The Simple Connection Between Laughter and Learning
A look at five simple ways to connect laughter and learning in the classroom.
Why Connect Laughter and Learning?
I believe the connections will bring about greater awareness around the mental health of students in the classroom. Improving mental health may make learning easier.
Click to download my free mental health resource guide below to share with fellow teachers and students!
Let’s start with why laughter benefits learning.
Click below to watch my video on the benefits to laughter in the classroom and subscribe to my YouTube channel (TheETIAcademy) for more educational videos!
Building Retention In Learning Through Laughter
Laughter is one means of keeping us healthy both mentally and physically.
We know that when we care for our health, we can care for our goals in education as well.
When used effectively by teachers and students in the classroom, comedic timing can add value to the educational strategies used by teachers and students.
How Can Laughter Help With Learning?
Laughter can help build enthusiasm and confidence in having both teachers and students gain new appreciation for the educational goals they are working towards when they work together.
Our enthusiasm for teaching and learning grows when we are able to enjoy what we are teaching or learning, and so making laughter part of the daily activities in the classroom can benefit everyone!
In finding ways to connect with their students, teachers can share personal experiences that may bring comfort and laughter and learning to their students in the classroom!
When teachers provide students with a chance to show they can relate to how they (the students) feel about a particular situation, it in itself brings a smile to both teachers and students alike!
Comics Bring Laughter to Learning
I created my own comic to share with you personal situations that we can all relate to when reflecting on our time in the classroom.
Comedy can help make our time in the classroom fun and educational at the same time!
Five Benefits to Including Laughter in Education
I now share with teachers and students the five benefits (through my own comic gallery) to including a little laughter and learning in any classroom.
I. Connects Us Through Shared Experiences
How many of us have ever been in the situation where we simply forgot to do what we had to do?
Laughter helps learning when it allows for connections to happen through shared and relatable experiences. These connections can be to the teacher, or the material, or to both!
When teachers share their experiences with their students, it allows their students to feel a connection to a shared experience.
Rather than stress about a common mistake we have or could possibly make in the math classroom, why not just use a little comedy to help handle it!
II. Helps Us Improve Memory Skills
It’s a good thing when we can recognize that what we learn in school helps us in the real world.
Our memory skills are improved when we associate emotions to what we learn and remember.
When we include a little laughter and learning in our daily routine in school, we help to build and improve our memory skills.
Building our memory skills helps us to recall and respond to others.
These others may be trying to test our memory skills, but we can show them that we are on to their test, and can pass it with flying colors!
This is where the comedy lies!
III. Allows Us To Build Confidence In Ourselves
When we learn from past mistakes it helps to build confidence in our abilities. The confidence we build can help us to believe in ourselves.
When we use this belief to start to help others, we can enjoy a common goal. This common goal brings forth a connection that can bring laughter when mentioned at the right time!
Every teacher who has now learned the joy of online teaching can relate to our comic below pointing out how important it can be to have the right materials ready for class, not to mention the hope that their students can properly use their online educational tools!
Building confidence can do wonders for how teachers and students see themselves in the classroom.
How teachers and students see themselves is referred to identities.
Both students and teachers can used their identities to help overcome challenges to building their confidence.
IV. Encourages Us To Learn In New Ways
Learning doesn’t have to always take a serious approach. Certain unexpected situations make for great opportunities for “teachable” moments. These moments often involve humor.
Knowing when to use laughter to make a topic more interesting and engaging is a secret tool that teachers often use to make learning any topic more interesting.
Take, for example, our comic below that looks at improving your writing skills!
Visit my website EduKitchen — Recipes for Learning and see how the kitchen makes a great homeschooling classroom!
V. Builds Enthusiasm For Teaching and Learning
When we look at taking into consideration our first four benefits, we see that we are more connected to others in the classroom.
These shared experiences, and the belief in our own abilities help us to become better at communicating with others, and in building own our confidence with speaking.
Benefits to Classroom Management
Laughter in the classroom can bring out new and creative ways at approaching any topic in the classroom.
Of course it goes without saying that teachers should be the role models of proper behavior when it comes to creating comedic timing in the classroom and students need to be aware of how and when comedic timing is appropriate.
In building laughter into the classroom, the benefits to classroom management are that it creates a safe environment where both teachers and students can build long lasting relationships through: greater trust, confidence, and enthusiasm for both teaching and learning in the classroom.
Final Thoughts…
Take the time to include a little laughter in your classroom as teachers and you will find that you have students that turn into friends for life!
Visit the Edukitchen — Recipes for Learning website to see how laughter can be used in the homeschooling classroom!
And always remember to keep learning, and have fun!
Please note: I am the owner of The ETI Academy, and of the EduKitchen websites. The comics shown in this article are the property of Danya Khelfa.
If you enjoyed this article, please read my articles around emotions and learning in education.
