Teaching has become one of my greatest passions. I love the feeling when you explain a concept to a student and that light bulb in their head finally goes off. The shear look of pride and competence on their face is worth more than the eight dollars an hour I get for the tutoring session. I honestly would do the job regardless if I were paid or not. Through countless hours of tutoring training, I have learned one key aspect to tutoring and essentially, to teaching and that is laughter. I believe that laughter is key to a successful tutoring session and that it overall aides the student's learning.
According to the article "How Laughing Leads to Learning" from the American Psychological Association, "a growing body of research suggests that, when used effectively, classroom comedy can improve student performance by reducing anxiety, boosting participation and increasing students' motivation to focus on the material" (source). Laughing, essentially is a great means to ameliorate the anxiety that some students have regarding subjects that they feel they are not as strong in. Also, interjecting lectures with jokes makes a lecture one in which students can relate to and thus recall easily.
There is an implication, however, when it comes to using laughter in the classroom. Jokes that are inappropriate and are interjected too often distract students from the actual message and may have a detrimental effect on the student's learning process. Experts state that the best way to combat this issue is to put learning first and add contextual jokes later instead of the opposite way.
I firmly believe that laughter is key to the success of a student. Laughing is healthy. It releases the "feel good" hormones, which can have dramatic effects on the mood of an individual. A student who has a positive outlook on a course may not have the debilitating anxiety other students may have, and thus do better in the course.
How Laughing Leads to Learning
According to the article "How Laughing Leads to Learning" from the American Psychological Association, "a growing body of research suggests that, when used effectively, classroom comedy can improve student performance by reducing anxiety, boosting participation and increasing students' motivation to focus on the material" (source). Laughing, essentially is a great means to ameliorate the anxiety that some students have regarding subjects that they feel they are not as strong in. Also, interjecting lectures with jokes makes a lecture one in which students can relate to and thus recall easily.
There is an implication, however, when it comes to using laughter in the classroom. Jokes that are inappropriate and are interjected too often distract students from the actual message and may have a detrimental effect on the student's learning process. Experts state that the best way to combat this issue is to put learning first and add contextual jokes later instead of the opposite way.
I firmly believe that laughter is key to the success of a student. Laughing is healthy. It releases the "feel good" hormones, which can have dramatic effects on the mood of an individual. A student who has a positive outlook on a course may not have the debilitating anxiety other students may have, and thus do better in the course.
How Laughing Leads to Learning
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