Creating Student Engagement? HMM: Teaching and Learning with Humor, Music, and Movement

William B Strean

.

DOI: 10.4236/ce.2011.23026                

Abstract

With growing concerns about student engagement, the theme of creative teaching and learning provides an excellent catalyst to consider methods that enhance students’ classroom experiences. Good teaching is akin to weaving a fabric of connectedness between student, teacher, and subject (Palmer, 2007). Teacher-student connection and student engagement are the two most important ingredients in teaching (Lowman, 1995). This paper explores three effective methods of weaving the fabric and engaging students in higher education. Examples of how to use humor, music, and movement to deepen learning while adding energy, engagement, and interaction are offered. A review of research supporting the methods explored in this paper is included.

Keywords

Student Engagement, Humor, Music, Movement

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Axelson, R. D., & Flick, A. (2011). Defining student engagement. Change, 43, 38-43. doi:10.1080/00091383.2011.533096
[2]	Barkley, E. F. (2010). Student engagement techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
[3]	Baumgartner, J. C., & Morris, J. S. (2008). Jon Stewart comes to class: The learning effects of America (The Book) in Introduction to American Government Courses. Journal of Political Science Education, 4, 169-186. doi:10.1080/15512160801998015
[4]	Berk, R. (1998). Professors are from mars, students are from snickers: How to write and deliver humor in the classroom and in professional presentations. Madison, WI: Magna Publications.
[5]	Bryant, J., & Zillman, D. (1989). Using humor to promote learning in the classroom. In P. E. McGhee (Ed.), Humor and children’s development: A guide to practical applications (pp. 49-78). New York: Haworth Press.
[6]	Bligh, D. A. (2000). What’s the use of lectures? San Francisco: Jossey- Bass.
[7]	Damasio, A. R. (1994). Descartes’ error: Emotion, reason and the human brain. New York: Grosset/Putnam.
[8]	Dunlap, J. C., & Lowenthal, P. R. (2010). Hot for teacher: Using digital music to enhance students’ experience in online courses. TechTrends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning, 54, 58-73.
[9]	Gibbs, G. (1992). Discussion with more students: Book 3 of the teaching more students project. Oxford: Polytechnics & Colleges Funding Council.
[10]	Gilbert, A. G. (2006). Brain compatible dance education. Reston, VA: National Dance Association.
[11]	Heshusius, L., & Ballard, K. (Eds.) (1996). From positivism to interpretivism and beyond: Tales of transformation in educational and social research (the mind-body connection). New York: Teachers College Press.
[12]	Johnson, D. (1983). Body. Boston: Beacon Press.
[13]	Krumhansl, C. L. (1997). An exploratory study of musical emotions and psychophysiology. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 51, 336-352. doi:10.1037/1196-1961.51.4.336
[14]	Kaufeldt, M. (2010). Begin with the brain: Orchestrating the learner- centered classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin
[15]	Lengel, T., & Kuczala, M. (Eds.) (2010). The kinesthetic classroom: Teaching and learning through movement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
[16]	Lowman, J. (1995). Mastering the techniques of teaching (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
[17]	McKeachie, W. J., & Svinicki, M. (2006). McKeachie’s teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers (12th ed.). Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
[18]	Menon, V., & Levitin, D. J. (2005). The rewards of music listening: Response and physiological connectivity of the mesolimbic system. NeuroImage, 28, 175-184. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.05.053
[19]	Neumann, D. L., Hood, M., & Neumann, M. M. (2009). Statistics? You must be joking: The application and evaluation of humor when teaching statistics. Journal of Statistics Education, 17, 16 pages
[20]	Opplinger, P. A. (2003). Humor and learning. In J. Bryant, D. Roskos- Ewoldsen, & J. R. Cantor (Eds.), Communication and emotion: Essays in honor of Dolf Zillman (pp. 255-273). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
[21]	Palmer, (2007). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of the teacher's life (10th anniversary ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
[22]	Rickard, N. S. (2004) Intense emotional responses to music: A test of the physiological arousal hypothesis. Psychology of Music, 32, 371-38. doi:10.1177/0305735604046096
[23]	Salimpoor, V. N., Benovoy, M., Larcher, K., Dagher, A., & Zatorre, R. J. (2011). Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music. Nature Neuroscience, 14, 257-262. doi:10.1038/nn.2726
[24]	Schmidt, S. R. (2002). The humor effect: Differential processing and privileged retrieval. Memory, 10, 127-138. doi:10.1080/09658210143000263
[25]	Strean, W. B. (2008). Evolving toward laughter in learning. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 1, 165-171.
[26]	Strean, W. B. (2010). Moving (literally) to engage students: Putting the (physically) active in active learning. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 3, 33-37.
[27]	Strean W. B., & Strozzi-Heckler, R. (2009). (The) Body (of) Knowledge: Somatic contributions to sport psychology. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 21, 91-98. doi:10.1080/10413200802575726
[28]	Strozzi Heckler, R. (1993). The anatomy of change. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic.
[29]	Strozzi-Heckler, R. (2003). Being human at work: Bringing somatic intelligence into your professional life. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
[30]	Strozzi-Heckler, R. (2007). Leadership dojo. In P. Holman, T. Devane, & S. Cady (Eds.), The changehandbook (2nd ed., pp. 239-243). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
[31]	Wanzer, M. B., & Frymier, A. B. (1999). The relationship between student perceptions of instructor humor and students’ reports of learning. Communication Education, 48, 48-62. doi:10.1080/03634529909379152
[32]	Young, M. S., Robinson, S., & Alberts, P. (2009). Students pay attention! Combating the vigi- lance decrement to improve learning during lectures. Active Learning in Higher Education, 10, 41-55. doi:10.1177/1469787408100194