[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-598600-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":84,"doc-detail-598600-en":134},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":77,"head_meta":79,"extra_data":81,"updated_unix":83},105,"en","evolving-toward-laughter-in-learning","Evolving Toward Laughter in Learning","","Evolving Toward Laughter in Learning explores how humour and laughter support higher-education teaching by strengthening teacher–student connection and increasing student engagement. It summarizes research on learning benefits, including improved mental functioning, alertness and memory after laughter, better interpersonal responsiveness, and enhanced cooperative learning. The text also addresses humour’s effects on students’ perceptions, enjoyment, reduced anxiety, motivation, retention, and classroom management. It concludes with cautions and practical teaching strategies for using humour effectively.",{"@graph":14,"@context":76},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/evolving-toward-laughter-in-learning/598600/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/evolving-toward-laughter-in-learning/598600.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"awa","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":26},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68,72],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"How does humour strengthen learning in higher education?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"The essay states that humour builds teacher–student connection and engages students in the learning process, which is essential for learning, satisfaction, and retention.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"What research-based benefits does laughter and humour provide?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"It cites benefits such as improved mental functioning and brain hemispheric functioning, priming for alertness and memory, greater interpersonal responsiveness, reduced anxiety, better retention, and improved motivation.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"Why should teachers be cautious when using humour?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"The document notes that some forms of humour can hurt, create distance, and become counter-productive to teaching and learning, so positive humour should be sought.",{"name":73,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":74},"What teaching strategies does the essay propose for adding humour?",{"text":75,"@type":63},"It suggests classroom approaches such as reading aloud something comical or beginning class with an amusing overhead, and providing humour that does not depend on being funny.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":78,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":80,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":82,"site_id":7},598600,1792087233,{"code":4,"msg":85,"data":86},"success",[87,91,95,99,104,109,114,118,123,126,130],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":100,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":105,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},8,30,"research-report",{"id":119,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":121,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":125},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":127,"slug":129},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":131,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":132,"show_sort_weight":100,"slug":133},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":85,"data":135},{"doc_id":82,"user_id":136,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":137,"doc_module":4,"category_id":115,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":138,"file_id":139,"file_url":140,"file_type":141,"file_size":142,"view_count":26,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":100,"language":143,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":144,"faqs":145,"seo_title":146,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":83,"read_time":147},3985747858093,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","13  \nEvolving Toward Laughter in Learning  \nWilliam B. Strean  \nUniversity of Alberta  \nLowman (1995) described the relationship between teacher and student and student engagement as the two most important ingredients in learning in higher education. Humour builds teacherstudent connection (Berk, 1998) and engages students in the learning process. The bond between student and teacher is essential for learning, satisfaction, and retention. Humour helps students to learn better, remember more, improve problem-solving, absorb and retain information more quickly, and reduce their anxiety about subjects like math and science. Humour also reduces classroom management problems. This essay reviews research findings that support the use of humour in teaching and it provides strategies that teachers can use to bring more humour into their classrooms.  \nIntroduction  \nAs wande explolearnirengt,hi evolving schoremains clearlrhshatip of temotivaactihoinngal  \nand interpersonal aspects of students’ experiences are central to effectiveness. In fact, in his classic text on teaching mastery, Lowman (1995) identified the two most important ingredients of teaching to be teacher-student connection and student engagement. One powerful way both to enhance teacher-student relationships and to increase student engagement in learning experiences is to use humour in the learning environment.  \nThe purpose of this essay is to share ideas, perspectives, and benefits related to laughter and humour in learning. After exploring the context and  \nreasons for using humour, I will provide specific possibilities and examples of how to include humour in university classes.  \nIn addition to some of the apparent benefits of adding humour and laughter to learning experiences, most of us live in academic environments that would do well to increase their lightness. Perhaps Henry Kissinger said it best,“University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small.” When we learn to use humour in our classes, we may experience the pleasant side effect of building a more humourous perspective to counter our over-developed ability to take ourselves seriously.  \nSupport for Laughter and Humour in Learning  \nLaughter helps you learn?  \nThere are many general benefits of laughter including health (e.g., enhanced immune function, pain reduction, stress relief ) . With respect to pedagogical factors, laughter improves catecholamine levels, which increase mental functioning (Fry, 1984); and helps the functioning of both hemispheres ofthe brain (Derks, Bogart, Bartolome-Rull, & Gillikin, 1997; Goldstein, 1976; Svebak, 1982), which has a direct impact on learning; and inducing laughter prior to and during a topic primes students’ brains to increase alertness and memory. Following laughter, there is also greater interpersonal responsiveness in question and answer sessions and cooperative learning activities.  \nWhat about humour?  \nSimilarly, humour offers a variety of general benefits beyond what is found in the classroom. For example, humour has the ability to sell, convince, entertain, and communicate. There are potential financial benefits of developing one’s sense of humour as there appear to be both more job opportunities (applicants with a better sense of humour get more jobs) and promotions (those with jobs, other things being equal, tend to get more promotions when they are seen as having a sense of humour) . Furthermore, humour can enhance overall well-being as it changes one’s perspective away from stress. Henry Ward Beecher said,“A person without a sense of humour is like a wagon without springs – jolted by every pebble in the road.”  \nFor our focus here, what is essential is that humour builds the teacher-student connection (e.g., Berk, 1998), and this connection is essential for learning, satisfaction, and retention. As John Cleese put it,“If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas.” Humour engages studen","cbCaiaqtRbU9UdEq","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiaqtRbU9UdEq","pdf",437779,"English","# Introduction\n# Support for Laughter and Humour in Learning\n## Laughter helps you learn\n## What about humour?\n# Using Humour in the Classroom\n# Teaching Ideas for Humour in Your Classroom","[{\"question\":\"How does humour strengthen learning in higher education?\",\"answer\":\"The essay states that humour builds teacher–student connection and engages students in the learning process, which is essential for learning, satisfaction, and retention.\"},{\"question\":\"What research-based benefits does laughter and humour provide?\",\"answer\":\"It cites benefits such as improved mental functioning and brain hemispheric functioning, priming for alertness and memory, greater interpersonal responsiveness, reduced anxiety, better retention, and improved motivation.\"},{\"question\":\"Why should teachers be cautious when using humour?\",\"answer\":\"The document notes that some forms of humour can hurt, create distance, and become counter-productive to teaching and learning, so positive humour should be sought.\"},{\"question\":\"What teaching strategies does the essay propose for adding humour?\",\"answer\":\"It suggests classroom approaches such as reading aloud something comical or beginning class with an amusing overhead, and providing humour that does not depend on being funny.\"}]","Evolving Toward Laughter in Learning | PDF",13]