Using intentional humour in a higher-education classroom: connecting with, and building on Lovorn and Holaway
VIEW FULL TEXT

Keywords

intentional humour
higher education
classroom
learning
teaching
Lovorn and Holaway (2015)

How to Cite

Pretorius, J., Koen, M., & Schall, R. (2020). Using intentional humour in a higher-education classroom: connecting with, and building on Lovorn and Holaway. The European Journal of Humour Research, 8(2), 146–165. https://doi.org/10.7592/EJHR2020.8.2.Pretorius

Abstract

Positive humour can facilitate learning. From an educational perspective, it is important to examine how, when and why humour elicits a positive feeling in students, which, in its turn, creates an environment conducive to learning. Previous studies in humour research have focused on the generally perceived impact of humour in educational settings. Reflection on this idea gives rise to two questions. Will the use of intentional humour as a pedagogical tool indeed be perceived as such by students? Also, will a lecture containing positive humour affirm the impact of humour reported in academic literature? The researchers therefore decided that a lecture containing intentional humoristic elements would be presented to two groups of students with a view to determining their responses. To accomplish this, a mixed-methods approach was used, one employing a concurrent embedded nested design to explore the role and impact of intentional humour in two higher-education classrooms. A Likert-scale survey exploring six themes was developed regarding the impact of humour, as identified by Lovorn and Holaway (2015). Open spaces were provided to allow participants to expand quantitative responses. While the Mantel-Haenszel chi-square test statistic was used to analyse the quantitative data, content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. The theoretical framework for this paper was drawn from the instructional humour process theory (IHPT). Trustworthiness was gauged by applying Lincoln and Guba’s (1985) model of trustworthiness. The findings of the paper are in line with Lovorn and Holaway’s (2015) research, which suggests that when lecturers take advantage of the positive attributes of humour, it has the power to fuel both students’ engagement and their learning.

https://doi.org/10.7592/EJHR2020.8.2.Pretorius
VIEW FULL TEXT

References

Alatalo, S. & Poutiainen, A. (2016). ‘Use of humor in multicultural classroom’. The Israeli Journal of Humor Research 5 (1), pp. 65-79.

Allen, M. (2017). ‘Content Analysis’. Available online: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483381411.n91 [Accessed on 28 June 2019].

Alkhattab, M. A. (2012). Humor as a Teaching Strategy: The Effect on Students’ Educational Retention and Attention in a Nursing Baccalaureate Classroom. Indiana: College of Nursing of Valparaiso University MA thesis.

Azizinezhad, M. & Hashemi, M. (2011). ‘Humour: a pedagogical tool for language learners’. Procedia: Social and Behavioural Sciences. Available online: www.sciendedirect.com. [Accessed on 20 October 2018].

Bakar, F. A. B. (2018). The Use of Humour in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Dunedin, New Zealand: University of Otago PhD thesis.

Banas, J. A., Dunbar, N., Rodriquez, D. & Liu, S.J. (2011). ‘A review of humor in educational settings: four decades of research’. Communication Education 60 (1), pp. 115-144.

Baughman, M. D. (1979). ‘Teaching with humour: a performing art’. Contemporary Education 51, pp. 26-30.

Berk, R. A. (2002). Humor as an Instructional Defibrillator: Evidence-based Techniques in Teaching and Assessment. Virginia: Stylus.

Berlyne, D. E. (1960). Conflict, Arousal and Curiosity. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Bian, H. (2016). ‘Mixed method research’. PowerPoint presentation. Available online: https://core.ecu.edu/ofe/statisticsresearch/mixed%20methods%20new.pdf [Accessed on 13 August 2019].

Bolkan, S. & Goodboy, A. K. (2015). ‘Exploratory theoretical tests of the instructor humor-student learning link’. Communication Education 64 (1), pp. 45-64.

Bolkan, S., Griffin, D. J. & Goodboy, A. K. (2018). ‘Humor in the classroom: the effects of integrated humor on student learning’. Communication Education 67 (2), pp. 140-164.

Booth-Butterfield, S. & Booth-Butterfield, M. (1991). ‘Individual differences in the communication of humorous messages’. Southern Communication Journal 56 (2), pp. 05-218.

Budzynska, K. & Weger, H. (2011). ‘Structure of persuasive communication and elaboration likelihood model’. OSSA Conference Archive, 67. Available online: http://scholar.uwindsor.ca/ossaarchive/OSSA9/papersandcommentaries/67 [Accessed on 22 October 2018.

Cauley, K. & McMillan, J. H. (2010). ‘Formative assessment techniques to support student motivation and achievement.’ The Clearing House 83 (1), 1-6.

Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (2011). Research Methods in Education, 7th ed. Oxford: Routledge.

Creswell, J. W. & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research Design, Qualitative, Quantitative & Mixed Methods Approaches. Los Angeles: Sage.

Davenport, D. C. (2015). Examining Peer Perceptions of Humorous Communication in the College Classroom. Theses and dissertations-Communication 42. Available online: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/comm-etds/42. [Accessed on 25 October 2018].

Deiter, R. (2000). ‘The use of humor as a teaching tool in the college classroom’. NACTA Journal 44, pp. 20-28.

Feilzer, Y. (2009). ‘Doing mixed methods research pragmatically: implications for the rediscovery of pragmatism as a research paradigm’. Journal of Mixed Methods Research 4 (1). Available online: Doi:10.1177/155868980349691 http://jmmr.sagepub.com [Accessed on 2 January 2019].

Flick, U. (2017. ‘Triangulation’, in Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. L. (eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research, London: Sage, pp. 444-462.

