Humor : A pedagogical tool to promote learning

Background: It has become critical that learners are exposed to varied methods of teaching and assessment that will promote critical thinking of learners. Humor creates a relaxed atmosphere where learning can be enhanced and appreciated. When learners are relaxed, thinking becomes eminent. Authoritative and tense environment hinders thinking. Aim: This paper seeks to explore the perceptions of nurse teacher learners regarding the use of humor as a pedagogical tool to promote learning. Method: A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was employed (Bums & Grove, 2001:61; Mouton, 1996:103). 130 naïve sketches were collected from nurse teacher learners who volunteered to take part in the study (Giorgi /«.Ornery, 1983:52) Follow up interviews were conducted to verify the findings. A qualitative, open-coding method of content analysis was done Tesch (in Creswell, 1994:155). Measures to ensure trustworthiness of the study were taken in accordance with the protocol of (Lincoln & Guba, 1985:290-326). Implications for nursing education, training and practice: The findings of the study will assist the nurse educators to create a positive, affective, psychological and social learning environment through the use of humor in a positive manner. Nurse educators will appreciate the fact that integration of humor to the learning content will promote the learners’ critical thinking and emotional intelligence. Negative humor has a negative impact on learning. Learner nurses who become critical thinkers will be able to be analytical and solve problems amicably in practice.


Introduction
There is a co n tin u o u s debate and dialogue about how teach in g and learning can be facilitated.Teachers are urged to seek better and alternative ways of teaching to improve their practice over and above the use o f the traditional methods o f teaching.It is not often acknowledged that one can effectively use oneself to improve one's teaching and learning practice.How the teacher undertakes the teaching role in class, the teacher's disposition, and the positive use of humor, will instill confidence and respect to the teacher and will create a trusting relationship between the teacher and the learner.A helping attitude, openness, willingness and an empathetic disposition on the part o f the teacher will determine the degree to which the learner will believe in the teacher, and therefore take responsibility for his or her own learning.
A teacher who creates an environment conducive to teaching and learning through positive, goal-directed humor will make the learner gain confidence and be eager to learn more because a truly concerned, committed, understanding, know ledgeable, h ig h -sp irite d and supportive teacher is there to aid learners in regaining control o f their own learning.The use of humor to enhance teaching and learning demonstrate passion on the part of the teacher and shows that he or she does not see teaching simply as a chore that must be done.Humor used as a pedagogical tool also helps the teacher to m aintain a liv ely and engaged relationship with the learner.The teacher regards learners as unique human beings whose learning needs are to be met and not as objects who must be fed with book knowledge in a tense atmosphere.Kelly (2005:5) argues that the teacher's main job is to help students fall in love with the content and their own learning.Teachers have the most influence and power on the learners.They can mould an ap p reciatio n for the subject, depending on the approach.They can create a learning environment filled with hope, trust, respect, interest, positive attitudes, creativity, unpredictability and fun through the use o f humor.All these aspects enhance the learning process and m otivate and energize both the teacher and the learners.Teachers are urged to make humor an integral part of the curriculum rather than using it only after completing serious work (Kelly, 2005:4).Humor used as a pedagogical tool can be very effective in motivating students to engage with the subject m atter.A ccording to R obinson (in Hayden-Miles, 2002:1), humor provides a caring environm ent within which criticism and values can be expressed and mistakes pointed out without destroying the learn ers' self-im age.Hum or is em bedded in a p a rtic u la r social environment.
It is crucial and challenging for teachers to draw on the learning experiences of learn ers for co n tinu ous teacher development.This is achieved by sharing their unique educational stories and constantly reflecting on their teaching practice.Teachers should realize the power o f using the learners' previous knowledge, skills and attitudes to create space for learners to deconstruct and construct their own knowledge.Human collaboration and dialogue is in the forefront in facilitating teaching and learning.Teachers should realize the power of learning from what learners tell them .Teachers should becom e colearners in the process of teaching and learning hence this article is focused on exploring the perceptions o f nurse teacher learners regarding the use of humor as a pedagogical tool to facilitate learning.

Problem statement
Although some researchers have studied the use of humor in nursing education, the strategy is not seen as an effective pedagogical tool to facilitate learning as is evidenced by the lack of its application -particularly in clinical nursing education where anxiety and tension prevail (Ulloth, 2003:127).The follow ing research questions emanate from the introduction: what are the perceptions o f nursing education learners regarding the use of humor as a pedagogical tool to facilitate learning?W hat gu id elin es can be formulated to improve learning through the use o f humor?

