"Start a Movement, Eat a Prune": Student Humor in a Multimodal Learning Activity

• In Event: Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: Designing Effective Learning Environments II

Abstract

This study was focused on how students used humor in a multimodal online forum (Pinterest) to build and demonstrate their understanding of psycholinguistics. The research on how humor can lubricate the learning process has not been re-visited from the more nuanced current perspectives on learning and motivation, nor from the perspective of students as humor-producers. A grounded theory approach was used to examine the types of humor students pinned, the reactions these pins evoked, what constituted humor on the board, and what affordances the site offered. Several categories of humor (pun, sarcasm, malapropism) could result in reactions of glee, groans, “cute,” or failed attempts at humor. Pinterest encouraged multimodal humor that relied on incongruency, multiple layers of meaning, and novelty.

Authors

• Kyle M. Williams, The University of Texas at Austin

• Kwangok Song, Arkansas State University

• Alina Adonyi Pruitt, The University of Texas - Austin

• Diane L. Schallert, The University of Texas - Austin