While it was obvious that pathos is used in Writing and Rhetoric classrooms, we were interested to find out if it was useful elsewhere in the realm of college classes. We created a set of questions revolving around pathos used in classrooms for elementary education majors. We decided to interview the Elementary Education instructors, keeping with our theme of educator’s views on pathos in the classroom. While these instructors agreed that pathos is effective in teaching, they didn't think through using pathos as much as the Writing and Rhetoric professors and graduate students.
When asked if pathos can and should be used in teaching, the respondents agreed that it could. Baumann stated that "leading students to make connections between emotion and course content can increase students' empathy for others, perspectives on why people (say, book characters or historical figures) behaved the way they did, and can help them to remember course content vividly". Glew believes that "emotion can drive learning", and that pathos can definitely be used in teaching, although it isn't always intentional and planned-out. Everett believes that because people are emotional creatures, it's "important to use emotion in the classroom and be authentic with your students." Glew stated that while she didn't "use" pathos in her classroom, she did "structure experiences that can elicit emotions and, hopefully, I provide a safe atmosphere where students can explore these feelings". Baumann agreed, stating that her use of pathos is "more of a happening than a planned technique".
We asked our respondents if they felt that teachers should be knowledgable of pathos before entering the field, and they agreed that it was necessary. Glew stated that "engaged learning means sometimes working with emotions", and Baumann echoed her sentiments, as "teaching is emotional work as well as a cognitive challenge." Baumann believes that pathos is important for teachers to recognize, because while she doesn't always set out to "use pathos", it is a technique she often incorporates in her teaching. She says she uses pathos when her students are "actors in the situation" (ie, the classroom simulations and role-play techniques students learn in her classrooms), as well as in her discussions of current events, as "student's reactions to world events can often involve emotion." She also uses pathos when she asks her students to "think about the many human relationships that are the heart of teaching." Baumann strongly believes that "people are (generally) emotional creatures; therefore, acknowledgement of and incorporation of our emotional lives is generally appropriate [in a classroom setting]." Everett agrees, and says that "it's important to let people know that it's okay to be emotional creatures."
When asked if pathos can and should be used in teaching, the respondents agreed that it could. Baumann stated that "leading students to make connections between emotion and course content can increase students' empathy for others, perspectives on why people (say, book characters or historical figures) behaved the way they did, and can help them to remember course content vividly". Glew believes that "emotion can drive learning", and that pathos can definitely be used in teaching, although it isn't always intentional and planned-out. Everett believes that because people are emotional creatures, it's "important to use emotion in the classroom and be authentic with your students." Glew stated that while she didn't "use" pathos in her classroom, she did "structure experiences that can elicit emotions and, hopefully, I provide a safe atmosphere where students can explore these feelings". Baumann agreed, stating that her use of pathos is "more of a happening than a planned technique".
We asked our respondents if they felt that teachers should be knowledgable of pathos before entering the field, and they agreed that it was necessary. Glew stated that "engaged learning means sometimes working with emotions", and Baumann echoed her sentiments, as "teaching is emotional work as well as a cognitive challenge." Baumann believes that pathos is important for teachers to recognize, because while she doesn't always set out to "use pathos", it is a technique she often incorporates in her teaching. She says she uses pathos when her students are "actors in the situation" (ie, the classroom simulations and role-play techniques students learn in her classrooms), as well as in her discussions of current events, as "student's reactions to world events can often involve emotion." She also uses pathos when she asks her students to "think about the many human relationships that are the heart of teaching." Baumann strongly believes that "people are (generally) emotional creatures; therefore, acknowledgement of and incorporation of our emotional lives is generally appropriate [in a classroom setting]." Everett agrees, and says that "it's important to let people know that it's okay to be emotional creatures."
We also asked our respondents how they felt their use of emotion was perceived by their students. Baumann felt that each student reacted differently, as each student has a unique learning technique. She stated that it was her job to "to give them as many entrees into the material as I can", in order to adapt her teaching to student's needs. She realizes that students with a more analytical approach to learning do not always benefit from the rhetorical strategies, and thus adjusts her teaching to a wide variety of learning types. When asked about the use of complimentary and derogatory language in the classroom, Baumann embraces the positive. "I try for more compliments than derogatory language. Honestly, I think that kind of language is always or nearly always effective on people, period, in and out of the classroom. Of course I try not to use derogatory language in teaching, but I think I probably fall short of this regularly, because again, it is difficult to discuss matters of importance without conveying value judgments." Glew, on the other hand, steers clear of both complimentary and derogatory language.
Overall, we found that while pathos is applicable to the teaching field, most instructors don't even realize that they are using it. Our instructors all agreed that pathos needs to be understood by educators, as it can be a great technique in the classroom, albeit not the only one they should be using.
Overall, we found that while pathos is applicable to the teaching field, most instructors don't even realize that they are using it. Our instructors all agreed that pathos needs to be understood by educators, as it can be a great technique in the classroom, albeit not the only one they should be using.
Amanda Baumann
Doctoral student in curriculum, instruction and teacher education.
http://michiganstate.academia.edu/AmandaBaumann
Doctoral student in curriculum, instruction and teacher education.
http://michiganstate.academia.edu/AmandaBaumann
Margo Glew
Coordinator of global initiatives and coordinator of the Global Educators Cohort Program, supporting efforts to enhance the teacher preparation program at Michigan State University.
http://education.msu.edu/search/[email protected]
Coordinator of global initiatives and coordinator of the Global Educators Cohort Program, supporting efforts to enhance the teacher preparation program at Michigan State University.
http://education.msu.edu/search/[email protected]
Sakeena Everett
Doctoral student in the College of Education and instructor to preservice teachers.
Doctoral student in the College of Education and instructor to preservice teachers.