Freitas, T. M. (2018). Student Perceptions of Instructor Humor as a Predictor of Student Intellectual Stimulation, Academic Interest and Engagement. Theses and Dissertations-University of the Pacific, Thesis. Available online: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop-etds/3117 [Accessed on 24 October 2018].

Garner, R.L. (2006). ‘Humor in pedagogy: How ha-ha can lead to aha!’. College Teaching 54 (1), pp. 177-180.

Gervais, M. & Wilson, D. S. (2005). ‘The evolution and functions of laughter and humor: a synthetic approach’. Quarterly Review of Biology 80, pp. 395-430.

Gonulal, T. (2018). ‘Investigating the potential of humour in EFL classrooms: an attitudinal study’. European Journal of Humour Research 6 (1), pp. 141-161.

Healy, B. (2018). ‘What makes something funny?’ The Atlantic. Available online: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/03/funny-how/550910/. [Accessed on 3 July 2019].

Huss, J. & Eastep S. (2016). ‘The attitudes of university faculty toward humor as a pedagogical tool: can we take a joke?’. Journal of Inquiry & Action in Education 8(1), pp. 39-65.

Jeder, D. (2015). ‘Implications of using humor in the classroom’. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences 180, pp. 828-833.

Johnson, B. R. & Christensen, L. B. (2017). Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Approaches. Los Angeles: Sage.

Kroll, T. & Neri. M. (2009). ‘Designs for mixed methods research’. In Andrew, S. & Halcomb, E. J. (eds.), Mixed methods research for nursing and the Health Sciences, Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell.

Lei, S. A., Cohen, J. L. & Russler, K. M. (2010). ‘Humor on learning in the college classroom: evaluating benefits and drawbacks from instructors’ perspectives’. Journal of Instructional Psychology 37, pp. 326-331.

Lincoln, Y. S. & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. London: Sage.

Loomans, D. & Kolberg, K. J. (1993). The Laughing Classroom: Everyone’s Guide to Teaching with Humor and Play. Tiburon: H. J. Kramer.

Lovorn, M. & Holaway, C. (2015). ‘Teachers’ perceptions of humour as a classroom teaching, interaction and management tool’. European Journal of Humour research 3 (4), pp. 24-35.

Machlev, M. (2015). A Day without Laughter is a Day Wasted. The Relationship between Different Types of Humour and Different Educational Outcomes. Dissertations. Paper 37. Available online: http://digscholarhipunco.edu/dissertations. [Accessed on 24 October 2018].

Malamed, C. (2018). ‘Does humor enhance learning? E learning couch’. Available online: https://elearning design/instructional design. [Accessed on 23 October 2018].

Maree, K. & Pietersen, J. (2016). ‘Sampling’, in Maree, K. (ed.). First Steps in Research, Pretoria: Van Schaik, pp. 192-202.

Mayo, C. (2010). ‘Incongruity and provisional safety: thinking through humor’. Studies in Philosophy and Education 29, pp. 509-521.

Morreall, J. (2014). ‘Humor, philosophy and education’. Educational Philosophy and Theory 46 (2), pp. 120-131.

Morrison, M. K. (2008). Using Humour to Maximize Learning: The Links between Positive Emotions and Education. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefied.

Mr Bean in the chemistry lab. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aK2CKrdjbE [Accessed on 21 April 2019].

Munoz, B. J. (2005). ‘Learning through humor: using humorous resources in the teaching of foreign languages’. The A.T.I.S Bulletin, pp. 42-46.

Ocon, R. (2015). ‘Using humour to create a positive learning environment’. Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, pp. 1-26.

Offer, K., Skead, N. & Seen, A. (2018). ‘You must be joking: the role of humour in the law classroom’. The Law Teacher 52 (2), pp. 135-153.

Pears, A. N. (2010). ‘Enhancing student engagement in an introductory programming course’. ASEE/IEE Frontiers in Education Conference, 27-30 October 2010, Arlington. Available online: http://www/fie-conference.org/fie2010/papers/1195.pdf [Accessed on 10 August 2010].

Perks, L. G. (2012). ‘The ancient roots of humor theory’. Humor 25(2), pp. 119-132.

Petty, R. E. & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). ‘The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion’. Advances in Experimental Psychology 19, pp. 123-205.

SAS Institute Incorporation. (2017). SAS/STAT 14.3 User’s Guide. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc.

Savage, B. M., Lujan, H. L., Thipparthi, R. R. & DiCarlo, S. E. (2017). ‘Humor, laughter, learning and health! A brief review’. Advances in Physiology Education 41, pp. 341-447.

Seidman, A., & Brown, C. (2016). ‘Laugh and learn’. Adult Learning 27 (1), pp. 41-43.

Strong, T. (2013). ‘The culture of humour in the classroom: the good, the bad and the other. Canadian Music Educator pp. 31-33.

Vu, P. H. & Vu, L. (2012). ‘Techniques to bring humor and crate a pleasant learning environment in Adult Education’. Journal of Research and Practice for Adult Literacy, Secondary and Basic Education 1 (1), pp. 44-47.

Wagner, C., Kawulich, B. & Garner, M. (2012). Doing Social Research: A Global Context. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill Education.

Wanzer, M. B., Frymier, A. B. & Irwin, J. (2010). ‘An explanation of the relationship between instructor humor and student learning: instructional humor processing theory’. Communication Education 59 (1), pp. 1-18.

Wium, A. M. & Louw, B. (2018). Mixed-methods research: a tutorial for speech-language therapists and audiologists in South Africa’. South African Journal of Communication Disorders 65 (1), pp. 1-13.

Wortley, A. (2016). ‘Stand-up comics: instructional humor and student engagement. Grand Canyon University’. Journal of Instructional Research 5, pp. 13-18.

All authors agree to an Attribution Non-Commercial Non Derivative Creative Commons License on their work.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.