Abstract

The advancement of technological approaches in teaching paved the way for teachers to maximize the use of multimedia inside the classroom. This transition placed a great challenge for teachers to adopt and enhance their skills in using multimedia not just for instruction but also for students’ comfort and learning. Infusing humor in the videos gives a new branding of the multimedia for instruction. This study aims to design, develop, and validate humorous instructional video materials for the least mastered competencies in mathematics using the ADDIE model. The content validity index was used in analyzing the validity of the videos and a researcher-made instrument. A descriptive research design was utilized to determine the level of acceptability of the videos. Thirty-one mathematics experts evaluated the humorous instructional video materials based on five categories: alignment to the curriculum, structure of the instructional design, appropriateness of technical design, social considerations, and appropriateness of humor. It was found that the humorous instructional video materials were highly acceptable in every category. Thereupon, the designed, developed, and validated videos are recommended to be used in teaching the least mastered competencies in mathematics, particularly in the seventh grade.

1. Introduction

The primary goal of mathematics education is to teach and learn mathematics for understanding. Mathematics educators plan and implement instructional programs and professional development for teachers and teacher leaders, create and implement teaching aids for students, and, more generally, support teachers in their day-to-day work in the classrooms ¹. There is a deluge of researched-based pedagogies that can be used to teach mathematics to students. However, still, there are common challenges faced by learners and teachers, including difficulty connecting and engaging in mathematics ², ineffective use of instructional materials ³, mathematics anxiety ⁴, and a lot more. This research presents instructional material that combines humor in a multimedia learning environment. The study's background and context will be covered in this article before discussing its goals, significance, and limitations.

Multimedia for instruction provides multiple presentation tools or techniques for information delivery. The employment of various simultaneous strategies in instructional message design, such as fusing narration and graphics in a presentation, is described by multimedia learning theory ⁵. Richard Mayer’s cognitive theory of multimedia learning has shown that we can learn more deeply from words and pictures than just words alone ⁶. Several principles are abiding by the effective use of multimedia. The coherence principle is about mitigating distractions from learning goals. The signaling principle is about emphasizing important terms or words for better understanding. The redundancy principle suggests that when delivering a narrated presentation, use either graphics or text, but not both. The spatial contiguity principle emphasizes that related words and graphics should be kept near/close to each other. Lastly, the temporal contiguity principle dictates that narration and animation should be delivered concurrently to maximize learning ^{7, 8, 9}. The current study designed and developed video lessons with humor integration for the students in their mathematics class. Integrating humor in educational videos is a novel technique to convey information to viewers. Studies have shown that humor enhances both instruction and learning. When things get too challenging, it lightens the mood, maintains student engagement, and fosters a sense of community in the classroom ¹⁰.

Based on prior studies, humor in the classroom helps reduce learning-related anxiety, providing a fun learning environment, fostering a favorable academic climate, and engaging students ¹¹. Other researchers found humor as a way of creating more memorable lessons ¹². However, this research has typically concentrated on the humor teachers utilize in their physical interactions with students. This study describes the use of multimedia with the insertion of humor in teaching mathematics to students to maximize the use of humor for instruction. For this reason, teachers who intend to create video lessons for their students that use humor will find the current research helpful. Students can spend some of their free time viewing video classes via their smartphones, tablets, or laptops, given that they are exposed to technology today.

This study aims to design, develop, and validate humorous instructional video lessons using the ADDIE model. A form of instructional design known as the ADDIE model is used to arrange and simplify the development of course content ¹³. The produced humorous instructional video materials will give students a new branding for video lessons different from those videos that focus more on content discussions.

This research is descriptive. The mean and standard deviation were used in presenting the result. Only four (4) of the identified least-mastered math competencies in the first quarter are covered in the videos, divided into seven (7) separate lessons. Thirty-one grade seven mathematics teachers assessed the humorous instructional video materials and the researcher-made instrument. Videos were validated in terms of their alignment with the curriculum, structure of the instructional design, appropriateness of technical design, social considerations, and appropriateness of humor.

2. Methodology

This study utilized a descriptive research design. Quantitative data were collected to determine the level of acceptability of the humorous instructional video materials in terms of their alignment with the curriculum, structure of the instructional design, appropriateness of technical design, social considerations, and appropriateness of humor. To bolster the findings and provide more information on the characteristics of the humorous instructional video materials, the respondents' feedback embedded in the researcher-made instrument was also gathered. Descriptive research is a good option when the study aims to identify characteristics, frequencies, trends, and classifications ¹⁴.

