Five simple ways to use humour in the classroom to increase learning and lower stress

Laughology

When facing increased stress levels at school, both pupils and teachers can benefit from using humour in the classroom. But what does it really look like, and how can you implement it without losing control and chaos descending? Stephanie Davies has some advice and activities to help you.

Let’s face it, controlling a class of unruly children can sometimes feel like herding cats. Add to this all the other challenges that teachers and educators contend with on a day-to-day basis, and it’s easy to understand why stress levels amongst teachers and educators are reportedly at their highest levels, according to the British Science Association.

Cattle prods and canes are thankfully not allowed in the classroom, and so in our more enlightened times, teachers look for more creative ways to deal with stress and unruly classes. I’m a bit of an expert in this because I’ve been on both sides of the debate.

As a pupil, I spent a lot of time as the class clown, so I’m fully aware of the disruption that jokers can cause (sorry, Mr Haywood). In fairness, I was practising for what became my career. However, I’ve also worked with teachers and schools, and I know for a fact that humour is one tool that can help. Introducing humour into an already unruly class may feel like unleashing a box of frogs, but it can have surprisingly positive effects.

Importantly, fun should be introduced into the classrooms in a planned and structured way. If done properly, it can lighten the load for everyone by creating a sense of togetherness and control.

Laughter helps learning stick and builds connections

Laughing with students can make everyone feel more connected, and research shows a positive relationship with the teacher creates a more positive learning environment.

Laughter helps learning stick too. It triggers the release of endorphins in the brain, which are natural chemicals that can help improve mood and reduce stress. When students are relaxed, they are more likely to be engaged and receptive to the material being taught.

Furthermore, when students are engaged and interested in what they are learning, they are more likely to remember it. Finding something funny in the content instantly makes it more memorable and helps students form stronger connections with the material.

Our Laughology method hacks this neurological process by embedding laughter and humour in the learning we deliver, thereby ensuring our learning sticks in happy brains, like neural Post-it notes.

In one study, researchers found that students exposed to humorous material during a lecture had better recall of the material than students who heard no humour. Stress, however, has an adverse effect, impacting memory and our ability to remember and recall, and whilst not all stress is bad, research tells us bouts of it affect learning.

Ways to introduce humour

Introducing humour is simple. You don’t have to recreate David Brent’s dance routines from the office while teaching biology. The important thing is to create an environment where students can create the humour themselves. That’s where the magic happens. Fun in the classroom can help students develop social skills and build relationships with their peers.

So, how do we inject some fun into the classroom? It can be as simple as bringing characters to life; you can do this with anything from real characters from history to making up stories. Props or costumes could be introduced to make a lesson more engaging. Set playful questions.

In a lesson about the properties of shapes, you could ask, ‘Which shapes would go on holiday together, where would they go, and why?’ Or you could incorporate music or videos into your teaching. The possibilities are endless, and it doesn't have to take much time or effort.

Be mindful of boundaries and appropriate behaviour, though. Exploring humour rules for the classroom has benefits for social skills and could be part of how you introduce using humour together.

Five examples of activities that create laughter when learning

Improv games

Improvisational games can be a fun way to encourage students to think creatively and quickly while practising skills like collaboration, problem-solving, and communication. You can also link the activities to revision.

For example, introduce a game called Fishbowl to revise specific topics of characters. Invite students to write as many sayings/statements/facts about a topic as possible on Post-it notes or pieces of paper. Then, put them all into a fishbowl or other receptacle.

Ask the class for some context around the topic. For example, if the revision is about volcanoes, ask them for a famous person, a place in the world and a household object. Write these three things on the board, and in groups or individually, they must pick up to four notes from the fishbowl and come up with a story that includes the things on the notes, building it and linking it to volcanoes or other topics.

Impact: These games can help students feel more comfortable taking risks and making mistakes, which can lead to a more positive and engaging learning experience.

Silly voices and style

As an educator, using funny or exaggerated voices can be a great way to grab students' attention and inject humour into a lesson. Whether reading a story or explaining a concept, using different voices can be a fun way to get students laughing.

Even better still, ask students to impersonate characters from history or imagine what holidays they would take and why or what pets they would have and why.

Impact: Using silly voices can help make a lesson more engaging and memorable, enabling students to retain information better. By thinking about their style, they’ll start to explore different facts about the characters.

Who would win?

This can be between characters, countries, fruits, shapes etc. Just saying who would win is enough to get the brain thinking. You don’t need to stipulate the boundaries. If they ask in what context, ask a question back as to what you would like the context to be.

Impact: This fun way of thinking about the strengths and weaknesses of characters and topics can help make a lesson more relatable and accessible, allowing students to feel more confident and engaged with the material.

Break the rules

Write sentences with deliberately bad spelling and grammar, then discuss why it’s wrong.

Impact: This encourages people to have a go without the fear of making mistakes, and then they can explore in groups what others do to correct it. This is a safe way of learning in peer groups and can be used with many things.

Mixing ideas

Mixing unusual things such as Henry VIII’s Tinder profile or a country you’re studying, and which Kardashian would go there and why?

Impact: Using topical and current ideas, blended with traditional learning, makes the subject more relevant to students. Therefore, the brain is more likely to remember the information. Memory works by connecting information to the knowledge we already have, so by doing this in a fun way, we create strong connections for learning. And it’s fun and creative.

Incorporating humour and laughter into the classroom can positively impact students' engagement, retention of information, and overall enjoyment of the learning experience.

To find out more about how you might do this and to book an inset day with one of our expert team, get in touch with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Stephanie Davies is a motivational speaker and one of the UK’s leading voices in happiness and engagement in organisations. She also happens to be Happy-Centred School’s Founder, CEO and Head of Happiness too. Lucky for us, she’s also still a bit of a class clown in our team meetings, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.