Humor and learning: A systematic literature review

Abstract

In recent literature, the use of humor in the classroom arouses greater interest in teachers as a pedagogical innovation. The objective of the study was to analyze the relationship between humor and learning through the scientific literature, published in the period 2010-2021, in Scopus and Web of Science. The questions were formulated: What are the characteristics of the scientific approach that researchers have carried out to understand the relationship between humor and learning? And what does the scientific evidence conclude about the relationship between humor and learning? which led to the exhaustive analysis of 29 scientific articles. There is evidence of a predominance of the quantitative approach over the qualitative or mixed. In addition, the investigations are mostly oriented towards evaluating university students. It is identified that the countries of Central and South America are not adequately represented in the scientific literature. When the investigations are grouped, the relationship between humor and learning tends to be positive (82.8%) through its influence on mediators such as attention and motivation. Finally, as a conclusion, some epistemic routes are suggested for future research that addresses this relationship