Fun in the College Classroom: Examining Its Nature and Relationship with Student Engagement

Abstract

Despite the popular belief that fun has a positive impact in learning contexts, empirical research on fun in the classroom has been limited. To extend research in this area, the goal of this study was to develop and validate a new scale to assess fun in the classroom and examine its relationship with student engagement. The multi-stage scale development effort resulted in a two-dimensional measure, including fun activities and fun delivery. Fun activities reflect a variety of hands-on exercises and ways to promote social involvement among students. Fun delivery is more instructor-focused, including the use of humor, creative examples, and storytelling. Interestingly, fun delivery, but not fun activities, was positively related to student engagement. These findings suggest that not all fun is equal and highlight the need for additional research to validate the impact of fun on meaningful student outcomes.

Keywords:

• fun in the classroom
• higher education
• scale development
• student engagement
• validation