Aim
The study seeks to explore the percep tio n s o f nursing education learners regarding the use of humor as a pedagogical tool to facilitate learning and to form ulate guidelines to im prove teaching and learning through humor.

Definitions of key concepts
In this study both the conceptual and operational definitions will be defined.A conceptual d efin itio n conveys the research's perspective on the concept humor.This definition is not sufficient in itself because it does not specify how hum or is to be observed and / or measured, that is, the specific steps the researcher must take in order to gather the required information which is the function of operational definition (Brink, 2001:95).

Humor
Humor is conceptually defined as an attitude, a perspective, a set o f skills that can help a person to achieve important goals in life.Humor certainly includes jokes, but it goes way beyond joke-telling (Goodman, 2005:6).

Positive humor
In this study, the operational definition of positive humor refers to an attitude or perspective that will reduce the tension in class.Learners feel relaxed, open and accepted.The atmosphere is more sociable and learners can converse or answ er questions in class more freely without feeling intimidated by the teacher.The teacher who m akes use o f hum or positively to promote learning will be more approachable and appealing to learners.Learners experience learning with enjoyment and thus thinking and creativity takes place more readily (Goodman, 2005:5)

Negative humor
On the other hand, negative humor is operationally defined as an attitude or perspective that is intended to belittle, ridicule, discriminate and encourage negativity amongst learners.Negative humor is disruptive and can divide learners (Kelly, 2005:2).

Learning
Learning is an activity in which the person being taught actively wishes to benefit from the teaching and engages with a particular learning content for the purpose o f understanding it and understanding how it can be used in practice (Fraser;Loubser & Van Rooy, 1993:3).

Learner
A learner is conceptually defined as an individual who obtains knowledge and skills from the learning content under the supervision and guidance of the teacher and becomes increasingly competent in obtaining, in terp retin g and using knowledge and skills in an independent manner.The learner has to learn in a formal, structured and disciplined way (Fraser etal, 1993:8,15).
In this study learners are registered nurses who are undertaking a post-basic degree course on a regular one day per week at a university in Gauteng.The course is approved in terms of section 15 (2) of the Nursing Act (Act 50 of 1978 as amended) directed by Regulation 118 of 1987 with the aim of registering the learner on completion with the South African N u rsin g C ouncil for additional qualification in nursing education.

Pedagogics
Pedagogics refers to the science which studies education as an aspect of reality, that is, teaching and learning and all its related aspects (Fraser et al., 1993:5).In this study, the science referred to studies the educational activity as it occurs between adults.

Research design and method
An ex p lo rato ry , d esc rip tiv e and contextual qualitative research design was employed to gain insight through exploring the depth, richness, and complexity o f the data inherent in humor used as a pedagogical tool to facilitate learning (Burns & Grove, 2001:61;M outon, 1996:103).The aim o f exploratory studies is to establish facts, to gather new data and to determine whether there are interesting patterns in the data (Mouton, 1996:103).

Data collection method
The perceptions o f nursing education learners concerning the use o f humor as a didactic tool to facilitate learning were gathered through descriptive naïve sketches Giorgi (in Ornery, 1983:52) followed by individual interviews to verify the findings.Bums and Grove (2001:102) assert that descriptive or factual knowledge which includes data, facts, narratives and stories provide truthful descriptions o f the phenomenon under study.The nature o f descriptive naïve sketches is inductive, exploratory and descriptive in order to investigate and describe all phenomena, including the human experiences in the way these phenomena appear "in their fullest breath and depth".The researcher approached the study w ith no p reconceived expectations or categories.That is, the subject to be studied was approached naively, all data was understood from the perspective o f the participants and was accepted as given (Giorgi in Omery, 1983:50).From a class o f 150 final-year students for a post-basic degree in nursing, a purposive sam ple o f 130 students volunteered to participate in the study.The other 20 students did not attend class on the day the data was collected.The study took place at the end of the second semester.Research questions were w ritten on a transparency for students using an overhead projector as follows: 1.
What are your perceptions regarding the use of humor as a pedagogical tool to facilitate learning?2.
What guidelines can be formulated to facilitate learning through the use o f -humor?
Students were given enough sheets of paper to write on.Participation was strictly voluntary and they signed a consent form.No disturbance was envisaged as the venue was far from telephones.Participants were assured confidentiality in the sense that only the researcher and the co-coder would be in a position to read the responses during data analysis.They were ensured that sheets would be destroyed after the study was completed.Anonymity was ensured in that they w ere given instructions not to write their names on the sheets.They were told that they could withdraw their participation at any time they wished to without threats of prejudice from the researcher.Participants were allowed to write without any time limit so that perceived ideas and thoughts on the research topic could unfold as they existed.As participants w ere w ritin g , the re searc h er was collecting field notes to demonstrate the participants' individual dynamics and gestures to enrich and support the collected data (L incoln & G uba, 1985:272).In fifty minutes, all participants had completed the naïve sketches and most o f them were laughing as they handed them in.

