Berge2016

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Berge2016
BibType ARTICLE
Key Berge2017
Author(s) Maria Berge
Title The Role of Humor in Learning Physics: a Study of Undergraduate Students
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, Humor, Laughter, Education, Science, Learning
Publisher
Year 2017
Language English
City
Month
Journal Research in Science Education
Volume 47
Number 2
Pages 427–450
URL Link
DOI 10.1007/s11165-015-9508-4
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

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Abstract

We all know that they do it, but what do students laugh about when learning science together? Although research has shown that students do use humor when they learn science, the role of humor in science education has received little attention. In this study, undergraduate students’ laughter during collaborative work in physics has been investigated. In order to do this, a framework inspired by conversation analysis has been used. Empirical data was drawn from two video-recorded sessions in which first-year engineering students solved physics problems together. The analysis revealed that the students’ use of humor was almost exclusively related to physics. Five themes identified summarize the role of humor in the group discussions: Something is obvious, Something is difficult, Something said might be wrong, Something is absurd, and Something said is not within informal norms.

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