Why the best teachers make you laugh

TEACHERS who take time to talk to pupils and make jokes get better results, say experts.

Sharing experiences and even admitting mistakes also improves performance, research has found.

Known as having an ‘authentic’ style, young people prefer this to a more modern approach – where teachers treat their profession as ‘just’ a job. The US study of 300 college students found the former type achieved higher levels of learning and deeper understanding.

They showed a willingness to share details of their life, and displayed their human side by telling personal stories and making jokes. The research, published in the journal Communication Education, said teacher training has all too often tried to remove ‘individual idiosyncrasies’.

Author Professor Zac Johnson, of California State University, said: ‘Our participants made it clear a teacher’s efforts to view themselves and their students as individuals had a lasting impact.’