Laughing leads to learning - Essay Example

Humor As A Teaching Tool The use of humor can be an effective way for teachers to get their more interested in the being taught. Inhis article for the American Pschological Association, (“How laughing leads to learning,” Stambor, Zac, Monitor Staff June 2006, Vol 37, No. 6.) Zac Stambor says that by lightening the mood in the classroom with humor, teachers have been able to pique the interest of their students and makes it easier for them to understand and focus on complex subject material.

Stamor describes the way in which classroom humor is best utilized by quoting Houston State University psychologist Randy Garner, who says that students “want appropriate humor that is relevant, lightens the mood and makes the information memorable.” ! Stambor makes a strong case for humor by quoting Johns Hopkins professor Ron Berk as saying that the use of comedy in the classroom “helps relieve fear and reduce anxiety." He also quotes Berk as saying that humor can relieve both the physical and psychological stress that students may feel from the pressure of succeeding in the classroom.

Stambor also says that there is “a growing body of research” that humor can result in “boosting participation and increasing students' motivation to focus on the material.” ! While comedy can be helpful, Stamor also makes the important point that there are ways of using humor which are not useful. He says that researcher Melissa Bekelja Wanzer of Canisius College believes that “instructors who use distracting or inappropriate humor can actually interfere with students' learning.” Stamor quotes another scholar, Jennings Bryant from Alabama University, who says that “humor can be overdone to the point that students are so busy awaiting the next gag that they miss the teacher's message.

” Referemces How laughing leads to learning, By Stambor, Zac, Monitor Staff June 2006, Vol 37, No. 6. Print version: page 62