Humor has an essential educational and developmental value. Therefore, its use in educational settings is significant. If the teacher has a sense of humor and can apply it in practice, it becomes a serious didactic means of learning and education. The usage of jokes and memes in college lectures and presentations can help build a positive atmosphere during the class, motivate students, and reduce stress.
Yet, a joke or a sarcastic remark “work” only when they are aimed at the main thing: to attract attention. It is easier for some teachers to use humor in their work. For others, it is more challenging. However, anyone can learn to use humor professionally while working with students.
The Psychology of Humor in Learning
Mary Morrison, a former president of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, says that humor is a true “agent of change.” It reduces the level of stress and creates an atmosphere of trust. Nine scientific studies confirm a positive relationship between the use of humor and trust in the teacher. Humor attracts and keeps students’ attention because unexpected humor activates the area of the brain responsible for attention more than other types of classroom activities. It improves the speed and duration of memorizing material and improves thinking speed.
Benefits of Using Jokes and Memes
Psychologists state that humor contributes to learning through the emotional sphere. It stimulates cognitive processes responsible for remembering information. Jokes and memes also enhance student engagement and attention during classes. Thanks to friendlier atmosphere development, laughter fosters a positive classroom culture and improves student-instructor relationships. As a result, it productively influences the level of knowledge and the achievement of high academic results.
Humor helps students get rid of anxiety and worries about their academic success. This is especially true when it comes to home assignments and essay writing. Not all students are aware of how to write an essay, which shines. If so, even the professor’s jokes cannot help. A great option in this case is to ask for some assistance. The easiest way to do this is to type the do my English homework query on the net. A lot of professional writers can provide online help quickly and professionally. They can prepare the best quality paper to make students feel confident and relaxed.
Potential Challenges
Each instructor should remember about balance while using humor. Too many jokes might distract students from learning materials. The teacher should reach parity between academic seriousness and light non-subject-related conversations with students. One more dare is to avoid offensive jokes and memes. It is especially crucial in multi-diverse classes with students of different genders, nationalities, and religions. There is also a risk of misinterpretation. So, before trying to make students laugh, it is necessary to think of identifying and overcoming all pitfalls.
Best Practices for Incorporating Humor
There are several ways to embody jokes and memes in educational content. Teachers can use jokes or stories prepared in advance, and that are related to the lecture topic. They can use spontaneous purposeful conversational humor. This kind of humor can be related not to the topic. It is utilized for the emotional discharge of the audience. Besides, instructors can try to be self-ironic. For instance, during language classes, instructors can rarely demonstrate cases of incorrect spelling, wrong pronunciation, or “spoonery.” Their mistakes or stumbles can show students that professors are not soulless robots.
Case Studies
One of the great examples of instructors who use humor in his teaching is college professor PJ Larsen. He likes making jokes about himself during the Math classes he runs. His favorite thing is to joke about his “age issues” when he forgets something. He also wears blizzard items of clothes like bright mismatched socks to make his students laugh and make funny stories about him.
Student Perspectives
Researchers from Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania surveyed humor in the classroom. According to it, students state that good humor makes the lecture more enjoyable and alleviates monotony. They feel calmer during courses when the teacher is humorous. They also underline that a hilarious instructor is more appealing than a non-humorous teacher.
Conclusion
Humor is indeed an effective means of improving the educational process in college. It is crucial because the goal of modern education is not only the transfer of knowledge. Jokes and memos allow instructors to get out of difficult situations with dignity, avoid conflicts, and discuss contradictions. Laughter democratizes educational communication.
Students gravitate to more open-minded professors who aren't afraid to be funny in certain circumstances. Such an image of a self-confident teacher attracts not only students but also anyone in the framework of communication.