The authors propose a humor principle: humor may not improve learning of particular items but may drive learners to preferentially select a course¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · design r1 · q1
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q1 i? The authors hypothesize that people may not learn a particular item of instruction better with humor, but may preferentially select multimedia learning that includes humor. → Barbara A. Oakley and Terrence J. Sejnowski 2019

Evidence¶

Barbara A. Oakley and Terrence J. Sejnowski 2019¶

Barbara A. Oakley and Terrence J. Sejnowski. (2019). What we learned from creating one of the world's most popular MOOCs. npj Science of Learning 4:7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-019-0046-0

q1 · i? · design · r1

The authors' own experience indicates learners appreciate the humor in LHTL, which they feel is a contributor to the course's success not predicted by Mayer's principles. They note prior humor research shows mixed results and that a 1998 seductive-details study dealt only with written passages, not video or lecture.

"One hypothetical phrasing for a humor principle to be tested might be "People may not learn a particular item of instruction better with humor, but people may preferentially select multimedia learning that includes humor. ""

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The Learning How to Learn MOOC's popularity appears attributable to its presentation and instructional methods rather than its subject matter alone — a broader claim this one bears on
• Techniques raising both focus support and reward simultaneously are predicted to foster learning best; content-irrelevant humor is predicted not to — related
• Coherence Principle Irrelevant Material Hurts Learning — related