Educators, Students and Humour in the Classroom: Creating a Positive Pedagogical Experience (original) (raw)

The Effect of Humour on Learning in an Educational Setting

Humour is seen to have largely positive effects on learning, but these effects are not left uncontested. Furthermore, the fact that humour is culture specific can limit the generalizability of studies. The current paper, thus, attempts to determine if humour can have an important role in the cultural context of India. The current study investigated the effect of humour on learning in a real-world educational setting. 56 participants from the 8th grade of the same high school were enlisted for the study, and divided into two groups in a classroom setting-one group receiving humorous material and the other group receiving non-humorous material. All content was displayed via slideshows spanning 5 subtopics of the school subject of 'English'. All content was equated in terms of visual imagery and amount of information displayed. An intervening task of solving math problems was introduced between viewing the content and answering the post-test. Results were obtained using a pre-post design. Data was analysed via 2 sample independent t-tests and bivariate correlations. Results showed that the material presented in a humorous manner is remembered better than other equivalent visual nonhumorous material. Secondly, exposure to humorous material is also correlated with better engagement with the material, and positive affect. These results draw attention to the need for further, culture-specific research investigations in the field of humour, as it can prove to be a very effective learning tool.

Pedagogical Effect of Humor on Teaching

DigitalStream Proceedings, 2009

Humor is a social phenomenon and a form of communication that should not be disregarded in any learning or teaching environment. It plays a fundamental role in creating harmony and cohesion between students and teachers. The significant role humor plays stems from the fact that humor is conducive to the learning process and intercultural awareness. I Questionnaires were distributed to students to see whether or not they have learned subject-matters in humorous teaching and learning environments. The effect of humor on the learner's creativity will also be examined. Questionnaires were analyzed and a rationale was provided as to the effect and role humor plays on their educational outcomes. Conclusions were drawn and further pedagogical implications were provided for further studies. t helps break the monotony and keeps students tuned in to their teachers. One of the purposes of this paper is to examine the role humor plays in teaching and students' learning. It attempts to show how humor can be used as a teaching and an effective communicative device in the classroom. The paper also identifies the functions of humor, its effect in a teaching environment, and its contribution to learners' creativity.

Humour as a Pedagogical Tool

Humor is the key which can bridge a mutual understanding from one culture to the other. In the West, kenyataresearcher believe that our superficial sense of individualism inclines us to forget that people in other countries are generally more easy-going and less worried about offending someone. More importantly, people outside of English-speaking countries love to laugh and be playful. Of course, they are serious about studying, but they expect the English classroom to be fun, energetic, open and engaging. For many students, the EFL classroom is a way for them to temporary escape from the stress, repetition and chaos of life. Therefore, it is creative job as a teacher to minimize discomfort, negativity and frustration in the classroom. Abstrak: Humor adalah salah satu kunci yang menjembatani pemahaman timbal balik antar satu budaya dengan budaya lainnya. Dalam budaya barat, peneliti yakin bahwa rasa individualisme yang kadangkala mengaburkan pemikiran kita mengenai orang-orang dari ...

An Experimental Study of Students' Perceptions of Classroom Humour

International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 2021

This study examines the benefits of using humour in the language classroom. It investigates the incorporation of humour in the classroom and how it can facilitate and create pertinent conditions for learning and teaching. It probes students' attitudes towards their teachers' humour, and whether they consider it a learning aid or not. The study used a quasi-experiment that involved two tests and two groups of students: a treatment group and a control one. The pre-test and post-test results and findings revealed that humour facilitates learning and teaching by reducing anxiety, increasing motivation, encouraging participation, boosting concentration and improving retention.

Humor: A teaching tool to use rather than ignore

2018 International Conference on Multidisciplinary Research

A smooth transfer of knowledge from instructor to student is what is desired in any learning context. One of the essential methods in making this happen is the use of humor in teaching. This study sought the influence of humor as a teaching tool on the student's engagement in classroom learning from students’ point of view and to find out the availability and extent of humor used as a teaching tool in the classes of Kandahar University from students’ perspective. The study employed a quantitative research-based survey design and used a questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 370 participants. The findings revealed that humor as a useful teaching tool positively influences students’ classroom learning engagement but it is not utilized by most teachers as a teaching tool.

