Humor & E-Learning during Confinement

TBS unveils funny educational videos featuring Netflix comedy star

In these times of unprecedented demand for e-learning solutions, TBS Education has just released six educational videos on its Open Teaching Platform to help students move forward while lifting their spirits during confinement.

Humor to promote educational content

The videos feature Netflix comedian Sammy Obeid, who combines humor and management topics in an innovative educational approach. The six videos cover a range of business topics, such as finance, international business, marketing and statistics. In the videos, Netflix “100 Humans” host, Sammy Obeid, uses his signature wit to get educational content across to students.

Obeid’s collaboration with TBS started a year ago via the TBS Inspiring Guest program. Drawing on his experience as an educator and graduate of the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, he co-led a workshop on humor in education, collaborated with individual faculty members, and recorded e-learning videos. The videos are freely available via TBS’s open teaching platform. Teacher notes can be obtained upon simple request.

An ongoing educational project

Founded in 1903, TBS has a long history in pedagogical innovation. A year ago, the business school started a new pedagogical project on educational videos that include a touch of humor. The project is based on the premise that a thoughtful injection of humor can help increase student attention, facilitate memorization of new concepts and reduce anxiety about learning. Insights from this project will be shared during a workshop, co-led by Sammy Obeid, at the prestigious Academy of Management Conference in Vancouver on August 9th, 2020. Watch the video below to learn more about the project:

“Our “Inspiring Education, Inspiring Life” signature reflects our desire to teach students in a different way by rejuvenating thinking about what pedagogy is, by bringing in outside perspectives and by training professors so they can test new ways of teaching. This approach is even more crucial in today’s context of social isolation.”

Stéphanie Lavigne – Dean of TBS Education