Should Learning Be Fun And How Does It Affect Attainment?
A phrase that educators, parents and students have heard so often to the point of it almost becoming cliche is that learning should be fun, despite the serious implications education can have on a young person’s prospects.
This is not a new concept; the late mathematician, satirist and musician Tom Lehrer accidentally helped generations of students by singing the now-outdated periodic table to the tune of a Gilbert and Sullivan standard.
However, with a greater understanding of different learning styles and more pressure now than ever before to do well in standardised examinations such as the Eleven Plus, the SATs, GCSEs and A-Levels, engagement has perhaps become more critical than ever before.
To use just one example, an experiment published in the Journal of Experimental Education found that students performed better in their assessments when a teacher used humour as part of their lessons.
A big reason why making learning fun and engaging is so effective at improving outcomes is precisely because this entertainment adds meaning and sparks curiosity in a subject.
Once that barrier is breached and a student has an interest in a subject, it becomes far easier to explore more intricate dimensions and remember important facts.
As well as this, minds tend to work via emotional and multi-sensory connections. You do not just remember a particular lesson, but how it made you feel.
Learning passages from Shakespearean plays by simply reading them off the page will not convey anywhere near as much as performing them, having physical props to symbolise some of the more unusual metaphors or active discussion and engagement with the story and its historical context.
Finally, positive associations with learning or a particular subject will inevitably encourage someone to keep learning through dopamine release. Students are more likely to learn because they want to rather than if they feel they must in order to avoid negative consequences.
A home school tutor can help with this by providing one-to-one learning tailored to the learning style and interests of the student. Once that interest in a subject is unlocked, they will already have a head start at school.
