A Serious Laughter Revolution in Teaching
At high school and university, I always make an effort to use humour in teaching History, which unfortunately has a stigma of being a boring and useless 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 a serious discussion on the era of pirates and privateers, I would make a joke based on one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series. Such references have an immediate positive effect on the learning atmosphere of the classroom.
The majority of male students appreciate the connection with the historical past and their enjoyment of movies. Furthermore, approaching a difficult or presumably boring topic with a touch of humour has successfully persuaded the uninterested male student to make the extra effort to understand the topic or subject being discussed. Casual reference to a popular video on social media often does magic in transforming the mindset of that elusive male student who feels disconnected from the subject or topic being discussed.
“My classes have a gender imbalance with an average of 80% to 90% being females. This sometimes seems intimidating to the young men who opt to remain quiet in classes.”
Researchers such as Laura Ellingson in Pedagogy of Laughter: Using Humor to Make Teaching and Learning More Fun and Effective have discovered the importance of laughter, humour and wit in the classroom to strengthen the learning process. During the past two decades, I have realized that timely dosages of humour in History lectures and tutorials have significantly increased the teaching and learning processes. My classes have a gender imbalance with an average of 80% to 90% being females. This sometimes seems intimidating to the young men who opt to remain quiet in classes. Humour in conference presentations and seminars can be an ice-breaker that removes tension and encourages more verbal participation. Occasional jokes whilst teaching help create a unique public space that makes the male students more comfortable and creates a latent bond with other female students who are also laughing or enjoying the relaxed environment. On a few occasions the male students have taken the initiative and contributed to the humour.
I have witnessed incidents when laughter is contagious in a classroom. Often, a male student would laugh and then other men would realize it is okay to also express their feelings. It’s the ultimate ice-breaker! However, some male students remain stoic and in 2015, 2018 and 2019 I did a random sample (accompanied with a questionnaire) among the male students and the majority believed it was more macho to be laughing at coarse or sexist jokes.
“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.”
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 History has been stereotyped. Undoubtedly, when students are laughing, certain levels of stress, fear, aggression and rivalry would be neutralized or considerably reduced.
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. This relaxed environment also makes the teacher/professor feel more appreciated and more at ease. I have regularly witnessed this effect. An appropriate joke whilst teaching has the dual effect of keeping male students alert and notably increasing the overall retention capacity of my presentation. I deliberately do not have an attendance record of my classes but over the past two decades, male students have met me in the hallways and office and apologized 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 men in my classes but also reduced the perception of male underachievement at the tertiary level.
“…humour in the classroom can have a positive impact on content retention and enjoyment among students.”
Randall L. Garner, in his paper Humor in Pedagogy: How Ha-Ha Can Lead to Aha!, provides substantial evidence that using humour in the classroom can have a positive impact on content retention and enjoyment among students. I sometimes use simple techniques to evoke laughter from most of the class. These have 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 have sparked an interest for male students to read and research on these topics. And, both male and female students have also enjoyed viewing short clips of comedic films with historical themes such as Modern Times (with Charlie Chaplin) to depict the era of the Great Depression in the 1930s.
These anecdotes, audio clips and caricatures have limited value and proved entertaining, but there are possible repercussions. I am always mindful of the possible negative impact, and this includes that some students would want refer to these caricatures or my anecdotes in their examination answers. In the majority of instance, competent students would easily differentiate a joke from serious facts and analysis or they would soon realize that humourous answers are linked to low grades.
The lecturer should always remember that a comment that is funny could be sarcasm or offensive for some students. Humour within the lecture hall and classroom has to be carefully calibrated and there are certain boundaries that should not be crossed.
Self-deprecating humour might seem the safest form of humour, but it can also result in students losing respect for your position and role in the classroom. The teaching faculty should be wary that the misuse of humour can be offensive and misinterpreted as being racist or sexist. Once, whilst teaching the topic ‘Slavery in the United States’ I briefly mentioned a side-splitting skit from Chapelle’s Show featured on the Comedy Central cable station in the United States. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, I realized it was a risky attempt that could have backfired. Only two students had viewed that episode but most of the class smiled and understood the American comedian’s attempt to portray the colour line, discrimination and subordination that was part of the cruel slavery era in the nineteenth century United States. Also, political and religious jokes, are more difficult to use in a lecture and would not only be offensive but jeopardize my career and be an embarrassment to the university.
“Too much laughing will sabotage a good teaching session and be a distraction. Nobody expects every presentation to be a comedic routine!”
The teaching faculty should always remember that they were not hired to be a comedian or a clown. Furthermore, members of the teaching faculty must maintain a professional standard and not attempt to mimic a comedian who uses foul language or vulgar antics. Whenever the classroom becomes a circus or comedy club then it is disruptive and then effective teaching and learning is seriously undermined. Too much laughing will sabotage a good teaching session and be a distraction. Nobody expects every presentation to be a comedic routine!
The mindset of the teacher, lecturer or professor is important when incorporating humour in a lecture or presentation. For instance, a lecturer/professor who is under stress due to a heavy teaching workload or underpaid would view teaching as a burden and would dread the time spent in the classroom. He or she would be eager, as the students, for the class to end. My interaction with other lecturers/professors made me more acutely aware that those persons are unfairly treated by the university administration such as being denied promotion or received a bad evaluation from former students are reluctant to change their teaching mode and have an input of humour. Some teachers have used humour as a coping mechanism to survive in an unfriendly environment.
“Humour is an under-utilized antidote to reduce anxiety and depression which some students endure before or during examinations.”
One of the secrets of an interesting presentation/lecture is having controlled dosages of humour and knowing when they are required. At the university, the most important time would be the initial two weeks of each semester. There would be new faces in my class and these students were ‘visitors’ and usually accompanied their friends who had not been registered for my course. This would be a trial phase as these students would visit to determine if the reports and rumours from their friends and other graduate were exaggerated or true. If they are satisfied then they remain in the class for the rest of the semester, if I have not met their expectations, then they usually drop the course and move on to another lecturer.
Humour is an under-utilized antidote to reduce anxiety and depression which some students endure before or during examinations. The laughter revolution should neither be limited to the Humanities nor to the university, but is essential at all levels of teaching. Teachers need to realize that humour is an alternative paradigm that can be integrated into teaching and become an effective teaching tool that would serve to transcend the gender gap, and also as a medium for retention and learning to occur in and outside of the classroom.
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Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only and is not a substitute for therapy, legal advice, or other professional opinion. Never disregard such advice because of this article or anything else you have read from the Centre for Male Psychology. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of, or are endorsed by, The Centre for Male Psychology, and we cannot be held responsible for these views. Read our full disclaimer here.
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