fibrillator: Evidence-Based Techniques in Teaching
and Assessment (Stylus Publishing, 2002), publis-
hed by Ronald A. Berk.
Humor can be both positive and negative; it depends
entirely on the teachers to incorporate age- appropria-
te humors in their teaching methods. Humor should
enhance the self-esteem of the students rather than
discouraging them. However, teachers should also
take care to avoid using excessive amount of humor
in their teaching, as it could have a negative impact
on learning. Positive connections between teachers’
use of humor and academic achievement even fo-
llow students into colleges and beyond (Hickman &
Crossland, 2004-2005). In one of the study presen-
ted at the American Psychological Society conven-
tion in Los Angeles, California, Ohio University psy-
chology professors Mark Shatz and Frank LoSchiavo
claim that humor, when incorporated in online cour-
ses, yield productive results. He says, “Humor can
be either a social lubricant or an interpersonal irritant.
When used appropriately, humor builds classroom
rapport, heightens student attention, and helps stu-
dents view the instructor as “human.” Most impor-
tantly, instructional humor reminds students that lear-
ning is fun.” Prof. Shatz told that they took an existing
online general psychology course and systematically
enhanced it with the addition of humor in the form
of self-deprecating jokes, cartoons and top ten lists
all related to the subject matter. Forty-four students
were then randomly assigned to either the traditio-
nal section or the humor-enhanced section, and the
researchers assessed their academic performance
and level of participation. The team used the online
system Blackboard to tally the number of times stu-
dents logged on and participated in the discussion
boards. At the end, they also asked students to fill out
surveys rating their overall enjoyment of the course.
The researchers found that students in the humor-
enhanced section were more likely to post comments
on discussion boards. They also seemed to enjoy
the course more. Moreover, the benefits might not be
limited to students; research suggests that students
Winter / Spring 2017 | ZEALOUSNESS MAGAZINE |