Data analysis
Tesch (in Creswell, 1994:155)'s qualitative open-coding method of data analysis was used.The researcher slowly read the entire descriptions to get the sense of the whole and to identify individual units.R edundant in fo rm atio n was elim inated and the m eanings o f the remaining units were clarified by relating them to each other and to the whole.Data analysis proceeded in d u ctiv ely by classifying common descriptions into themes.An external coder, who is familiar with the data analysis protocol, was purposively selected to independently analyze the data according to Tesch (in Cresw ell, 1994:15 5 )'s data analysis protocol.A consensus discu ssio n meeting between the researcher and the co-coder was held to arrive at a common understanding about the identified themes.
To acquire in-depth information and to verify the common themes about the perceptions, a follow up interview was conducted with 20 participants from the previous sample who also volunteered to be interviewed for the purpose of verifying the themes.Verification is a process o f improving efficiency and quality that can ultimately lead to quality products.It is literally about verifying and confirm ing the v alid ity o f a phenomenon.It should be understood as a driving force o f quality which com pels us to seek im provem ent (Murphy, 1995:15).

Trustworthiness
The four p rin cip les to ensure trustworthiness of the study were used, that is credibility, tran sfera b ility , dependability and co n fo rm ab ility (Lincoln & Guba, 1985:290-326).

Credibility
The following measures increased the credibility of the study: the researcher's extensive know ledge o f qualitative research paradigm and the engagement of an external co-coder in data analysis process.The co-coder is an expert in qualitative research strategy qualified in nursing education.Triangulation o f sources was attained by using various credible primary and secondary sources on the use o f humor in teaching and learning.
An existing protocol for qualitative opencoding data analysis was used Tesch (in Creswell, 1994:155).Findings were recontex tu alized for the purp o se o f formulating the guidelines to facilitate learning through humor.The findings from naïve sketches were verified through conducting follow up interviews in an attempt to increase the credibility of the study.S tructural coheren ce was maintained by consistently asking about the perceptions regarding the use o f humor as a pedagogical tool to facilitate learning.

Transferability
Although the study is contextual in nature, the need to improve teaching and learning is a u n iv ersal one to all educators, in particular, in clinical nursing education where there is continuous tension.The author assumes that the g u id elin es fo rm ulated w ill be o f assistance to other nurse educators in improving learning through humor.The dense description of the method used for the study will make replication of the study by other researchers possible.

Dependability and conformability
The study was consistent across the qu alitativ e m ethods o f research, congruent w ith and guided by the research question (dependability audit).The use of external independent coder to reach consensus agreement on the categ o ries and them es and the triangulation o f sources increased the dependability and conformability of the study.

Description and discussion of results
The results of the study are described in accordance with Table 1.The participants perceived the effects of positive humor and that o f negative humor as major categories.The positive humor category has its related themes as indicated in the table below.The resu lts are conceptualized from literature and guidelines will be described to facilitate learning through the use o f humor.

Positive humour
All participants indicated that humor, if used positively, prom otes learning.
Focus was put on humor as a means to create a positive psycho-social learning environment, and the effect of humor on the learner.
Humor promotes learning through creating a positive, affective, psycho social learning environment

