Effects of Teacher Humor on Perceived Instructional Quality: An Experimental Approach

• In Event: The Role of Teachers in Enhancing Student Outcomes

Abstract

The present contribution aims at analyzing effects of different types of teacher humor on instructional quality—testing the assumption that particularly humor related to the subject matter can improve relevant aspects of instruction. Therefore, two experiments using parallelized and videotaped teaching units were conducted. Experiment 1 focused on students’ perception of teacher humor and instruction (N = 293), while Experiment 2 used a teacher sample (N = 142). Results indicated differential effects of four types of teacher humor on perceptions of socio-emotional, motivational, cognitive and classroom-management dimensions of instruction. The results supported the assumption that mainly humor related to the subject matter may be an effective tool in classroom instruction.

Authors

• Sonja Rita Bieg, Weingarten University of Education

• Markus Dresel, University of Augsburg