The effect of using humor and concept cartoons in high school ICT lesson on students' achievement, retention, attitude and anxiety

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of using humor and concept cartoons in 9th grade ICT lesson on students' academic achievement, attitude toward the lesson, anxiety about the lesson and retention of knowledge. A pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental design was employed in the study. Sixty students (30 for each), who were attending to a public high school involved in experimental and control groups equally. The instructional process within the 'Basic Concepts of Information Technology' unit lasted for seven weeks for both experimental and control groups. While the control group received the lessons according to formal curriculum as was indicated and declared by the Ministry of National Education, the experimental group's lessons were always supported by concept cartoons and sets of humor. Both groups received academic achievement test, attitude and anxiety scales toward the lesson at the beginning and the end of the instruction. Besides, the students in both groups also received same achievement test as the retention test six weeks after the instruction. The results showed that implementing humor and concept cartoons in 9th grade ICT lesson increased the success of students and attitude toward the lesson, decreased the anxiety level of the students, and also affected the retention of knowledge positively in favor of experimental group.