Humor promote critical thinking
According to the American Philosophical Association (APA) study directed by Facione (1990:2), critical thinking is understood to be self-reg u lato ry judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference as well as A positive use of humor can challenge learners to engage in problem-solving ac tiv ities, the resolutio n o f contradictions, and the justification of their views.They will also want to know' the different alternatives to the solution of the problem.Teachers need to create a safe, challenging learning environment in which learners feel lice to explore, experiment, make mistakes through trial and error, ask challenging questions freely in a state o f "relaxed alertness" (Caine & Caine in Graved, 2001:46).
A relaxed mental alertness will encourage challenging interactions.It will invite dialogue and provide both the teacher and the learner with the opportunity to critically analyze, interpret, synthesize, make inferences, explain and evaluate assum ptions, beliefs, thoughts and actions.This should include interactions where learners are confronted with opposing and alternative views to trigger cognitive disequilibrium .C ognitive disequilibrium is the tension people feel when they experience something that does not lit what they already know.This tension causes them to involve themselves with the new experience until they can understand or lit into what they know or can do (Wlodkowsk i, 1998:107).On the other hand.Wool folk (1990:46) explains disequilibrium as disturbance in search ofmental balance.Disequilibrium causes learners to be uncomfortable and this motivates them to keep on searching for a solution.Thus critical thinking is stimulated and learning takes place.Using humor in a challenging manner within the appropriate learning context, or desig n in g hum or around the educational point being made, will induce learners to think and rethink their u n d erstan d in g o f the content and examine their reasoning so that new knowledge can be constructed (Powell & Andresen in Ulloth, 2003:127).The appropriate use of positive humor will provide the climate in which learners feel encouraged to express their views and to oppose those o f others w ithout experiencing the situation as threatening.Learners gain self-confidence and freely take part actively from the onset and demonstrate respect and passion for the subject once they realize that their contributions are appreciated (Hammond & Collins, 1991:48).
The dynamic that underpins critical thinking is the interactive, collaborative participation of learners using dialogue in a relaxed atmosphere (Gravett, 2001:41).This dynamic will not be made possible in a rigid, authoritarian environment.

The participants noted: "humor encourages a healthy participation by all learners regardless o f race or religion. With humor, complex mental activities such as critical thinking, decision-making and pro b lem -so lving can be easily accomplished, because humor invites d iscussion and dialogue. Through dialogue we can analyze, interpret, explain and evaluate issues according to our understanding. We can actively listen to the views o f other learners, syn th esize them and com e up with d iffe ren t and new insights or perspectives. For those who are slow in grasping, we can explain to them at our own pace, evaluate and monitor our u n d ersta n d in g w ith out fe a r o f intimidation ".
H um or creates the clim ate for inquisitiveness.Learners want to go beyond 'book know ledge ' because, according to participants, the teacher is open-minded, flexible and approachable.Probing questions are used without fear of intimidation.The skills of inferencemaking and evaluation of issues are easily developed where humor is infused into the content.In a humorous climate it is easy to concentrate.Learners remember better when a humorous image is used to explain a phenomenon.The learners' selfco n fid en ce is boosted.They are encouraged to come to class where humor is used as a pedagogical tool.There is a feeling of belonging to the group with a positive attitude to each other as cited: "we fe e l awake, motivated, inspired, stimulated and empowered.It breaks the silence and rigidity.We feel open and accepted.We have an open-m inded approach to our learning." Learners further felt that through humor, they are able to create a respecting and trusting relationship with other learners and lecturers.The teacher perceives learners as unique individuals with an inherent right to learn."We want to enjoy the presentation so as to look forw ard to attending the next lecture" participants remarked.
Through hum or the te a c h e r's characteristics come to the fore.The m otivation, ap p ro ach ab ility , the enthusiasm, the passion for own subject, the expert knowledge and experience will be displayed by the ability to infuse humor into the content, by formulating examples using humor so that learners remember more readily -i.e.relating the le a rn e r's preco n cep tio n s to the know ledge.H um or in creases the teach er's coaching, facilitating and guiding abilities.It increases the teacher's critical and reflective abilities.
Teachers who have a sense o f humor are usually accepted by learners because of their good, less authoritarian attitude.Respectful and trusting relationships are also built between the learners and the teachers.L earners becom e m ore recep tiv e to the learning content."Humor is like medicine fo r the soul and heals whatever emotional scars we might bring to class.Things learned in a humanistic way are better remembered.Humor helps the teacher to go down to the learners and reduces the distance betw een the learner and the welllearned person.I f learners enjoy the class, they will enjoy the subject and strive to do well.It keeps the learners ' attention.Humor makes us to appreciate ourselves and teachers even more ", said participants.
Critical thinking is promoted through dialogue.According to Gravett (2001:36), meaningful dialogue that intends to break through to new insights and is marked by an attitude o f reciprocity among learners underpinned by interest, trust, respect, and sharing of this educational journey can only take place in a relaxed atmosphere and the use of humor plays an integral part in creating such an atmosphere.The word dialogue derives its meaning from the Greek words 'dia ' w hich m eans 'tw o ', a co nn ectio n between, across or through, and 'logos ' which denotes thought, reason, meaning and judgment.Dialogue is summarized by Burbules (in Gravett 2001:35) as a form o f social relatio n s that engages participants.A successful dialogue involves an exchange o f perspectives, experiences and beliefs in w hich participants engage in willing partnership and co-operation in the face o f likely disagreements, confusion, failures and misunderstandings.Persisting in this process requires a relaxed environment characterized by an attitude of mutual respect, trust, openness, active listening and concern.Use of humor encourages dialogue as an authentic learning process during which meaning is consistently gathered and unfolded in the process of attaining understanding.This learning process takes place in an explorative manner.Dialogic teaching integrated with humor implies that the educator, the learner and know ledge should be engaged in a dynamic reciprocal unity (Gravett & Henning 1998:61).