The purposive sampling method was employed in the design, development, and validation of the videos. Purposive sampling sometimes referred to as judgmental, selective, or subjective sampling, is a type of non-probability sampling where researchers choose participants for their surveys by using their own judgment ¹⁵. The teacher-evaluators selected as the participants of the study had the following characteristics: i) licensed professionals, ii) public school teachers, iii) math teachers with at least 2 years of teaching experience in the field, and iv) teaching grade 7 mathematics in K to 12 Curriculum or a master teacher in mathematics.

A total of thirty-one (31) teacher-evaluators participated in determining the level of acceptability of the humorous instructional video materials. There were twenty-six (26) from the division of Bukidnon and five (5) from the division of Misamis Oriental, Philippines.

The ADDIE model by “Ref. ¹⁶” was used in designing and developing humorous instructional video materials. It is one of the models for systematic learning design that was chosen based on the way it was developed and how it was supported by learning design theory. This model is organized and programmed with a series of systematic actions to address issues with learning materials that are in line with students' requirements and characteristics ¹⁷. ADDIE is an acronym that stands for analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. Figure 1 gives the visual presentation of the ADDIE Model.

The purpose of the analysis phase is to identify the probable causes for a performance gap. In this stage, the researcher considers the: different types of learning that will be needed to achieve the instructional goals, the prerequisite knowledge and skills required to start towards the instructional goals, abilities, capabilities, experiences, preferences, and availability of the learners for whom the goals are intended. To answer this, an item analysis was conducted by the researcher among 40 grade 7 students. Table 1 shows students’ level of mastery among the nineteen competencies in the first grading period.

Based on the summative assessment test for school year 2020 -2021, the researcher identified four (4) least mastered competencies out of nineteen (19) competencies stipulated in the K-12 curriculum guide in the first quarter. Table 2 presents the least mastered competencies in Mathematics 7 for the First Quarter after the item analysis.

From the item analysis, it was found that even though the items are very good items, less than 35% of the students scored on the test. Topics on: illustrate the union and intersection of sets and the difference of two sets, represent the absolute value of a number on a number line as the distance of a number from 0, and represent real-life situations that involve real numbers had a mean percentage score of 34%. The topic of plotting irrational numbers (up to square roots) on a number line has a mean percentage score of 28%. For the mean percentage score, the following legend was used to establish the interpretation for each mean percentage score ¹⁸: Mastered (96 – 100), Nearly Mastered (86 – 95), Moving Towards Mastery (66 – 85), Average Mastery (35 – 65), Least Mastered (0 – 34). The table below shows students’ level of mastery among the nineteen competencies in the first grading period.

The purpose of the design phase is to verify the desired performances and appropriate testing methods. In this part, the researcher segmented the instructional goals into topics to identify the number of videos to be created. Segmenting is used to chunk information that can manage intrinsic load (degree of connectivity within the subject) and enhance the germane load (level of cognitive activity necessary to reach the desired learning outcome) ¹⁹. The researcher segmented the instructional goals based on the number of concepts (see Table 3).

The original number of learning competencies was segmented from four lessons or topics into seven (two counts for the third instructional goal). This is to segment large topics into small chunks. The researcher composed objectives that include a performance component, a condition component, and a criterion component. The performance component refers to what the students will do. The condition component refers to the important circumstances under which the performance is expected. Criteria components refer to the quality or standard of performance that is considered acceptable. After all these steps, the researcher proceeds to the development phase.

The purpose of the development phase is to generate and validate selected learning resources. In this part, the researcher developed the complete instructional strategy using multimedia. Below are the guiding elements of humorous instructional videos.

The videos follow five main principles that are based on several ideas of cognitive multimedia, multimedia, and humor. To create the guiding principles for the humorous instructional video materials, the ideas from these theories are combined. After the researcher produced the video materials, a panel of experts verified them along with the research instrument before the pilot test, which was conducted as follows:

After the researcher created the videos, it was validated by six (6) experts. They examined and evaluated the videos based on the seven indicators which include: (1) clarity of language; (2) presentation/organization of topics; (3) suitability of items; (4) adequacy of purpose; (5) attainment of purpose; (6) respondents’ friendliness; and (7) objectivity. This validation sheet is adapted from ²⁰ The results showed a perfect content validity index equal to 1.00 which is greater than the acceptable value of 0.83 ²¹.

