Guidelines for Developing and Implementing Humor in Nursing Classrooms

The three teachers in this study selected many types of humor to exemplify their points. To avoid predictability, they varied their humor presentation styles and frequency by using simple cartoons projected on a screen, jokes and stories, and songs and dance routines. All three teachers engaged in a continuous search for new material to further expand their repertoire. Careful not to overuse humor, they never lost sight of the learning objectives, but they added enough humor to sustain students' attention. The teachers gradually increased their use of classroom humor as they felt more comfortable with the content and setting. All of the students' and teachers' comments corroborate the conclusions reached by Bryant and Zillmann 1989), "It would appear that success in teaching with humor...depends on employing the right type of humor, under the proper conditions, at the right time, and with properly motivated and receptive students' (p. 74). Not all types of humor are appropriate for all teachers. However, for teachers who carefully invest time and effort into learning to teach with humor, the reward can be a successful and enjoyable experience for all involved.