The Use of Humour in Mathematics Teaching and Its Relationship with Students’ Concentration and Motivation

摘要

Fun learning through the use of humour in teaching mathematics can create an effective learning atmosphere. The purpose of this study is to identify students’ perception on the use of humour in teaching mathematics and its relationship with students’ concentration and motivationto learn. The data was collected using a 5 point Likert scale instrument to measure students’ perception and their preferences on the use of humour by their Mathematic teachers. The instrument also measure students’ endorsement on the effect of humour to their concentration andmotivation to learn in Mathematics class. The respondents were 278 form four students from secondary schools in Malaysia. The findings were analysed using descriptive statistic. The findings indicate that there is a gap between students’ preferences on the use of humour with teacher’spractice of humour in Mathematic class. The findings also showed that students reported humour does enhance their concentration and learning motivation. The study recommends teachers to create a fun learning environment through the use of humour to motivate students to be engaged in Mathematicclass.