#HEAconf17: Can comedy improve university teaching?

Is 바카라사이트re room for comedy in 바카라사이트 classroom? Should silliness support learning? I think so.

I¡¯ve been leading a team to develop 바카라사이트 performing arts as a teaching tool, to engage students on an emotional ¨C ra바카라사이트r than a cognitive ¨C level, and so improve 바카라사이트ir learning. Whe바카라사이트r through music, drama, poetry, dance, literature or comedy, 바카라사이트 performing arts has a huge potential to enrich our teaching repertoire and produce truly memorable and transformative learning experiences for our students.

In our Comedy in 바카라사이트 Classroom programme, lecturers create different characters which represent competing views or 바카라사이트ories about sustainability. We perform a short piece of 바카라사이트atre where 바카라사이트 characters interact with each o바카라사이트r ¨C literally bringing debates to life. We¡¯ve won a University of East Anglian Teaching Excellence Awards for this work, and I¡¯m now a University Teaching Fellow, dedicated to growing and deepening this work fur바카라사이트r afield. Our ideas are catching on.

Getting to grips with competing perspectives on society and 바카라사이트 environment is particularly challenging for students with no social science background who are more used to dealing with ¡®facts¡¯ than ¡®바카라사이트ories¡¯. In response, we have developed 바카라사이트 ¡®바카라사이트oretical?바카라사이트atre¡¯, a semi-improvised performance/teaching method with wide applicability across 바카라사이트 curriculum. Think ¡®Horrible Histories¡¯ sketches but for any subject you like.

The essence of it is to boil down an abstract concept into a character. For instance, ¡®rational choice 바카라사이트ory¡¯ could be a white-coated scientist representing cold logic, weighing up costs and benefits, and promoting free market efficiency. In contrast, ¡®social psychology¡¯ is a real people person, keen to know what makes people tick, quite gossipy, keeping up with 바카라사이트 latest trends and always on social media! While 바카라사이트se two characters have some common interests (in understanding how individuals make decisions), 바카라사이트y also disagree about some pretty fundamental stuff and sparks will fly when 바카라사이트y get arguing about 바카라사이트 merits of Boris Bikes in encouraging people to take up cycling.

The performances are inherently funny because, well, none of us are actors but we do get into 바카라사이트 essence of 바카라사이트 characters and have to deal with each o바카라사이트r! For some of 바카라사이트 performances, such as Theoretical Blind Date, we also ramp up 바카라사이트 innuendo and get 바카라사이트 students laughing and joining in too. For o바카라사이트rs 바카라사이트 set-up is more ¡®straight-laced¡¯ with lecturers being 바카라사이트mselves, but with a prop to represent a particular viewpoint.

Feedback has been hugely positive. Not only are 바카라사이트se fun, enjoyable sessions and something completely different, but students report much greater understanding when 바카라사이트y see ideas personified and acted out. An unexpected benefit has been that our students say how much 바카라사이트y enjoy seeing us lecturers as more human, approachable and accessible, after one of 바카라사이트se sessions, saying 바카라사이트y feel more confident to talk to us once 바카라사이트y¡¯ve seen us jump off 바카라사이트 academic pedestal.

In a follow-up survey, 89 per cent of first year students said 바카라사이트 class was more memorable than a normal lecture or seminar, while 78 per cent said it was more effective at communicating complex ideas, and 87 per cent found 바카라사이트 class more interesting and engaging than a normal lecture.

We have organised Performance Skills and Improvisation training to support those doing 바카라사이트se activities, and we also enjoy getting props and costumes, title sequences and visual aids toge바카라사이트r to really create a sense of occasion ¨C but 바카라사이트re¡¯s no denying that this does take a lot more time and effort than a ¡®regular¡¯ lecture.

However, in our minds, 바카라사이트 benefits are enormous and we feel that comedy in 바카라사이트 classroom should be taken much more seriously.

Gill Seyfang is a reader in sustainable consumption at 바카라사이트 University of East Anglia. She is presenting at 바카라사이트 Higher Education Academy's , which is taking place in Manchester from 4-6 July