Finding Humor
"Students reference their teacher’s guidance in organization, study habits, character traits and values (like persistence, striving for accuracy, etc.). They have internalized these traits beyond just talking about them which has led to personal growth on the part of the student." (Johns Hopkins, n.d.).
Table of Contents
Introduction
Another important habit that can improve our mood and outlook on life and different situations is Finding Humor. As Costa and Kallick (2000) state, "Laughter transcends all human beings. Its positive effects on psychological functions include a drop in the pulse rate, the secretion of endorphins, an increased oxygen in the blood. It has been found to liberate creativity and provoke such higher level thinking skills as anticipation, finding novel relationships, visual imagery, and making analogies" (p. 11). While many of my students (and colleagues) have a sense of humor, there are many people in our school (teachers and students) that regularly complain about everything that happens throughout the day. This can lead to others around getting annoyed, stressed, etc. at the person. It can also lead others to complain. In my classroom, I try to maintain a positive environment where students enjoy coming to class and feel comfortable joking and being themselves. It can not only lead to students enjoying my class, but also it can lead to students being more willing to take risks and push themselves in class.
Student Habits of Mind Sample
Self-Assessment
Once we addressed the habit, what it entailed, and why it was important, we looked at the students' own use of it. We looked at their answers on the self-assessment under Finding Humor. The statements under the habit were: "I can see the funny side of things don't go as planned. I can laugh at myself; I enjoy a good laugh in relationships and at work; and I don't laugh at others (at someone else's expense); I laugh with them." The choices that students had were to check Most of the time, Frequently, Sometimes or Not yet when thinking about their own sense of humor. Most students marked at least one of the options with Most of the time or Frequently. Some students varied at being able to laugh at oneself, seeing the funny side in things and not laughing at someone else's expense. Laughing can "activate and relieve your stress response; soothe tension; increase personal satisfaction; and improve your mood" (Mayo Clinic, 2019). This habit is a strength for many of my students, so I was not surprised to see many students put it high on their list. Some of the students that marked it lower on their list were not surprising as there is still quite a bit of negativity in my classes. Positivity can also make activities more interesting and students more willing to participate in class. We further discussed the results and related them to class, and the students saw how finding humor and being positive can lighten the mood in class and make it more enjoyable for everyone. We talked about daily life and how this habit can make daily life more enjoyable, as well. Below are four examples of student responses.
Student Self-Assessment Responses
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Applying the Habit
After initially teaching this habit, the students completed an activity in pairs. They had a list of tongue twisters and took turns with their partners trying to say them. The goal was for the students to participate in a silly activity that brought out laughter. Here are the tongue twisters:
Activity Prompt
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The students then answered a few questions regarding the experience with the tongue twisters. The questions asked how students felt reading out the tongue twisters, and many students mentioned that they felt a little silly. They talked about the differences between negative and positive humor, with which the students talked about how negative humor can be at the expense of others' feelings. We then talked about times that we laughed at ourselves and why it is important to be able to do so. The students mentioned that humor can help alleviate stress and calm down stressful environments. It can also help with relationships and trust. If you are a positive person and can laugh at yourself, you are more-likely to be able to get along with others. The student below agreed with this, talking about a time she fell while walking up the stairs. She wrote about how finding humor can help reduce stress. High school can be very stressful, and it is healthy to find ways to reduce the stress.
Student Sample #1
Student Sample
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Reflection
At the end of the lesson, I had students reflect on their experiences. We talked about how we can use this habit inside and outside of school, as well as in the future. The students talked about how they can come to class with a positive mindset and be open-minded to the material and peers around them. This can lead to better learning outcomes, both in Spanish and in other classes. In my classes, I notice that my more-positive classes are more willing to participate in class, and thus have better learning outcomes. As far as outside of school goes, the students mentioned how having a sense of humor and a positive demeanor, it will be easier to make connections with others, which can lead to further happiness.
Student Reflection Questions
The student below mentioned how she could spend more time on her devices (both in school and at home) and interact with her peers and family members. This is a problem that I see happening throughout the school. Many students have earbuds in and stay plugged into their devices throughout the day, often missing out on their education and interactions with others.
Student Reflection Sample
Further Reinforcement
Since teaching students about Finding Humor, my students continue to joke and laugh in my class. I also try to make class more lighthearted, with silly story and video lessons, as well as joking with the students (in a positive manner). At the beginning of each week, I have the students share out about their weekends. This builds class culture, where the students feel more comfortable. As my students feel more comfortable to take risks and find humor in their experiences in my classroom, I can push my students to work harder and boost their fluency and learner outcomes. I want students to become life-long learners of Spanish, and a big part of that is when students look back on their Spanish classes, I want them to remember a fun class and subject. Below is a PowerPoint from one of my video lessons. My classes and I watched an episode of Extra — a funny Spanish show that the students enjoyed and laughed throughout. I regularly stopped the show to ask comprehension questions in Spanish to ensure that the students understood the video. This is an example of how I have made classes productive but also funny and entertaining for my students.
PowerPoint Slides for the show Extra.
More Examples
Below the students participate in a restaurant role play, where one student played a server, while the rest of the students were customers. It required students to go beyond their comfort zones, and many laughed throughout. It led students to be more-willing to take chances and make mistakes in Spanish and learn.
The students laugh and joke during restaurant role play.
References:
ACTFL. (n.d.). USE OF TARGET LANGUAGE IN LANGUAGE LEARNING. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://www.actfl.org/guiding-principles/use-target-language-language-learning.
Costa, A. L., & Kallick, B. (2000). Describing 16 habits of mind. Retrieved from http://www.habitsofmind.org/sites/default/files/16HOM2.pdf
Mayo Clinic. (2019, April 5). Stress relief from laughter? It's no joke. Retrieved March 30, 2020, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456