Lecturers’ Perceptions of the benefits of Using Humour in Classroom

LSP International Journal

Of all topics concerning classroom instruction, the use of humour has received the least attention. While some lecturers believe that using humour creates a fun and lively classroom, others may experience different situations which hamper them from using it. Hence, this paper aims to look at the lecturers’ perception of the benefits of using humour as a teaching strategy and the relationship between socio-psychological and educational benefits which students gain from humour. This study was carried out in a Malaysian public university which regards English as a medium of instruction. 60 respondents participated in this study. The findings showed lecturers considered humour as socio-psychologically and educationally beneficial for students and there was a correlation between socio-psychological and educational benefits of using humour in the classroom.

The role of humour concerning the learning activity - an exploratory study

Regarding the manner a learning activity barges in, one significant element is treated with not enough attention – humor. To make yourself enjoyable in correlation with the ones attending your performance implies a lot more than just appearance and knowledge. An unambiguous sense of humor can help you catch all the attention and interest you seek, within the realm of possibility. Although alluding to this subject may seem infinitesimal or frivolous, in reality, the presence of humor in the vast repertoire of values a teacher should acquire represents an asset, a way to come up with something innovative, an optimization, an update. Adding a nuance of playfulness in the learning process implies profound psychological characteristics (from inherent capacities to gained ones) which need to be studied in detail. This exploratory study aims to follow the impact that humor's presence has on one's performance during the formal context of a learning activity. Authors' exploratory advancement, this study merges both the perception of professors and students, accordingly to the desirable demeanor of the aforementioned – professors – generating relaxing training frameworks based in humor. An evaluation where P.C. Smith's and L.M. Kendall's behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) were used (starting from J.C. Flanagan's critical incident technique), while using short explanations represented by adjectives, verbs or short descriptions, results in a quantifiable clarification of key performance dimensions for a certain type of modern teaching activity.

AESTHETIC AND PEDAGOGICAL ROLE OF HUMOUR IN EDUCATION

The article is devoted to the analysis of the possibilities of humour in education. Using techniques based on the knowledge of methodological potential of humour is a substantial reserve for increasing the effectiveness of education and personal development. From a pedagogical point of view, means of creating a comic situation is a way of indirect pedagogical interaction with the audience. Humour helps to observe generally accepted social norms of behaviour, avoid conflicts, remove emotional tension and enhance the intellectual activity of students.

Teachers’ perceptions of humour as a classroom teaching, interaction, and management tool

European Journal of Humour Research, 2015

Although research into humour in education contexts has increased sharply over the past decade, there are still relatively few studies related to its impact on specific elements of classroom dynamics such as teaching, student/teacher interaction, and classroom management. Teachers' perceptions of the use of humour as a teaching, interaction, and management tool likely shape the educational experiences for all stakeholders. This study used online discussions to explore perceptions among kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) teachers of the use of humour as a teaching, interaction, and management strategy in the classroom. These discourses revealed participating teachers (n = 31) have some understanding of how humour impacts teaching and learning, students' engagement and motivation, teachers' confidence and interaction with students, and various challenges and resistances to the use of humour in the classroom. Findings indicated that while most participating teachers could demonstrate examples of their use of humour in the classroom, few appeared to perceive humour as a structured classroom strategy. Additionally, the study revealed that while participating teachers are open to the idea of using humour in the classroom, most do not deliberately or strategically include it in the planning or implementation of their lessons. Participants' responses consistently showed that humour "just happened" in the classroom and that it was part of a teacher's responsibility to ensure that humour did not distract from learning activities. Participating teachers identified many more negative than positive factors that influenced their decisions about using humour in the classroom.

The Laughing Classroom: Humor, Teaching, and Learning

2021

Diverse strategies are employed nowadays to ascertain effective teaching- learning process. Among these methods chosen to achieve desired result is the making use of humor—a teaching approach which has been discerned as an effective way of creating a more productive teaching and learning, may it be language. This paper discusses the place and importance of humor to teachers, learners, and education as a whole. Barriers and guidelines to using humor are also discussed. The Biblical foundation of humor stresses the benefits humor (laughter) gives.Diverse strategies are employed nowadays to ascertain effective teaching- learning process. Among these methods chosen to achieve desired result is the making use of humor—a teaching approach which has been discerned as an effective way of creating a more productive teaching and learning, may it be language. This paper discusses the place and importance of humor to teachers, learners, and education as a whole. Barriers and guidelines to using...