Robert on laughter:
Humor and laughter are amazing supports for learning. Here are some research-based comments about that.
An article from the American Psychological Association points out that “Laughter Aids Learning.” http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun06/learning.aspx
Susan Weinschenk, PhD in Behavioral Science, writes:
“There are many research studies that show that when children laugh, it enhances their attention, motivation, perception, memory, and learning.
“The children [as part of a research study] in the group who did a task in a way that made them laugh learned the target actions more than those in the control group who were not laughing during the learning period. Esseily [the researcher] hypothesizes that laughter may help with learning because dopamine released while laughing enhances learning. Other research points to the idea that it works on adults too!”
http://www.blog.theteamw.com/2016/01/26/the-next-100-things-you-need-to-know-about-people-107-laughter-helps-us-learn/
[Note: The hypothesis is about the mechanism (release of dopamine), not the effect on learning. This is more support for Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis.]
Weinschenk is quoted in an article in Inc.
http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/the-secret-ingredient-for-faster-learning-laughter.html
An article in The Guardian (UK) ends with the following statements:
“Although it has the potential to be used unwisely, experienced language teachers see laughter as a positive force in their classrooms. They regard whole-class laughter as a welcome behaviour and cultivate it. For teachers, regular small bursts of laughter are a vital and reassuring sign that their class is functioning cohesively and responsively.
“Experienced language teachers know that good teaching involves far more than technical proficiency: it involves encouraging each class to function as collectively as possible. Judicious use of humour is a great way to encourage classes to develop into friendly, lively, mutually supportive social groups.”
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2007/dec/05/tefl2
An article on Edutopia notes that laughter and humor give a boost to learning.
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/laughter-learning-humor-boosts-retention-sarah-henderson
ERIC (Education Resources Information Center – an arm of the US Department of Education) provides the full text of a book by Claudia E. Cornett, Learning Through Laughter: Humor in the Classroom. She lists 13 benefits of laughter in the classroom:
1. It attracts attention and provokes thought
2. It liberates creative capacities
3. It helps gain friends
4. It improves communication
5. It smooths difficult moments
6. It can stimulate intercultural study
7. It promotes health
8. It develops a positive attitude and self-image
9. It motivates and energizes
10. It solves problems
11. It increases quality and quantity of students’ reading
12. It reinforces desired behaviors
13. It has entertainment value
https://archive.org/stream/ERIC_ED276028/ERIC_ED276028_djvu.txt
What about the kind of teachers who advocate not smiling until Christmas? The research indicates that less learning will take place in this kind of classroom than in a classroom marked by joy and laughter.
“Beware of him who hates the laugh of a child” – Henry Ward Beecher
Robert concludes:
Our special ed teachers and assistant principals often direct students to my classes because they know that they will find both acceptance and success there. I have a student in my beginning German class who is a senior and for the first time in mainstreamed classes rather than the self-contained classes for special ed. When he first came into class at the beginning of the year, he was withdrawn – even a little bit sullen – but now he smiles and laughs, and leans forward with interest in the class. How many of our disapproving colleagues would write this student off as “unable to learn a foreign language”?
The Problem with CI
Jeffrey Sachs was asked what the difference between people in Norway and in the U.S. was. He responded that people in Norway are happy and
