A comparative analysis of teachers' use of dramatic style behaviors at higher and secondary educational levels

Abstract

The present investigation provides comparative data on the use of humor, self‐disclosure, and narrative by award‐winning teachers at college and secondary levels. The frequency in usage of these three dramatic style behaviors by award‐winning and non‐award winning teachers at these levels is also compared. Significant differences were found between award‐winning college and secondary level teachers in their use of humor. Award‐winning college and high school teachers did not differ significantly in their use of self‐disclosure and narrative during 50‐minutes of lecturing. However, both award‐winning college and high school teachers significantly differed from award‐winning mid‐high teachers in use of both self‐disclosure and narrative. The results also indicate that the award‐winning teachers consistently utilized humor, self‐disclosure, and narrative in order to clarify course content, and this usage was significantly higher than the non‐award winning teachers from the same educational levels.