Humor promote emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence can be conceived as a measure of the degree to which a person successfully (or unsuccessfully) applies sound judgment and reasoning to situ atio n s in the pro cess o f determining an emotional or feeling response to those situations.It would entail the bringing o f co g n itiv e intelligence to bear upon both positive and negative emotions.It would be a m easure o f the extent to which our affective response was 'rationally' based.Goleman (1998:317) defines the term 'emotional intelligence' as the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those o f others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in our relationships.Emerging naturally out of rational emotions would be reasonable desires and sensible behavior.
To maintaining positive emotions while learning enlightens one's emotions and sustains interest and involvement in the learning activities.The appropriate use of humor can also contribute to the development of emotional intelligence' as it creates a relaxed atmosphere where learners feel safe, capable and accepted.
Learners realize that they are also allowed to err.Laughter can go a long way in improving a tense atmosphere and in re energizing learners, particularly when the learning co n ten t is com plex, controversial or intimidating, especially in a clinical learning situation.Humor can help pacify emotions and relax learners.Humor appropriately integrated with content and making use of the learners' previous knowledge, can serve as a 'hook' for remembering important content (Apps in Gravett, 2001:44,45).Both the mind and the heart must be involved for effective learning and teaching to take place (Freshwaters & Stickley, 2004:91-98).
The concept emotional intelligence has becom e a buzzw ord in the field o f education.Teachers who are able to dem onstrate em otionally intelligent behavior in the classroom have been known to be more effective in achieving the academic goals they have set for th em selves and th eir learners.Demonstrating emotionally intelligent behavior helps create an em otional climate which enhances learning, reduces p eer co n flic ts and creates a m ore desirable teaching situation (Cobb & Mayer,2000:58;17).
Emotional intelligence provides the skill to control and to manage the emotions successfully.The concept of emotional intelligence implies that people are both rational and emotional beings.Adapting and coping abilities in a social context depend on the integrative functioning of rational (co g n itiv e) and em otional (affective) capacities (Fineman 2000:101).It is through reasoning that individuals id en tify w hat em otions they are experiencing, discover the beliefs and values that give rise to them, and decide what actions, if any, to take on the face of it (Locke 2005:425-431;Thingujam 2004:155-166).
Emotional intelligence emphasizes the cognitive, affective and social aspects of b eh av io r The co g n itive aspect o f emotionally intelligent behavior relates to the intelligent reasoning about the em otions one is ex periencing and in clu d es sk ills such as em otional aw aren ess, self-co n tro l and assertiveness.The affective aspect o f emotionally intelligent behavior refers to the ability to harness one's emotions and mood as a source of energy to positively influence one's wellbeing, goals, plans, survival and social role performance.It also includes personality aspects such as general m ood, optim ism and happiness (Cooper & Sawart, 2000:324).
The social aspect o f em otionally intelligent behavior relates to individuals' personal effectiveness in interpersonal interactions.It includes the ability to notice and make distinctions between o th er in d iv id u a ls, th eir m oods, tem p eram en ts, m o tiv atio n s and intentions and to use this information to regulate and guide one's thinking and actions in achieving one's goals in a socially acceptable manner.It includes skills such as empathy, respect, flexibility and unconditional acceptance of others (Cooper & Sawart, 2000:324).
The follow ing quotations from the participants characterize the teacher who has emotional intelligence, that is, who is emotionally balanced: "the teacher always smiles, keeps her voice low, does not shout, she is always polite.Treats us friendly, is assertive, firm and strict.

