Laughing students
Written by Newsday on January 16, 2025
Jerome Teelucksingh
IN MARCH 2022, when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock, an American comedian, at the Oscars, it seemed as if humour had crossed a boundary. Undoubtedly, humour remains a powerful medium in healing, communication, teaching, and defusing tension. And we all know the value of humour as an antidote for a stressful and tense work environment.
I always make an effort to use humour in teaching history, which unfortunately is viewed as a boring subject. Usually, my classes begin with a funny anecdote or I link the discussion to a popular film or recent local event.
For instance, prior to discussing the theory of the Bering Strait and early migration of peoples to North America, I would mention a scene from the popular movie Ice Age.
Likewise, prior to a serious discussion on the era of pirates and privateers, I would make a joke based on one of the sequels of the well-known movie Pirates of the Caribbean. Such references have an immediate positive effect on the learning atmosphere of the classroom.
Most of the students appreciate the connection with the historical past and popular television shows or movies. Furthermore, approaching a difficult or presumably bland topic with a touch of humour could persuade the student to make the extra effort to understand the topic or subject being discussed.
The magic of humour is in transforming the mindset of students who feel disconnected from the subject or class.
During the past two decades, I have realised that timely doses of humour in lectures and tutorials have significantly increased the teaching and learning processes.
Humour in conference presentations and seminars have also proven to be the ultimate ice-breaker that defused tension and encouraged more verbal participation. On a few occasions the students have taken the initiative and contributed to the humour.
Additionally, occasional jokes while teaching tend to create a public space that makes the student more comfortable and creates a latent bond with other students who are also laughing or enjoying the relaxed environment. Researchers have discovered the importance of laughter, humour and wit in the classroom to strengthen the learning process.
I have witnessed incidents when laughter is contagious in a classroom. Often, a few students would laugh and then others would realise it is okay to also express their feelings.
What are the benefits of laughing during a lecture or tutorial? It helps defuse some of the negative energy and rebuild the environment in which a subject has been stereotyped as boring or bland. Undoubtedly, when students are laughing, certain levels of stress, aggression and rivalry would be neutralised or considerably reduced.
This relaxed environment also makes the teacher feel more appreciated and more at ease. I have regularly witnessed this effect. An appropriate joke while teaching has the dual effect of keeping students alert and notably increasing the retention capacity of my presentation.
More importantly, humour within the classroom has been effective in reaching those students with mild attention disorders and also as an incentive for the delinquent ones to be punctual and attend classes.
I do not have an attendance record of my classes but over the past two decades, students have met me in the hallways and office and apologised for missing a class. Those who were absent feel a sense of loss of not being part of the laughter of the missed class. This sense of loss has positively impacted on the attendance of my classes.
Simple techniques are used to evoke laughter from the class. These included antics and facial features that mimic the British comic Mr Bean. Also, giving an anecdote such as explaining why a popular cartoon character would be able to survive the voyage with Christopher Columbus to the New World in 1492.
A few times, I displayed caricatures, from newspapers, of former European dictators and this has generated laughs from students and encouraged them to read on these topics. Students have also enjoyed viewing short clips of comedic films with historical themes such as Modern Times (with Charlie Chaplin) that depict the Great Depression era of the 1930s.
During the past two years, the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at UWI, St Augustine has held the Laugh Out Loud: Nurturing Faculty Wellness Through Arts and Comedy. This Laugh Out Loud (LOL) event has unearthed the comedic and creative talents among the staff.
Maybe institutions and companies need to implement similar programmes to create happier employees. Amidst the negativity and chaos, we certainly need more laughter and humour in our lives.
The post Laughing students appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.