The Role of Joking for Learning Science
An Exploration of Spontaneous Humour in Two Physics Education Settings
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21585673 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Maria Berge (0000-0003-3614-1692, Stockholm University, corresponding author), Per Anderhag (0000-0002-5547-5834, Stockholm University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 2331-2352 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Science & Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0926-7220 • E-ISSN: 1573-1901 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11191-025-00622-7 |
| OpenAlex | W4407277651 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 51 |
Talking science is based on the premise of being serious and dignified. Still, both teachers and students use humour when they communicate. However, little is known about the mechanisms of how learning science is constituted when teachers and students are using spontaneous humour in science classroom activities. In this study, we acknowledge this gap. We have analysed video data using practical epistemology analysis (PEA) from two different contexts in physics education, a physics classroom in grade 9 and a group of undergraduate students learning basic mechanics together. The findings showed that spontaneous humour, such as absurdities, supported the learning process in two ways: (1) orienting talk and action towards the scientific purposes of the assignments and (2) sorting out what scientific content and norms were/were not of relevance in the situation. The results illustrate how the participants made jokes to clarify how reasoning and actions tallied with the task at hand. These humorous situations positively affected students’ ability to act intentionally towards the aim of the activity, and the results show that this way of joking can have positive consequences for student learning. Therefore, humour ought to be viewed as a significant resource for learning in the science classroom. Doing science can, like any other activity, be a humorous endeavour in itself, without cartoons or extravagant shows
Mathematics education · Education and Critical Thinking Development · Innovative Teaching Methods · Psychology · Science Education and Pedagogy
Laughter and Ridicule
Good Humor, Bad Taste
Aesthetic Experience in Science Education
A Review of Humor in Educational Settings
Interest, motivation and attitude towards science and technology at K-12 levels
Learning as discourse change
Objectivity, Relativism, and Truth
Learning norms of science through laughter
The role of aesthetics in the teaching and learning of data modelling
Staging science with young people
Aesthetics, affect, and making meaning in science education
The role of aesthetics in learning science in an art-science lesson
Aesthetic experience and imagination in early elementary school science – a growth of ‘Science–Art–Language–Game’
Stereotypical Attributes of Scientists and Engineers in Jokes
Scientists as comedians
Gender Diversity in Play With Physics
Humor use in power-differentiated interactions
Humorous cartoons in college textbooks
Impacts of humor and relevance on the remembering of lecture details
Priorities in Scientific Discovery
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |