Some college instructors believe that the only way for students to
take their education seriously is to be serious and solemn in the
classroom. This often means creating a strict classroom environment
built on discipline and hard work, perhaps with little or no room for
discussion and laughter. However, the most effective instructors are
those who engage their students in creative and interesting ways. One
way to engage students is to incorporate humor into the college
classroom. Humor has psychological, social, and cognitive (educational)
benefits. Humor has the power to make instructors more likable,
approachable, facilitate comprehension, increase attentiveness, improve
creativity, and promote social relationships. Humor is an appreciated
teaching tool for instructors to facilitate student learning if using it
appropriately, constructively, and in moderation. This article briefly
reviews how the use of various types of humor affects student learning,
along with appropriate and inappropriate uses of humor at the college
level.
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The stereotypes of college instructors are someone who are quiet,
intelligent, knowledgeable, but rather dull and dry (Ziegler, 1998). If
college students look back on their educational career, they are likely
to have experienced those dry, dull instructors that never seemed to
smile or have fun. Instructors may have taken their subjects so
seriously because that was how they were taught, or because traditional
attitudes about the instructor-student relationship was a stem and
professional one in order to invoke a sense of seriousness and maturity.
Humor used to be regarded as a source of distraction that reduced
classroom teaching efficiency (Torok et al., 2004). Yet, laughing in
class does not mean students are not taking the class and subject matter
seriously. Laughter implies that students are awake and listening to
what instructors are saying (Weaver and Cotrell, 1987). Fortunately,
students have ushered in a new era of respect, cheerfulness, and a
joyful learning presentation (Check, 1997). Today, humor has a solid
place in classroom lectures due to its many proven psychological,
social, and cognitive (educational) benefits towards teaching (Torok et
al., 2004).
When college students are asked to identify what makes a good
instructor, among the first characteristics noted is a sense of humor.
Students often remember their favorite instructors as being those who
created a fun environment and made them laugh. Fun is one of the five
primary needs of humans alongside survival, belonging, power, and
freedom (Pollak and Freda, 1997). A survey of 923 college, high school,
and junior high school students asked whether they preferred instructors
who used humor in the classroom. Results have shown that 84% of these
students truly enjoyed instructors who used a regular to frequent amount
of humor (check, 1997). Less than 1% of students have said that they
preferred instructors who used no humor at all, indicating that
humorless instructors are far less popular and appreciated (Check,
1997).
According to Shatz and LoSchiavo (2005), students expect college
instructors to be boring and dull; yet, when instructors attempt to be
humorous, they respect the fact that instructors attempting to make the
class and subject matter interesting. Online classes are usually
perceived as distant and impersonal, but the use of humor can motivate
and capture students' attention and interest in learning new
materials. When humor such as cartoons, self-deprecating jokes, and top
ten lists are used in online courses, students have more interest and
appreciation in the course (Shatz and LoShiavo, 2005). Students were
randomly assigned to either a full-blown online course section or a
humor-enhanced section. Results have indicated that students in the
humor-enhanced section posted more comments on the discussion boards and
participated more actively compared to humorless section of the same
course (Shatz and LoSchiavo, 2005).
Benefits of Humor
The appropriate and inappropriate uses of humor have psychological,
social, and cognitive benefits (Table 1). Research studies on the
benefits of laughter show that humor enhances students' health by
alleviating pain and psychological discomfort (Check, 1997; Ziegler,
1998). Laughter stimulates the cerebral cortex of the brain that
improves mental and physical health. Laughing causes the diaphragm to
massage the right side of the heart that releases endorphins, a natural
pain-killer (Check, 1997). Students undergo a great amount of pressure
in and out of school, and stress can lead to mental disorders such as
anxiety and depression. Humor is a major psychological tool that can
help students cope with stress, enhance their sense of well-being, boost
self-image, self-esteem, self-confidence, as well as alleviate anxiety
and depression (Check, 1997). A playful approach to problems can help
reduce some fear and tension on students, proving that sometimes
laughter is the best medicine (Check, 1997).
Moreover, humor serves social purpose at the college level. It can
be extremely effective in building rapport with the students, which is
important for encouraging a sense of trust (Pollak and Freda, 1997).
Humor can be used to establish professional relationships between
instructors and students by breaking the ice, reducing fear and tension,
and revealing humanness (Weaver and Cotrell, 1987). Students would like
to see their instructors as real human beings. A sense of humor breeches
the gap between instructors and students, joining them in the quest for
knowledge (Weaver and Cotrell, 1987). Humor sets the tone for a more
relaxed atmosphere, which in turn creates a positive climate conducive
to student learning (Weaver and Cotrell, 1987; Pollak and Freda, 1997).
Humor can be especially useful in teaching 'dread
courses' which students often avoid due to a lack of
self-confidence. These subjects frequently have been paired with
negative feelings of failure and boredom due to harsh and difficult
instructors. Students who are previously conditioned to dislike a
certain course such as chemistry, engineering, statistics, mathematics,
and research methods can learn to enjoy the subjects when they encounter
instructors who change the tone of the instructional process from a
negative to a positive one (Kher et al., 1999).
In addition, humor can have cognitive or educational benefits as
well. The extent to which college students learn may depend on the
frequency and amount of humor in the classroom (Check, 1997). Humor can
facilitate student attention, motivation, and comprehension of the
material. A light or humorous touch can capture students' attention
and make the lesson more enjoyable, interesting, and memorable (Pollak
and Freda, 1997). Humorous breaks during a lesson can allow the brain to
take a breather, so that it can more effectively process and integrate
the information (Kher et al., 1999). Sometimes low self-esteem can
inhibit students' ability to take risks and learn beyond the scope
of perceived competency. Taking themselves lightly and being able to
laugh at themselves allow students to be more self-forgiving for
mistakes or blunders that might otherwise cause major embarrassment.
Using humor can encourage students to take risks despite incurring
temporary academic setbacks; therefore, students are able to further
engage in the learning process (Pollak and Freda, 1997). College
instructors who constantly used jokes and anecdotes in his lectures
enhanced a particularly dreadful subject. Not only do instructors use of
humor increase students' attentiveness, but it also boosted
students' self-confidence in the subject matter, and made them
attempt harder because they would like to please the instructors (Pollak
and Freda, 1997).
Humor assists in problem-solving situations in which students are
encouraged to think creatively and to expand their methods of reasoning
(Ziegler, 1998). Sometimes, throwing out an unexpected idea during a
brainstorming session can inspire students to consider situations from
different perspectives, which is the essence of creative thinking
(Pollak and Freda, 1997). "The early bird gets the worm" is a
common expression used to imply that an early start leads to success.
However, a humorous spin on that expression is "The early bird
catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese." This looks
at the same situation from a completely different perspective, implying
that it's better to reap the benefits after the hard work is
already done (Pollak and Freda, 1997). Using humorous or absurd examples
can help students see problems from various angles (Pollak and Freda,
1997). Humor also allows the expression of ideas that would otherwise be
rejected, criticized, or censored (Ziegler, 1998).
Researchers have documented a positive relationship between
instructors' use of humor and student evaluations of instructors
(Torok et al., 2004). In addition, the use of humor in teaching is
associated with higher perceptions of learning. Wanzer and Frymier
(1999) use a Humor Orientation (HO) scale to measure student perceptions
of their in structors' skill in using humor in a variety of
contexts. Instructors rated as having a high HO are perceived as more
competent communicators and are more socially attractive to students
than instructors rated as having a low HO. Students also report learning
more from instructors with a high HO (Wanzer and Frymier, 1999).
Students are more likely to attend class, pay attention, and ultimately
learn more from high HO instructors than from low HO instructors (Wanzer
and Frymier, 1999).
Torok et al. (2004) investigate the correlation between
instructors' incorporation of humor into their courses and judgment
about instructors' competence and effectiveness. They (2004) also
examine whether students feel their learning experience has been
improved when their instructors use humor. When students are asked
whether they prefer their instructors to use humor in the classroom, 73%
of students strongly agreed with humor being used in education (Torok et
al., 2004). When students were asked whether humor helped them to learn
material, 80% of students believed that humor helped them learn concepts
better. When students were asked what kinds of humor they enjoyed in the
classroom, they responded most frequently with puns ,jokes, riddles,
cartoons, sarcasm, metaphor, well as funny stories and comments (Torok
et al., 2004). Students frequently mentioned that humor tends to
decrease tension and course anxiety, increase classroom morale, as well
as facilitate the understanding of principles, concepts, and relevant
examples.
Drawbacks of Humor
While humor is widely recognized as having beneficial implications
for student learning, it is important to recognize that some types of
humor can be viewed as offensive and unfitting for a college classroom
environment (Table 2). Wanzer et al. (2006) conducts an open-ended
survey regarding appropriate and inappropriate uses of humor. Student
responses are compiled into four major categories. Appropriate types of
humor tend to be course-related such as jokes on principles, concepts,
examples, and media aides. Humor unrelated to course material such as
harmlessly teasing students and college life stereotypes, as well as
unintentional humor such as puns and slips of the tongue are also
favored and appropriate.
Nevertheless, inappropriate categories include disparaging humor
that are directed at students or poke fun of mistakes made by students
(belittle jokes) and must also be discouraged in classroom (Wanzer et
al., 2006). Disparaging humor may degrade students' gender,
ethnicity, nationality, religion, creed, political party affiliation, or
sexual orientation or preference, along with intelligence, physical
appearance, and area of residence (type of neighborhood) (Wanzer et al.,
2006). Inappropriate categories may also include offensive humor such as
distasteful jokes that are sexual, morbid, or vulgar in nature (Wanzer
et al., 2006).
Sarcasm, metaphor, cynical thinking, and poking fun at
students' mistakes and ignorant behaviors are inappropriate, and
must be removed from the classroom because these types of humor belittle
college students and make them feel self-conscious (Wanzer et al.,
2006). Weaver and Cotrell (1987) warned against forced and excessive
humor as well. College instructors should appear natural, not as though
they are straining to make students laugh. Humor should be constructive
and used in moderation. Excessive humor can undermine the credibility of
speakers and have the opposite effect on student learning, making them
bored or frustrated by the relentless string of jokes. Therefore,
college instructors can easily lose course objectives and get
sidetracked by string of unnecessary jokes.
