Evaluating the Impact of the Humor Training Curriculum on Teachers’ Sense of Humor and Creativity

Author: Hsueh-Chih Chen(Dept. of Educational Psychology and Counseling, NTNU),Chih-Chun Hsu(Dept. of Educational Psychology and Counseling, NTNU)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 51, Special Issue on Creativity
Date：October 2006
Pages：71-93
DOI：10.3966/2073753X2006105103004

Abstract：

This study was concerned with the ICEMB (integrating cognition, emotion, motivation, and behavior) humor training curriculum for teachers, and with ways of modifying it; it also analyzed the effectiveness of the ICEMB humor training curriculum. The ICEMB humor training curriculum includes 27 units and requires 36 hours to teach. This study employed an experimental-control-group design. There were 40 teachers from NTNU (National Taiwan Normal University) in the experimental group, and another 35 teachers who have a similar background in the control group. The difference in each participant’s performance before and after the teacher was trained by the humor curriculum was the dependent variable. Each participant’s performance was measured by the Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale, the New Creativity Test, the Test of Divergent Feelings, and the Creative Life Experience Scale. The results were as follows: (a) Based on the Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale, the experimental group scored significantly higher in the categories of creating humor, humor in social life, coping with humor, attitude toward humor, and tendency to laugh; (b) on the New Creativity Test, the experimental group also scored significantly higher in language fluency, language flexibility, figure fluency, and figure flexibility; (c) on the Test of Divergent Feelings, there was no difference between the experimental and the control group; and (d) on the Creative Life Experience Scale, the experimental group scored significantly higher in innovative performing arts, changeability of lifestyle, open-mindedness, and having or creating fun by chance (spontaneously). Thus it is evident that the humor training curriculum can help teachers to improve their sense of humor and creativity.

Keywords：humor, teachers, creativity, curriculum design

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