A 38-item researcher-made 5-point Likert scale was used as an instrument for this study. The face and content validity were validated by another six (6) experts where four (4) of them are Doctors of Philosophy in mathematics, one (1) Doctor of Philosophy in guidance counseling, and one (1) master’s degree in information technology. The experts validated the videos in terms of their alignment with the curriculum, structure of the instructional design appropriateness of technical design, addressing social considerations, and appropriateness of humor. Their validation yielded a content validity index (CVI) for the instrument of 1.00, which is higher than the required CVI value of 0.83 ²¹.

The research instrument and the videos were pilot tested on 54 math teachers from the divisions of Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental, where Cronbach's alpha is equivalent to 0.96. Due to the significant correlation between the test items, this number has excellent internal consistency. Following the administration of the test, two items were eliminated: one was from the category addressing social considerations and the other was from the category assessing the appropriateness of technological design. The Cronbach's alpha for each section of the questionnaire created by the researcher, as well as the overall Cronbach's alpha, are listed below.

The purpose of the implementation phase is to prepare the teacher-evaluator who will assess the videos. For conducting the study, the researcher requested approval from the division superintendent of the school. The researcher asked the school heads for their approval in a letter and forwarded it after receiving it. After receiving the school principal's approval, the invitation letter was forwarded to the teacher-evaluator. Following that, they were given the Mathematics Experts' Assessment Checklist for the Produced Humorous Instructional Video Materials via a google form. The researcher then had a meeting with each school's identified evaluators. They were oriented on the videos and the research instrument. The evaluators examined the video based on the five indicators which include: (1) alignment to the curriculum; (2) structure of instructional design; (3) appropriateness of technical design; (4) addressing social considerations; and (5) appropriateness of humor.

The purpose of the evaluation phase is to assess the quality of the instructional products and processes, both before and after the implementation. In this stage, the developed and validated instructional materials will be tested on grade 7 students. Relative to the DepEd Order no. 8, s. 2015, there are three major components for summative assessment, written work, performance tasks, and quarterly examination. Initially, a pretest will be given to the students. Afterward, they will be exposed to some humorous instructional video materials. In the last step of the ADDIE process, the researcher will administer the post-test evaluation. Scores will be recorded and analyzed to test the performance level of the students in the new instruction designed and developed by the researcher using the E-Class Record provided by the DepEd.

3. Results and Discussion

The five-phase of ADDIE model was used in designing, developing, and validating the humorous instructional materials for the least mastered competencies in mathematics for grade 7 during the first quarter. The analysis phase is the first phase of the ADDIE model. In this phase, the researcher conducted an item analysis to identify the least mastered competencies in mathematics or the performance gap. Following this phase is the design phase. The purpose of the design phase is to conduct verifications on the desired performance and select appropriate testing methods. Also, in this part, the researcher segmented the instructional goals into topics in order to identify the number of videos to be created. Next is the development phase where the researcher developed the complete instructional strategy using multimedia following the guiding elements of humorous instructional video materials. The videos and the researcher-made questionnaire were validated by experts and pilot-tested on 54 mathematics teachers.

After revisions of the videos and research instrument, the researcher proceeded to the implementation phase. In this phase, permission from the office of the school division superintendent and school principals was secured for the conduct of the study. Subsequently, the teacher-evaluator assessed the videos using the validated instrument. The evaluators examined the video based on the five indicators which include: (1) alignment to the curriculum; (2) structure of instructional design; (3) appropriateness of technical design; (4) addressing social considerations; and (5) appropriateness of humor. The final phase of the ADDIE model is the evaluation of humorous instructional video materials. This phase assesses the quality of the instructional products and processes before and after the implementation phase.

Table 5 presents the descriptive statistics of the mathematics experts’ evaluation of the humorous instructional videos in terms of their alignment with the curriculum. All indicators are highly acceptable. As a result, the mean rating is highly acceptable with a sub-mean of 4.76 and a standard deviation of 0.37. This implies that the mathematics experts have generally agreed on the excellent presentation of the video in terms of its alignment with the curriculum. Additionally, the result implies that the videos are relevant, informative, accurate, with real-world situation examples, aligned with the curriculum, and suitable for students. In adherence to Republic Act No. 10533 (b), the curriculum shall be relevant, responsive, and research-based. It is based on learning theories, principles, sound research, and studies in the teaching-learning process ²².

Following their evaluation of the video contents, the math experts' views and feedback support these numerical figures. Their opinions on how well the videos correlate with the curriculum are outlined in the section below.

