Integration of Humor in Math and Science Teaching

Humor and laughter are two interwoven concepts, often related to enjoyment and good mood. They constitute a significant part of our behavior. In light of previous studies which pointed to the significance of humor in teaching, the present study examines the  elations between math teachers’ attitudes toward the use of humor and their motivation to use humor in their teaching. The study question is: what is the relation between elementary school math and science teachers’ attitudes toward integrating humor in their classes, and their motivation to use humor in their teaching. 360 math teachers from the Arab and Druse sector were randomly chosen from elementary schools in the North of Israel. A quantitative methodology has been used in the present study: two questionnaires were used as tools: a questionnaire for examining math teachers’ attitudes toward the use of humor (Gazit, 2013, Hebrew); and a questionnaire for examining the motivation for using humor in teaching (Ingels, 2010). The results of the study show that math teachers who have positive attitude toward humor, have a higher motivation to use humor in their teaching, and a significant positive relation was found between teachers’ attitude toward integrating humor and its spontaneous use by them.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Not applicable

The datasets used in this study are openly available at [repository link] and the source code is available on GitHub at [GitHub link].