Does easier schoolwork result in greater joy?
I read this article which purported that to increase joy in learning, one should reduce the difficulty level of the subject (“Learning Chinese has become too difficult for kids today, and that’s not okay“). The point of the article was actually to say that Chinese is too difficult, something which I have no expertise in. It then went on to claim that making Chinese easier would bring joy back to learning.
I don’t think one should conflate high academic standards with joy in learning. Those are two entirely different things. I don’t disagree that our syllabus is quite rigorous, and that probably contributes to our PISA scores. I’m not commenting on the difficulty levels of our subjects.
But to claim that reducing difficult will lead to joy is not logical. To be fair, the writer then goes on to expound on other things (different pathways to learning) which will lead to joy, but have no bearing on difficulty.
When I talk about learning, I’m referring to all types of learning – schoolkids, corporate training, experiential workshops, or academic seminars – that are taught by teachers, trainers, professors, and educators of all stripes.
Regardless of the type of learning, if you want to increase the joy in learning, you need four elements: the delivery of the content, giving autonomy to the learners, creating curiosity in the classroom, and building competence in the learners. Difficulty can be high or low, but it ultimately boils down to these four factors.
Why is a joyful classroom important?
Positive psychology has shown that positive affect makes more creative, open to new ideas and perspectives, and helps us to draw the connections between disparate pieces of information (Frederickson, 2004). Basically, joy creates the conditions within us that makes us learn better.
Besides, it makes it easier to encourage learners to come to class. Would you prefer to attend a happy class or trudge to a dreary one?
Delivery of content
Let me be clear – I’m mainly talking about the teacher (or trainer). The teacher makes or breaks the subject.
How many times have you heard someone say that they love a course because of the trainer? Conversely, how many times have you heard a student say that a particular teacher made them hate a subject?
I had an unpleasant Chinese teacher in secondary school and it really made me hate the subject. Thankfully, my JC Chinese teacher taught the subject with such zest and gusto that I came to appreciate and like the subject again – but it was too late academically because I didn’t quite have the foundation for better Chinese.
Relatedness is one of the elements of Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), which is why the educator is a key pillar in whether lessons are joyful.
A good educator needs to be engaging, competent, and have love for their learners.
When I say engaging, it can come in different forms – being funny, having high energy, having great creativity. Most importantly, the teacher’s engagement needs to create interest. Barbara Frederickson’s (2004) research on positive emotions has shown that interest sparks the urge to explore, which leads to better learning. Interest also heightens the joy in the class, because that means the desire comes from within you to attend the class, and being in the class fulfils your desire and gives you satisfaction.
The competency of the trainer to deliver concepts and knowledge effectively is also important. Imagine attending a stimulating lesson – only to go home and realise you didn’t actually learn anything at all. That’s not going to make you happy. Likewise, having a brilliant teacher who is boring is going to make you dread the class. You need a teacher who is both competent and engaging for a joyful lesson.
Most importantly, the educator needs to love the learners. This applies to all ages. And it’s something that the leaners can feel. You know what I mean – you can tell when an educator is dialling it in, or when an educator really wants the class to benefit. Being the beneficiary of a professor who wants the best for your makes you want to reciprocate and do your best for him, creating this virtuous cycle which results in joy. Love is also a vital element when it comes to lesson design.
It bears saying that the delivery of the content is the most pillar of creating joy in the classroom.
Creating curiosity
Remember how interest sparks the urge to explore? That lies at the heart of the Science syllabus for the PSLE, which is the spirit of scientific inquiry.
On a broader level, curiosity is the desire to learn more and find out about something. In an educational context, knowledge and learning is the end goal – which fulfills the desire to know more. A fulfilled desire leads to satisfaction, which increases the positive emotions in a class.
Additionally, curiosity serves as a strong motivation for learning (it is, in fact, the motivation for learning) – so it also strengthens the learning in the classroom. Yes, I used the word “learning” thrice in that sentence.
Autonomy for learners
Autonomy is one of the three elements of Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), which facilitates motivation in learning. Autonomy is also one of the reasons why gamification of learning is also effective – you give the learners empowerment through choices. Who isn’t happy with more empowerment?
In an ideal world, learners could learn whatever they want and to whatever degree they wanted. However, this is not conducive for testing, which is what the school system ultimately leads to (ie. exams).
But that’s not the only way to create autonomy. You can give learners the choice of what order to complete a task in, or let them choose tasks (from a list of options), and the opportunity to explore selected other topics.
Autonomy comes on a scale, and providing students with choices helps create that joy, which improves learning.
Building competence in the learners
Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) has three elements, and we’ve talked about two. So it’s no surprise that I’m coming to the third element, which is competence. The learner must be able to accomplish the tasks set out in the lesson in order to make it a joyous one.
A good lesson designer will have properly sequenced the difficulty of the tasks. They should each go up one step, and not have huge jump in difficulty grades. The lesson designer will also have built in scaffolds – model answers to learn from, examples to refer to, lists to consult – to give support to learners who need it.
A skilful educator will also be able to render personalised aid to learners who need it. Sometimes, a struggle is needed for better learning, and a good educator knows when to step back and let the learner fail. In other cases, support is needed for better learning, and this is where the educator knows to intervene.
Ultimately, competence in subject matter can be built, no matter how high the standard is. Of course, it takes more time and effort to build competence if the subject is difficult, but it is possible.
And that’s where I fundamentally disagree about the idea that reducing difficulty will increase the joy in a subject. Reducing difficulty will achieve other outcomes, some beneficial – but increasing joy is not one of them.
Difficult and joyful learning
Right now I’m doing a Master in Applied Positive Psychology which has resulted in me reading (thus far) four reams of paper worth of research papers (some of which are in like, what, font size 8?). There’s also an average of 1 essay due every non-lesson week. That’s difficult (and also intense hahaha).
But I love it. It is something that brings joy to me. And that’s because of the four elements above. Amazing professors, a desire to learn more about positive psychology, the choice to choose my essays (or customise it, should I so choose), and the way the readings have been arranged that builds upon each other. There’s a hidden fifth element, which is a fantastic community of classmates, alumni, and teachers, but that’s another topic for another time.
Learning can be difficult, and it can be joyful. It’s not mutually exclusive. And it can definitely go together.
With that said… do you want to go learn something difficult now?
You might also want to read:
- Why I used to hate Chinese (that’s changed)
- Loving your learners: the lesson design secret nobody talks about
- The secret parallel between lessons and games: writing lessons like a game designer
References
Fredrickson B. L. (2004). The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 359(1449), 1367–1378. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2004.1512
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
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