How Can You Use Laughter to Learn?

Nicole Armstrong, Ed.D., School of Business

Adding laughter by using humor in the classroom helps students pay attention to the content being presented. Positive connections between parents' and teachers' use of humor and academic achievement even follow students into college and beyond.

I am not a comedian. I am an educator. But if all it takes adding a few humorous ideals to your lecture, what could it hurt. My students either laugh at me or with me, and I'd rather them have a laugh it will help them feel comfortable, make me seem more human/approachable, and last but more importantly understand and grasp the lesson I am trying to communicate.

This session will give you a few suggestions on how to add humor to your lecture. It will also allow you to see the benefits of humor as well as make a connection to your students. A day without laughter is a day wasted (Charlie Chaplin). So let's laugh and learn.