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So This Funny Thing Happened in Class Running head: SO THIS FUNNY THING HAPPENED... 1 So This Funny Thing Happened in Class... A Study on Humour, Student-Teacher Immediacy, and Perceived Teacher-Efficacy Capstone Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts in Education (Concentration in Community College) Central Michigan University Submitted by Allison Menegoni Capstone Monitor Dr. Kaleb Patrick October, 2018 SO THIS FUNNY THING HAPPENED... 2 Abstract This phenomenological study examines how and why college instructors intentionally use humour in their classrooms, and explores their perceptions of its effects on their student-teacher relationships, and perceived levels of teacher-efficacy. This study attempts to answer a central research question, “How do college instructors intentionally use humour to create student-teacher immediacy, and how do they perceive this impacts their effectiveness as teachers?” Responses to key questions are satisfied through one-on-one interviews with experienced, full-time faculty, at a single Community College in Ontario. Study results indicate that study participants, despite significant variance in the myriad humour types used in the classroom, perceive that pedagogical humour is essential to the creation of a healthier, more positive teaching-learning environments, and is indispensable in increasing student-teacher immediacy, and enhancing instructors’ self-perceptions of teaching effectiveness. The study suggests increasing the availability of professional development opportunities for faculty pertaining to practices and methodologies around incorporating humour into teaching in higher education settings, and concludes that although humour appears vital in the creation of effective teaching-learning constructs, it is chronically under-researched. Ten areas of future scholarly inquiry are suggested in the hopes of increasing the extent body of knowledge pertaining to the applicability of humour as a pedagogical teaching tool in higher education, and its effects on student-teacher immediacy and instructor-perceived teaching efficacy. SO THIS FUNNY THING HAPPENED... 3 Acknowledgements To “my girls”, Judi Joslin, Tracy Sherriff, and Mary Pierce from Mohawk Cohort 2: I bow to you. You gave me the energy and encouragement to stagger across this finish line. I do believe that if we compiled our all our messages and emails together and bound it, it would be only slightly less lengthy than War and Peace (Tolstoy, 1869). To Dr. Kaleb Patrick, your encyclopedic knowledge of student development theory and unwavering belief in me as a social scientist was utterly inspiring. Thank you for your wisdom and boundless insight. Infinite gratitude and love to my husband Roberto, who, astonishingly, never once went shopping for a new wife during this process, at least as far as I am aware. And to my daughter Madelaine, you motivated me to push forward and role-model grit and persistence as you started your own journey in higher education, because I knew you were watching. Finally, to my research participants, who so openly, candidly, and often hilariously, shared their lived experiences and insights around the concept of a laughing classroom, I thank you. You are brilliant educators all, and our college is a better place for having you in it. In this life we are all Just walking up the mountain, and we can sing as we climb, or we can complain about our sore feet. Whichever we choose, we still gotta do the hike. I decided a long time ago, singing made a lot more sense. – Author Unknown SO THIS FUNNY THING HAPPENED... 4 Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ 3 Chapter 1: The Research Problem ............................................................................................... 6 Background Statement .......................................................................................................................................................... 6 Problem Statement and Context ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Purpose Statement .................................................................................................................................................................. 8 Research Questions ................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Significance of Study ............................................................................................................................................................ 8 Definition of Terms ............................................................................................................................................................... 9 Scope and Delimitations ................................................................................................................................................... 10 Overview of the Literature and Theoretical Constructs ......................................................................................... 11 Overview of Methodology ............................................................................................................................................... 13 Overview of the Study ....................................................................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2: Review of the Literature .......................................................................................... 16 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Humour and Student-Teacher Immediacy .................................................................................................................. 26 Verbal immediacy behaviours. ....................................................................................................................................... 28 Nonverbal immediacy behaviours ................................................................................................................................. 29 The Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................................................ 32 Future Research and Conclusions .................................................................................................................................. 43 Chapter 3: Methodology ............................................................................................................. 45 Introduction and Overview .............................................................................................................................................. 45 Purpose of the Study .......................................................................................................................................................... 46 Central Research Question ............................................................................................................................................... 46 Research Sub-questions .................................................................................................................................................... 46 Research Design .................................................................................................................................................................. 47 Population and Sample ...................................................................................................................................................... 47 Data Collection .................................................................................................................................................................... 49 Data Collection Instruments ............................................................................................................................................ 49 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................................................................ 51 Ethical Considerations ....................................................................................................................................................... 52 Timeline .................................................................................................................................................................................. 54 Chapter 4: Data Analysis ............................................................................................................ 55 SO THIS FUNNY THING HAPPENED... 5 Study Parameters ................................................................................................................................................................. 56 Coding ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 58 Themes and Sub-themes
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