Alyssa Taylor, former Psychology teaching assistant
What do you get when you cross a teacher with an elephant?
~ A teacher you can never forget.
When it comes to maintaining a sense of control and focus in the classroom, it has always come down to the long-standing rivalry between the teachers and the infamous “class clown.” Recently, however, what used to be every teacher’s worst nightmare has made its way into the classroom as a tool that can actually help instructors or teaching assistants motivate students on topics that may otherwise be beyond a student’s reach. Using humour in these situations has been found to relieve stress, improve student attention and enhance learning.
Think back to some of your favourite instructors: what made them remarkable? Were they funny? Teachers who value wit within the classroom are seen as more interesting and authentic, as opposed to those who keep levity out of their lessons. Humour can even help to foster the student-teacher relationship, which in turn creates a positive and welcoming classroom environment. When meeting with a new group of students, a well-placed joke or quip can go a long way towards setting the tone for the rest of the term. The best thing about the use of humour in the classroom is that even if your joke bombs, it still accomplishes the goal of appearing light-hearted – as long as you can laugh at yourself! Self-deprecating humour can be effective in demonstrating that the instructor or TA is fun and approachable.
It is important to remember that while humour in the classroom can be a helpful pedagogical tool, finding your own balance takes practice in order to gauge what works best. Try and avoid a constant stream of jokes in order to maintain the integrity of your message, as too much humour can minimize the impact of the lesson you are trying to teach. In addition, some jokes have no place in the classroom. For instance, humour that is ridiculing or “over-the-top” can be distracting, unnecessary, or even offensive.
If you’re thinking of implementing humour in your classroom, consider what is effective or ineffective before you try:
Effective Uses of Humour
• Introductions that include humour act as an ice-breaker and set the tone of the classroom.
• Discipline-specific anecdotes, jokes, word-play, etc. can be used to explain challenging content.
• Occasional self-deprecating humour can help the instructor appear more approachable, personable, and authentic.
• Humour can help to deal with student-resistance or challenging students.
• It can relax students during stressful times of the semester.
Ineffective Uses of Humour
• Using humour that is unrelated to the course-content can distract and confuse student learning. Humour is not a substitute for traditional instruction.
• Targeting selected groups (e.g., race, gender, sexual-orientation) or sensitive topics (e.g., evolution, mental illness, sex) breeds an unsafe learning environment.
• Students should never be selected as the target of the joke. You run the risk of alienating or offending your audience.
Effective higher learning utilizes a variety of techniques, and if you are comfortable injecting a bit of humour into your teaching style, this could be your opportunity to bring some laughter into the classroom. Have fun!