Verbatim: “The videos are appropriate to the competencies of grade 7 students.” (R5)

Verbatim: “The lesson in all the videos follow the Grade 7 learning competencies thus it is precisely aligned in the curriculum.” (R6)

Verbatim: “The contents of the video lesson were aligned to the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC’s). The videos can be used as supplemental tools to address the least mastered competencies in mathematics 7.” (R11)

Furthermore, the teacher-evaluators pointed out that both teachers and students benefit much from the generated humorous instructional videos. The integration of the lessons into the appropriate real-world context helped to clearly convey the lessons as well. Alignment is the process of ensuring that the specified curriculum is consistent with enabling students to reach the milestone outlined in the standards ²³.

Table 6 hands out the descriptive statistics of the mathematics experts’ evaluation of the humorous instructional video materials in terms of the structure of the instructional design. From the given figures, it is clear that humorous instructional videos are highly acceptable in terms of their structure of instructional designs. It has a weighted mean of 4.76 with a standard deviation of 0.34. All indicators scored greater than 4.50. Indicators 1 and 14 were rated the highest among all other indicators. There is a parallelism between the objectives/goals and the evaluation part of the videos. It is very important that objectives have target data, or a time frame for when they should be completed – hence time bounded ²⁴. Below are the responses taken from the respondents of the study:

Verbatim: “the videos contains instructional design that captures the interest of the students and is easy for the students to cope with. the videos gives better learning for a grade 7 students.” (R5)

Verbatim: “The video lessons contain the necessary parts that must be present before, during and after the lesson which are presenting the attainable objective, reviewing the lesson, comprehensively discuss the lessons with examples, summary of the lesson and activity.” (R6)

Verbatim: “The procedures employed in the delivery of the lesson ensure the promotion of active and cooperative learning.” (R13)

The respondents also noted that the instructional design of the videos made it simple for the students to understand the ideas by following the proper order of the video's sequence. The concept-discussion tempo in the videos is set up to match the normal student's pace. The videos are well-structured. Making video lessons entails several important components, including instructional design. This emphasis is crucial because it ensures that the students are taught in a way that will have the greatest impact and significance for them personally, helping them to comprehend the topics and concepts being taught ²⁵. Good instructional design helps learners retain knowledge, makes learners engage, contributes to the achievement of learning goals, helps to communicate messages, and triggers learners to act ²⁶.

Table 7 presents the descriptive statistics of the mathematics experts' evaluation of the humorous instructional materials in terms of its technical design. The outcome indicated that the technical design of the video contents is highly acceptable, with a mean score equal to 4.75 and a standard deviation of 0.34. The mean score for the fifth indicator is the highest at 4.90. The responses and comments of the respondents provide the following evidence in support of this:

Verbatim: “The video is very good. Malingaw ang students magtan-aw sa video kay nindot ang background nga gigamit sa teacher plus the sound animations and sound effects.” (R7)

English Translation: “The video is very good. Students will enjoy watching the video because the background used by the teacher was nice plus the sound animations and sound effects.”

Verbatim: “It gives clear, excellent instruction, well-modulated voice, and the words are easy for the learners to follow and understand.” (R14)

However, indicator eight has the lowest mean score with 4.45 and a standard deviation of 0.72 which can be described as acceptable. One of the evaluators suggested improving the technical design of the videos as stated verbatim below:

Verbatim: “Technical design like animation should be enhanced to improve the overall impact of the lesson.” (R15).

Another statement made by the respondents supports the idea that technological design is suitable for a range of learners. The technical quality of the videos was particularly pleasing, with well-timed transitions and effects. Making video content requires careful consideration of many factors, including technical design. This visual aspect of learning is important to understanding learning tools, processes, and concepts. Learning may be made simple and interesting by using animation to convey complicated concepts or procedures ²⁷. Additionally, it enhances knowledge and skills, encourages student involvement, places a focus on learning, is interactive, and experiential, stimulates learner creativity, and is easily accessible ²⁸.

Table 8 showed the findings of the mathematics experts' evaluation of humorous instructional video materials in terms of how the videos handle societal issues. This category considers biases related to the students' age, socioeconomic status, politics, language use, and violence. The results show that the humorous instructional video materials are highly acceptable, with a mean score of 4.78 and a standard deviation of 0.35. The comments made by the respondents, which are listed below, can support this data:

Verbatim: “The video lessons are intended not only to specific type of people but to all kinds of learners for as long as that learner can comprehend the Grade 7 Mathematics aside from Grade 7 learners. It is not bias in any aspect nor give violence to the learner viewers.” (R6)

Verbatim: “The video exhibits high social regard to learning including inclusivity and excluding separation and bias.” (R13)

Moreover, other reviewers observed that the videos are appropriate for anyone who wants to learn and that they do not represent bias or violence. To satisfy the needs of every student, it is essential to eliminate biases from our instruction ²⁹. According to “Ref. ³⁰”, when planning lessons or preparing for a lecture, make a conscious effort to include a variety of examples of perspective, be it language, images, socio-cultural and/or socio-economic status. This allows your students to feel included as well as represented within the topic and increases their engagement and interest.