Educational Implications
A major goal of college instructors is to facilitate and maximize
student learning, as they become active seekers of knowledge. Another
major goal of instructors is to have students not only enjoy the class,
but also learn to truly enjoy and appreciate the subject matter.
Enthusiastic instructors spend time thinking about ways to present
course information in creative, interesting, and positive ways that will
be memorable for students in many years to come (Pollak and Freda,
1997). For instance, instead of merely reading about the American
Revolution, students can act out battle scenes between the American and
British armies. This approach makes the project interactive and brings
an element of fun to the lesson, instead of passively soaking in lengthy
lectures. Instructional videos can be used to teach otherwise mundane
subjects, such as School House Rock for grammar, Eyewitness Videos for
science, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and The Magic School Bus for science.
These instructional videos consist of funny characters, creative songs,
and witty commentary. Both students and instructors can benefit from a
fun environment where students not only enjoy the lesson, but are also
encouraged to take risks and think creatively to solve problems.
Overall, humor is an appreciated teaching tool for college
instructors, and is an integral component for student learning if
instructors are using it appropriately, constructively, and in
moderation. Humor has a psychological power to alleviate stress,
tension, and depression, as well as elevate self-esteem. From cognitive
or educational perspectives, the use of humor can also increase
students' interest, attention, motivation, and comprehension of the
course material. By using appropriate types and moderate amount of humor
in the classroom, college instructors can truly foster a positive
climate that is conducive to student learning.
References
Check, J. (1997). Humor in education. Physical Educator, 54(3),
165-167.
Kher, N.,Molstad, S., & Donahue, R. (1999). Using humor in the
college classroom to enhance teaching effectiveness in 'dread
courses'. College Student Journal, 33(3), 400-407.
Pollak, J., & Freda, P. (1997). Humor, learning, and
socialization in middle level classrooms. Clearing House, 70(4),
176-179.
Shatz, M., & LoSchiavo, F. (2005). Learning through laughter:
Using humor in online courses boosts participation. Industrial Engineer:
IE, 37(9), 66.
Torok, S., McMorris, R., & Lin, W. (2004). Is humor an
appreciated teaching tool? College Teaching, 52(1), 14-20.
Wanzer, M., & Frymier, A. (1999). The relationship between
student perceptions of instructor humor and students' reports of
learning. Communication Education, 48(1), 48-62.
Wanzer, M., Frymier, A., Wojtaszczyk, A., & Smith, T.
(2006).Appropriate and inappropriate uses of humor by teachers.
Communication Education, 55(2), 178-196.
Weaver II, R., & Cotrell, H. (1987). Ten specific techniques
for developing humor in the classroom. Education, 108(2), 167-179.
Ziegler, J. (1998). Use of humour in medical teaching. Medical
Teacher, 20(4), 341-348.
Simon A. Lei, Jillian L. Cohen and Kristen M. Russler, Department
of Educational Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Simon
A. Lei at leis2@unlv. nevada.edu.
Table 1
Benefits of Humor on Learning from instructors' perspectives.
Benefit
Psychological (Students)
* Improves mental health
* Improves physical health
* Releases endorphins which help alleviate pain
* Helps cope with stress
* Alleviate tension
* Alleviate fear
* Alleviates anxiety
* Alleviates depression
* Reverses negatively conditioned feelings
* Enhances students' well-being
* Elevates self-image
* Elevates self-esteem
Social (Relationship with Students)
* Improves student morale
* Establishes professional relationships with students
* Encourages a sense of trust
* Breaks the ice
* Reduce fear
* Reduces tension
* Reveals humanness of instructors
* Breeches the gap between instructors and students
* Creates a relaxed atmosphere for learning
* Creates a positive learning climate
Cognitive (Educational)
* Captures student interest
* Enhances boring and/or dreaded subjects and courses
* Increases student attention
* Increases motivation
* Elevates students' self-confidence
* Facilitates comprehension of course information
* Inspires creativity
* Assists in problem-solving
* Encourages risk-taking
Table 2
Drawbacks of Humor on Learning from instructors' perspectives.
Drawback
Degrading Remarks of Students (Unrelated to Course)
* Gender
* Ethnicity
* Nationality
* Religion
* Creed
* Political party affiliation
* Sexual orientation or preference
* Student stereotypes
* College life stereotypes
* Intelligence
* Physical appearance
* Area of residence (type of neighborhood)
* Embarrassing stories
* Poking fun at mistakes and ignorant behaviors
Offensive Humor (Types)
* Sexual
* Morbid
* Vulgar
* Sarcasm
* Metaphor
* Cynical thinking
Excessive Humor
* Undermines the credibility of instructors
* Makes students feel self-conscious
* Makes students feel bored and/or frustrated
* Lose focus of instructional objectives