Activity-based and joyful learning must be practised in all classrooms'

Joyful Learning brings sparkle in the eyes of students and excites and empowers them to engage with learning experiences in fun-filled, playful manner.Joyful learning can also be explained as:“Positive intellectual and emotional state of learners. This state or experience is achieved when an individual or a group is deriving pleasure and a sense of satisfaction from the process of learning.”1. Ways to joyful learning can be many; ranging from integrating sports in educational activities to integrating story-telling in classroom transactions2. Joy comes when a child feels a sense of achievement as if she/he has created something new, on his own.3. It could occur after completion of a lesson on realising that she has understood the concept clearly and can see how it links to real life; it could occur when the given task is done independently by the students; it could occur while doing an activity in or outside the classroom.4. To help students to attain the ‘AHAA! moment, activity-based and joyful learning must be practised in all classrooms.Joyful Learning is the mode of learning in which learners are given opportunities to experience emotions of surprise in delightful ways, nurture their curiosity, while interacting with meaningful content through a supportive community of classmates / peer group and teachers.Some science behind joyful learning Research conducted on brain validates the fact that when the element of fun is missing from the learning, the element of actual learning taking place also remains absent. In a study conducted by education theorist Krashen (1982), it was proposed that when learning is associated with strong positive emotions (joy),retention of learning by students takes place. Clinical evidence of cognitive psychology studies show that boredom, stress, confusion, anxiety and low levels of motivation hinder learning.What happens in joyful learning?Improved motivation: Students put their best efforts to express their learning by becoming self-motivated to explore ideas and concepts.Engaged learners: Learners are actively involved in the learning process, enjoy their learning, make connections with themselves and the world around them and construct meaning in their own contexts.Authentic Learning: Through activities like plays, stories, songs, art, music and drawings, Joyful learning lessons are built around learning experiences that let learners relate to their environment and their past knowledge and experiencesEncouraged autonomy and control: In a joyful learning classroom, traditional chalk-talk methods of teaching are replaced with experiences that are personalized to needs & interests of learners, focused towards process more than the product.Impact of joy on the overall learning can be summed up as follows:An important component i.e joy, of true learning, encompasses collaboration, connection, sharing and pride. For an instance, children learn about fractions, parts of a flower, molecules through activities like paperfolding, poems and theatre are emotions like joy, pride and curiosity are evident in a classroom.Joyful learning means bringing the element of happiness and joy while learning. This enables learners and teachers to experience teaching- learning in a stress-free environment. Joy comes when a child feels he has created something new.It could occur after completion of a lesson by himself, it could occur when the given task is done independently by the students, it could occur while doing an activity in or outside the classroom.