Table 9 conveys the mathematics experts’ evaluation of humorous instructional video materials in terms of the appropriateness of humor. It can be seen from the result that the sub mean in this category is equal to 4.60 with a standard deviation of 0.37 and can be described as highly acceptable. Indicator five has the least mean score equal to 4.45 which can be interpreted as acceptable, and the rest are all highly acceptable. This is a backup with the following notes from the respondents hereby stated:

Verbatim: “Videos are funny and catching. I enjoy the videos. I just hope that students will not be distracted by the humorous content and compromise their learning. Overall, the humor was great.” (R1)

Verbatim: “The humor should be found in the lesson itself. (He… sayon sultihon, lisod buhaton).” (R15).

English Translation: “The humor should be found in the lesson itself. (He… easy to say, difficult to do).”

Verbatim: “The humor incorporated in video is sensitive to learners’ context and is very relatable especially with the use of expressions of known social media personalities and images” (R13).

Other evaluators also agree that the humor integrated into the videos is appropriate for the student’s engagement during the discussion. They also mentioned that it helps students to have a break and gets them to relax. While some researchers believed that humor had little to no impact on pupils' motivation and learning ³¹, others find it helpful in class. When things get too challenging, humor helps students stay engaged, builds a sense of connection in the classroom, and improves their moods ¹⁰.

Table 10 summarizes the mathematics experts’ evaluation of humorous instructional video materials. The overall mean score of the humorous video material is 4.75 with a standard deviation of 0.37. The high level of acceptability of the humorous instructional is consistent with the following comments and feedback from the evaluators:

Verbatim: “I highly recommend the videos to be used for the students as: (1) The videos are informative. The teacher explained the topics well, (2) There's an added entertainment. The students will surely enjoy the humor added and students can relate to them for sure, (3) The teacher integrated the lesson to the real world setting.” (R2)

Verbatim: “This is one of the good learning resources that I found appreciate for the learners in Math 7. I highly recommend this as a supplementary activity especially at this time of pandemic where the students can learn more than using printed self-learning modules.” (R3)

Verbatim: “The major reason to recommend this video is that the concepts are presented well. Video quality is good, and most of all, humor is blended along the lessons, thus, providing students’ mind engagement leading to focus to the ongoing video lessons.” (R4)

In general, the mathematics experts highly recommended the humorous instructional video materials to be taught in the classroom. From the alignment to the curriculum down to the appropriateness of humor, all categories presented in the videos were highly acceptable.

4. Conclusion and Recommendation

Following the 5-phase ADDIE model, the development and validation of humorous instructional video materials were found to be highly acceptable by the evaluators in terms of five categories: alignment to the curriculum, structure of instructional design, appropriateness of technical design, social considerations, and appropriateness of humor. The videos are highly recommended for use particularly for the least mastered competencies in seventh-grade mathematics. Furthermore, future researchers may use this study to explain the effect of humorous instructional video materials on students in terms of their cognitive and non-cognitive aspects.

Acknowledgments

Words cannot adequately describe the researcher's thanks for the following: to the highly respected mathematic professors from the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines, Laila Lomibao, PhD, Marife Ubalde, PhD, Dennis Roble, PhD, Yamilita Pabilona, PhD, Maria Antonieta Bacabac, PhD, and Rosie Tan, PhD, for contributing their time and expertise to the validation of the design of the humorous instructional video materials for the least mastered competencies in mathematics, to the validators of the researcher-made instrument, namely Rustum Salvaña, PhD, Glaiza Macamay, MAEE, Jine Melody S. Parista, PhD, Jenyliza Ucang, PhD, Erwin Ambasa, MS, and Joemar Capuyan, PhD, to the thirty-one (31) grade 7 mathematics teachers from the division of Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental who served experts in evaluating the humorous instructional video materials, to the Department of Science and Technology – Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) for the scholarship grant, and finally, to the researchers' friends and family who have inspired them to complete this study.

References