The purposes of this investigation were: (1)To determine if the use of humor as a teaching strategy would significantly affect the pupils' attitudes toward their classroom environment, their teacher, and the classwork being presented. (2)To determine if a significant relationship existed between the use of humor in the presentation and the amount of factual and conceptual information learned by the pupils. (3)To determine if the use of humor in the presentation would significantly enhance the ability to recall factual and conceptual information at a later date. / The sample was composed of 203 eleventh grade students from three Northwest Florida schools--97 males and 106 females. / To measure factual and conceptual information, the Section Survey Test for American History was used. This instrument, which consisted of 28 items, was developed by the investigator. The Instructor and Course Evaluation System, which was developed by the Measurement and Research Division of the University of Illinois, was used to measure pupil attitudes. / The analysis of data was performed by utilizing the t test procedures for unequal group size with significant difference at (alpha) = .05 level of confidence. When compared with ones reported in the literature, this study was unique in that it was performed by an experienced subject-area teacher in a regular scheduled class. Also, the lesson plan was not designed specifically for the study, but was one which had been used within the curriculum. / The conclusions were that the use of humor does appear to enhance significantly the recall of factual information, but not the recall of conceptual information. Neither does its use in the classroom seem to improve the pupils' sense of well-being, their attitude towards the teacher who uses it, nor the classwork which is interspersed with humor. Furthermore, the use of humor does not appear to affect the amount of subject material learned, either factual or conceptual. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-03, Section: A, page: 0928. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74432 |
| Contributors | FLEMING, FRANCES YOUNG., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 131 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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