
improve problem-solving and performance on right- A simple way to add humour and warm the mood of
hemisphere tasks (e.g., spatial-temporal reasoning; a class is to provide something amusing for students
recognition). Studies (e.g., Bryant & Zillman,1989; to look at or listen to as they enter the classroom.
Evolving Toward Laughter in Learning 77

Use humourous quotations (on the class Using games

subject) One of my favourite ways to bring fun to the class-
You can add mirth to a topic by searching out and room is by creating games based on television shows
sharing quotations. You can involve the class by hav- such as “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and “Jeop-
ing a box where students can share their own favou- ardy.” I have found that the games can be used to
rite quotations. highlight or review important information and they
do not necessarily have to be used in full. For exam-
Share personal humourous anecdotes ple, five Jeopardy “answers” could focus on the main
points from an article, along with substantial lecture-
Our lives are filled with moments of levity, especially
and discussion-time between each item.
when we are able to laugh at ourselves. We can make
ourselves more human and accessible by sharing our
stories with students, and we can encourage students Faces, gestures, and movements
to do the same. Sometimes lightening the classroom or bringing out
a laugh is as simple as making a face or gesture. You
Humour on course outlines may already have some “quirks” in your repertoire
that you can use more intentionally. When the class
One of the first ways we “meet” our students is when
is tense, the laughs often come easily when you make
they read our course outlines and handouts. Adding
a clear move to relieve the tension.
jocular remarks, cartoons, or bits of amusement will
lighten what can be a bureaucratic document.
Using music
Humour on exams There are various methods to include music to alter
Especially for students who are anxious during a test- the classroom ambience. Again, it need not be “funny”
ing situation, humour on an exam can relieve stress but it can make the environment more welcoming and
and tension and enable students to perform more to comfortable. Playing tunes as students enter the class
their potential. is one option. Using short clips during a presentation
can help to make a point and increase attentiveness.

Table 1
Constructive vs. Destructive Humour
Laughing With: Laughing At:
1. going for the jocular vein 1. going for the jugular vein
2. based on caring and empathy 2. based on contempt and insensitivity

3. builds confidence 3. destroys confidence through put downs

4. involves people in the fun 4. excludes some people
5. a person makes a choice to be the ‘butt’ of 5. a person does not have a choice about be-
a joke (laughing at yourself) ing made the ‘butt’ of joke
6. amusing – invites people to laugh 6. abusing – offends people
7. supportive 7. sarcastic
8. brings people closer 8. divides people
9. leads to positive repartee 9. leads to one-downsmanship cycle
10. pokes fun at universal human foibles 10. reinforces stereotypes; singles out group
78 Collected Essays on Teaching and Learning

Using movement (students) of in order to use humour effectively in the class-

A languid body is less engaged and short “body- room. Because some humour is culturally and his-
breaks” or activities can generate fun and re-engage torically dependent, it is important to be mindful
students. Like everything else in the world of hu- of international students, and humour that relies on
mour, it is a matter of personal taste and what you experiences that students have not shared. How well
find useful. After fifteen or twenty minutes in a lec- humour will work can also depend on how long the
ture situation, students could take thirty seconds and class has been together. Some humour may relieve
simply stand up or do something more “silly” like a first day jitters; other humour may succeed after the
bit of the chicken dance. group has developed rapport and bonding.
We generally want to provoke some form
Using costumes/décor/props of laughter when we deliver humour in our classes.
Whether or not students laugh depends on many
For those of you who are concerned you do not have
factors including the physical arrangement of the
the delivery of Jerry Seinfeld or the story-telling bril-
class, class size, class atmosphere, and the ability of
liance of Bill Cosby, you can inject humour by com-
students to make eye contact with one another and
ing to class in costume, using props (e.g., a magic
the instructor. A key point to remember is that hu-
wand), or decorating the class in some fashion. I have
mour tends to be based on building up tension and
seen professors arrive as a historical figure or theoreti-
then some kind of punch-line resulting in laughter
cian and present material from a first-person perspec-
and a release of tension. Thus, when it’s clear that we
tive. Students often greatly appreciate seeing us out
of “uniform” and in costume. have tried to be funny and there is no laughter, what
remains is the built up tension. If we just move on
without some response or acknowledgement, we are
Forms of delivery trying to teach through the tension. It is important
In addition to the specific ideas suggested so far, oth- to note that the joke was unsuccessful. Great comedi-
er forms of in-class delivery of humour include open- ans (recall Johnny Carson) often get their best laughs
ing jokes, Top 10 lists, cartoons, skits/drama, and, when a line fails. The “comeback” line allows the au-
perhaps the best humour is that which is spontane- dience to laugh and relieve the tension. Sometimes
ous. Humour can be included on any form of written it is as simple as saying “or not” or “you might have
material as well as websites. An advantage of adding noticed I was trying to be funny.”
humour to a course website is that you can provide Like everything else in our teaching, the effec-
options that students can select or not based on their tive inclusion of humour is a matter of ongoing at-
own personal preferences. tempts, reflections, and refinements. Ultimately we
hope that humour will enhance our relationships with
our students and enable their engagement and learn-
Cautionary Notes and Closing ing. Good teaching is hard to define. It may be best to
Suggestions express the elements of good teaching in metaphors
that invoke the imagination. Parker Palmer tells us that
The dictum, “when in doubt, leave it out” may be a good teaching is akin to weaving a fabric of connected-
helpful guideline for the use of humour. Some experts ness between student, teacher, and subject. The weav-
suggest the “AT&T Rule” proposing that all uses of ing cannot take place without a loom. The teacher is
humour should be appropriate, timely, and tasteful. the loom on which the fabric is woven. The loom itself
Whereas we can go too far to the point of sterility, we is a work in progress: to be available, teachers need “in-
want to do our best to avoid humour that will tend ner work.” Good teaching is not “the right move,” but
to alienate or create distance. rather it demands that I, as a teacher, question myself.
There are other specific concerns to be aware The search for mirth keeps me in the exploration.
 Evolving Toward Laughter in Learning 79

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