“Dr. Brothers, can we watch more baby animal videos?” This is not a student quote I would have ever imagined receiving as I started out my teaching career, and certainly not one I would have ever thought I might feel proud about. My early days in the classroom were devoted strictly to more serious academic pursuits. While the rigor remains front of mind and receives careful attention in my pedagogy, I now complement it with approaches that also spark joy. And the science supports me. Here’s why.
What is joy?
Researchers in the field of Positive Psychology define joy as a positive affective state comprised of feelings of “freedom, safety and ease” (Johnson, 2019, p. 6). The emotion of joy can range from mild to more intense and may be part of a mixed emotional state, most often co-occurring with sorrow when infused with negative emotional states (Johnson, 2019). It is an excellent emotion to focus on in the context of teaching adult development and aging because of this complexity. Joy has some roots in the broaden-and-build theory (Frederickson, 2001), which holds that experiencing positive emotions can expand one’s world and encourage new ways of thinking and being. Empirical data support this theory and has shown that positive affect can help sustain coping efforts and address depletion due to stress (Ong et al., 2020). Sure sounds like something we could use more of on my campus – what about yours?
Joy in academia?
Not surprisingly, there seems to be more of a focus on joy in K-12 classrooms than at the university level. There is the elementary school principal who hides ladybug stickers, omens of good luck from her German culture, for her youngest students to find in the hallways and classrooms. The Harvard Center on the Developing Child looks to joy as one promising tool to help regain the devastating academic losses suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, given its connection to information processing and memory storage. And a neurologist-turned middle school teacher has created an entire curricular approach centered around cultivating joy for the sole purpose of maximizing learning: The Neuroscience of Joyful Education.
But fewer scholars have made the direct case for cultivating joy in an undergraduate class. Traditionally, the academe may be viewed to frown upon the “levity” of joy, to view it as an unserious matter, and to not willingly invite it into the somber spaces of scientific investigation (Gay, 2022). Thankfully, joy and the academe need not be mutually exclusive.
The link between joy and community
Sparking joy in the classroom is easily a matter of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ), especially when used to build belonging and strong social connections. Joy has been linked to survival and resilience, partly due to its role to “learn new cognitive and behavioral skills and forge new social relationships and skills, which enhances resilience to future obstacles or threats” (Johnson, 2019, p. 6). If I can help spur in my students some of these momentary neurological bursts that open doors for learning and connections, then I think my days are well-spent.
Joy is often linked to external things and accomplishments (Gay, 2022) – that beautiful new pair of shoes, a hard-earned promotion. But on a deeper level, it may also help to promote meaningful social connections. I am inspired by Ross Gay’s musings in his new book of essays, Inciting Joy. He writes: my hunch is that joy is an ember for or precursor to wild and unpredictable and transgressive and unboundaried solidarity. And that that solidarity might incite further joy. Which might incite further solidarity. And on and on.” (Gay, 2022, p. 12).
What a vision! So, then, how can this solidarity be built in my classroom – when there is already not enough time to cover all of the learning competencies, readings, assessments, and content in a full semester-long course? I have been playing with this question – and finding some of my own joy in the process.
Inciting joy in the classroom
When it comes to adding joy to the university classroom, the ways are many, and the strategies must be unique and genuine to the instructor. Let me explain the purpose of the baby animal videos from my HDFS 434: Risk and Resilience Across the Lifespan course. The video clip is positioned at the end of a 4-week deep study of developmental competencies at distinct life stages, from infancy to late life. Once we arrive at the late life lecture, I present Ong et al.’s (2020) research on the power of positive affect as a protective factor against stress and adversity. We discuss the broaden-and-build theory (Frederickson, 2001). We review the striking empirical evidence that experiencing greater positive affect buffers stress and improves adaptive coping (Ong et al., 2020). Then, I take a moment to activate positive affect in my students. Hence, a 2-minute clip of cute baby animal videos – chicks and kittens, monkeys, ducks, puppies, and even baby turtles. It’s a big hit. They giggle, gasp, laugh, and look at each other with wide eyes. They protest when I press stop. Once the video clip is over, I take a quick class-wide poll and ask each person to rate their affect at that moment on a 5-point Likert scale. The results skew overwhelmingly positive – how could they not? And this allows me to point out the complexity and power of positive affect. Even if they were feeling stressed before class – perhaps an interpersonal conflict with roommates, exam stress, homesickness, or financial worries – this exercise demonstrates that they can pause to seek out positive affective experiences to offset whatever stress they are facing. And that they may find solidarity in the process. What a powerful and simple tool for college. And for life. And hopefully they remember the basis of the research that this practice stems from.Other ways I have tried inviting joy into my classes recently:
In Week 1 of the same Risk and Resilience course, I handed out 60+ individual plant clippings that embody the spirit of resilience (these come from a plant that survived my neglect of not being in the office to water them for over a year during the pandemic!). Students rushed to the lectern, shared excitement, advice, and concern around caring for house plants, and gave me updates all semester. One even named hers Frederick. Another emailed me during final exam week, “I hope you can continue to give students plants in this class. I think it is one of the best ways to teach resilience!”.
In several of my classes, I ask students to complete an intro sheet in Week 1 so I can get to know them and help make course content more relevant with the examples and connections I share. I ask about their goals for learning and career aspirations; their activities and responsibilities outside of class such as clubs, athletics, families and jobs; and I ask for their insights into their learning styles and motivation. I also ask them their favorite song, which I compile into a class playlist, freely sharable on Spotify.
In HDFS 201 Perspectives in Gerontology, I organized a pickleball tournament during Final Exam week. A few of our guest speakers, who were older adult community members themselves, came to campus to teach my students the game. My secret goal was to have students get crushed by the older adult volunteer instructors in order to force them to question biases of older adults as sedentary, frail, and needing our assistance. It worked. We all had a blast, and the students have now picked up the “ball” (ha!) to continue organizing what we hope will be a lasting final exam week tradition.
In HDFS 412 Mental and Physical Health in Adulthood, I baked muffins for my class of 40 students for an exam review session. There had been a suicide on campus that hit hard, and I sensed an overall climate of devastation and a loss of hope. Sharing wholesome food together seemed to shift something palpable and create some joy and trust. Sometimes, a little homemade joy goes a long way.
These are just a few simple examples of the joy that I am consciously infusing into my classes in these post-pandemic times in higher education. My earlier professional self might have thought this to be a frivolous use of time. But now, recognizing the lingering effects of two years of uncertainty, stress, fear, and loss my students have faced, I intentionally focus on the joy and belonging piece. It is my goal that my 9:30 am class is something to look forward to, a place with trusted friends where we build curiosity and connection, laughter, positive relationships, and joy – so that we can learn. This is no trivial matter.
What strategies do you use to incite joy in the classroom? I can’t wait to learn from you.
References
Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology – The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56, 218–226.
Gay, R. (2022). Inciting joy. Algonquin.
Johnson, M. K. (2019). Joy: A review of the literature and suggestions for future directions. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 15, 5-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.1685581
Ong, A. D., Bergeman, C. S., Reid, M. C. (2020). Positive affect as source of resilience in adulthood and later life. In A. V. Wister & T. D. Cosco (Eds.), Resilience and Aging. Risk, Systems and Decisions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57089-7_7