Benefits of Laughter: How Humor Helps Students Learn

If you’ve listened to any Tinkercast podcast, it’s probably no surprise to learn that here at Tinkercast, we love a good laugh.

We’re eager to talk all about poop, the love life of animals, and building homes out of diapers – in the name of science of course! We don’t shy away from bathroom humor, and we take every opportunity to say BONKERBALLS!

You may be wondering, “Why in the WOW are these episodes so silly?!”

All jokes aside, research suggests there are real benefits of laughter when it comes to education. The connection between laughter and learning can include student engagement, classroom connection, memory, and even stress relief. Check out why we believe humor is FUNdamental to learning!

Every teacher wants their students to give their best effort, and humor might help them do so!

A 2023 study on humor in the classroom found that course-related humor was positively associated with student engagement and stronger teacher-student relationships.

Bonkerballs as it seems, a little silliness can give students another reason to tune in and participate.

Ready for your students to be all ears?! Use TinkerClass! In a beta test of TinkerClass with over 500 students and 34 teachers, around 80% of students were engaged or very engaged when participating. See for yourself! We recommend starting your science lesson with a hilariously scientific episode of Wow in the World to pique their interest, and if your students need a laugh/ brain break, play a round of Two Whats?! And A Wow! to re-engage them.

Humor isn’t the only way to make learning more engaging. Gamified learning uses elements of games to turn educational activities into interactive experiences that encourage students to participate.

A 2023 meta-analysis of gamification in education found an overall positive effect of gamification on student learning outcomes. The researchers analyzed 41 studies involving more than 5,000 participants, although they also found that results varied depending on factors such as the learning environment, duration, and type of students involved.

That’s part of what makes Two Whats?! And A Wow! such a fun addition to a lesson: students aren’t just listening — they’re playing along, making guesses, and testing what they know.

Humor + gamified learning = a seriously silly way to keep kids thinking!

A positive classroom environment helps students thrive academically, emotionally, and socially. To achieve this, students must feel connected with their teachers and peers.

A 2023 study of classroom humor found that appropriate, course-related humor was positively associated with the quality of teacher-student relationships, suggesting that humor can be one way to help build connection in the classroom.

Learning doesn’t stop when a lesson ends. Students need to remember information so they can connect new ideas to what they’ve already learned and apply their knowledge later. Research suggests that humor can play a role in making learning memorable, especially when the humor relates to what students are learning.

A 2025 review of instructional humor research examined decades of research on humor in teaching and found evidence connecting appropriate instructional humor with outcomes including attention, learning, memory, and recall. The research also suggests that humor is most useful when it supports the material rather than distracting from it.

The TinkerClass team is here to help your students recall what they’ve learned! Kids are sure to remember how the dinosaurs likely went extinct when they remember Mindy driving a wrecking ball into a giant Earth piñata filled with guacamole!