Creates a professional distance between him/her and the learners, speaks gently with a happy fa ce, guides learners properly, his/her enthusiasm lifts our sp irit. D em onstrates p a ssio n and devotion to teaching learners, is very energetic, has a positive attitude, is patient in listening to our problems and takes individuality o f learners into consideration
Humor is a risky business because the teach er does not alw ays know the learners' personalities and experiences so there is always some risk involved when jokes are used.Teachers need to find out about the background of learners first, by assessing their religious and cultural background and establishing some rapport with them.Kelly (2005:2) is o f the opinion that humor has so much force that it can com m unicate and connect or easily separate and destroy relationships.Humor can educate or denigrate, heal or harm, embrace or deface situations

Negative humor Impacts negatively on learning
There are primarily two types of humor: appropriate and inappropriate.Any humor that is intended to divide people, b e little or rid icu le, d iscrim in ate, encourage negativity or be at another person expense is inappropriate.
A ccording to K elly (2005:2), inappropriate humor offends people and comes from a closed heart.Inappropriate hum or is disruptive and should be handled in the same manner as any type of disruptive behavior, move quickly to change the subject and gain control.Negative humor can have adverse impact on learning.P articipants indicated: "humor should not be excessive such that the teacher becomes off focus from the learning outcomes and hurts learners.Humor must be used to emphasize or clarify a point.It would be ideal to use it as an in tro d u ctio n , for exam ple, explanation of complex issues and for closure of the lecture.Humor should not be used to degrade or mock the learners' efforts.Hurtful humor or jokes can turn a possible positive learning event into a negative, resentful situation.Humor should be appropriate to the learning content and be applicable if the situation arrives".Negative humor is brutal and hostile, and self-esteem can be wounded (Torok, M cM orris & Wen-Chi Lin, 2004:19).Not all learners appreciate humor or have a good sense of humor.Teachers should be alert when using humor and should consider the presence of learners from diverse racial cultural and religious backgrounds.
The negative use o f hum or is accompanied by feelings o f frustration, anxiety, confusion, defensiveness and anger (Gravett, 2001:43).That is why some very in te llig e n t learn ers who are achievers get them selves busy with constructive work like reading while the rest o f the class is laughing.Such learners easily get bored and feel that humor is a waste o f time -worse if it is negative and irritating.According to Klopper (2000/ 1:90), such learners are categorized as achievement-orientated learners who are highly structured and do not entertain jokes in class.Their time and work space is fully utilized and they concentrate on what counts, they avoids acts and jokes that waste time (Klopper, 2000/1:90).The aim o f learners with such an approach to learning is to acquire book-related content, write tests and get distinctions.Such learn ers w ill be irritated by meaningless humor.The teacher will have to keep a balance and integrate humor and content to clarify complex issues.The participants stated: "too much humor can disrupt my concentration.Humor should not be used to hide or disguise the weakness of the tutor but rather to guide and encourage learners".Kelly (2005:7) believes that frequent belly lau g h ter cures term inal tightness, cerebral stiffness and hardening of the attitudes and that ' I I A! 11 A!' (laughing) often leads to 'Alia!' (indicates the acq u isitio n o f new insight and perspectives).
It is strictly taboo and educationally unsound to use humor at the expense of the learners' feelings or by demeaning any person or group in a learning situation.Respect and the integrity of each learner should be \ allied in ways that welcome the worth and expression of one's true self w ithout fear of threat.1.earners should feel safe, capable and welcomed.Humor should be used to enhance u n d erstanding and enlightenment (Graven. 2001:40>).
Negative humor may not only have an impact to the learners directly but may also affect their perceptions of the faculty member (Torok. McMorris & Wcn-Chi Lin. 2004:20).
Learners mention that humor has the pow er to make teachers more likeable, facilitate u n d erstanding o f course material, lower tension, boost learners' morale, increase learners' attentiveness and promote a sense of communicating, from the description of the perceptions of participants and the related literature, the following guidelines emerged.
Guidelines to facilitate learning through the effective use of humor

Conclusion
The effects of both positive and negative hum or have been discussed.The guidelines to facilitate learning through the effective use of humor have also been described.Teachers are urged to be role models for some learners may adopt the teacher's presentation style.Teachers should be enthusiastic and have passion in their subjects and this w ill be demonstrated by: the in tellig en t, creativ e and meaningful integration of humor into the

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Table 1 :
Perceptions of nursing education learners regarding the use of humor as a pedagogical tool to facilitate learning