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Comedy and Humour in the Classroom

Use humour and comedy to make your lessons more engaging, from joke structure to improv and comedy writing.

About 5 hours

8 lessons

Self-paced

Free

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A self-paced course for teachers and trainers who want to bring more humour into their lessons: where comedy comes from, why it works, and practical techniques from stand-up, improv and comedy writing to engage your students.

What you will learn

  • Understand how jokes are built, why we laugh and how theories of humour have evolved from Aristotle to today
  • Explore stand-up and contemporary comedy, and how humour reflects and shapes society, from advertising to memes
  • Use humour effectively and respectfully in class, keeping students engaged and recognising the boundaries of jokes in different contexts
  • Apply improv techniques and creative writing exercises to develop your own comic style and connect with your audience

About this course

Lessons can easily become tedious, for students and teachers alike. Humour is one of the most powerful ways to change that: shared laughter brings people together, eases tension and keeps attention alive. As Edward de Bono put it, “Humor is by far the most significant activity of the human brain.” Used well, comedy can be an icebreaker, an engagement tool and a way to build a positive relationship with your class.

This course explores humour from many angles. You will look at its history and theory, the rise of stand-up and contemporary comedy, the role of humour in the brain, in advertising and on social media, and the limits that every joke should respect. The final part is practical: techniques to bring jokes and improvisation into your teaching, and creative writing exercises that help you understand the mechanics of humour from the inside.

Course content

8 lessons · about 5 hours

The course is organised in six topics, which you can also follow independently. Each topic combines short texts with videos, interviews and interactive resources, and closes with references for further reading. The topics on the audience and on humour techniques are built around practical video lessons, and the final topic works as a workbook, with ten creative writing exercises and examples.

  • 25% Video Short lessons with your trainer
  • 20% Exercises Quizzes and activities to try
  • 55% Slides Presentations and readings
  1. 1 Welcome to the course! 1 topicLocked
  2. 2 1. History of Humour and Comedy 4 topicsLocked
  3. 3 2. The Stand Up and Contemporary Comedy 5 topicsLocked
  4. 4 3. The Audience 2 topicsLocked
  5. 5 4. Humor in Everyday Life 5 topicsLocked
  6. 6 5. Humor’s Techniques 3 topicsLocked
  7. 7 6. Practical Exercises on Humor and Comedy Writing 3 topicsLocked
  8. 8 Congratulations! 1 topicLocked

The lessons open once you are enrolled.

Who made this course

LOL – Learning Out Loud

Erasmus+ project · Course by Europass Teacher Academy

This course is the first result of LOL – Learning Out Loud, an Erasmus+ cooperation partnership that helps teachers and educators bring humour, well-being and creativity into their teaching. The project has also produced further online courses, a handbook and a blueprint for educators.

  • Funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union
  • Project results: online courses, a handbook and a blueprint for educators
  • More about the project at lolearningoutloud.com

Your certificate

Complete all the lessons and your certificate of completion is generated automatically, ready to download as a PDF.

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