Today, I asked students to watch a series of videos from TED to compare the presentation styles of four speakers. I chose to include Adora Svitik, Jane McGonigal, Hasan Elahi, and Marcel Dicke because they were all different in content, but each used ethos, pathos, and logos brilliantly. As models for understanding how a speaker builds a good speech using those three rhetorical elements, the speeches served to allow my students to apply their knowledge of the terms.
Because Adora Svitik is so young, she is an inspiration for my students. If they doubt their ability to make an excellent speech because of their age, that fear is assuaged by this little girl. At the same time, her content mirrors what they already know- that their knowledge matters every bit as their teachers. They liked her argument in her TED talk, "What Adults Can Learn From Kids," about how learning should be reciprocal. At the same time, students were easily able to see how, as a child, she was a credible source for speaking about children. Additionally, she showed her audience her book cover, which only emphasized that she was worth listening to. She's not "just a kid". She's a kid who has achieved great things, despite, or perhaps, because of her youth. This is a clear example of building ethos. By giving examples of adults who have made disasterous decisions, and paralleling them with impactful youth, Svitik appealed to the logical side. She used logos to show that her point was not just because she was too young to get it, but instead, that her argument made sense. Finally, she jokes with the audience, relaxing them. This is a form of pathos. As an even more clear example, she includes a photo of a youngster who raised large amounts of money for charity.
I love Jane McGonigal. The first time I saw her, it was through her TED talk "Gaming Can Make a Better World". Her ideas were absolutely ridiculous and brilliant at the same time. Like any good speaker, she left me with questions and an interest to learn more. Already intrigued by the idea of gaming as a means to help students learn, her assertion that games could help make the world better, took my interest a step further. Building on my knowledge of James Paul Gee's work, McGonigal brought a whole new dimension to my understanding of the impact of games. But, her ideas are also interesting enough, that it sparked a wonderful conversation with my students, that may become the subject of a discourse analysis in a future work. Students were able to identify her occupation as building her ethos, the historical story about Herodotus as logos, and the photo of a thoroughly engaged boy as pathos. But, students went beyond making connections about the use of these two devices. With this one, they wanted to discuss the virtues and shortcomings of her presentation style. They were interested in the content, and were able to make personal connections. What made the conversation even more worthwhile was the equal representation of different sides. In a class of six students, one was completely on board with McGonigal, one completely opposed. Three were in the middle, but thought her ideas had merit, if not completely on point, and one was silent on the issue. The mix of viewpoints led to good discussion. Students were engaged in both the form and function of the speech and the topic.
Next, I let students choose two more videos they were interested in seeing. The students had a choice which one out of the list to watch. So, there was enough choice that the students could feel like they had some control. I've watched a number of TED talks, most of these talks are school-appropriate. If anyone else wants to use this approach, I'd suggest considering the needs and views of your students and your school before opening it up. The videos they selected were from Hasan Elahi, who spoke about his art/database/personal reporting system; and Marcel Dicke, who spoke about why people should eat insects. Students discussed ethos, pathos, and logos in each video, and then also added a discussion about the attire speakers wore.
Using TED talks, my students were able to analyze the form and function of a good speech across a variety of topics. I first made decisions about the videos they'd look at, finding videos that I knew were good examples of the use of ethos, pathos, and logos. Then, I released some control to the students. After all, if I was giving them a video about how kids and teachers should have a reciprocal learning relationship, this was really my only possible course of action. Otherwise, it would seem that I was not practicing what I preached. In this instance, this method worked well. Students were able to understand the concepts of ethos, pathos, and logos. They were able to apply their knowledge across multiple presentations. They noticed other elements of effective speeches that we had discussed earlier in the semester. Overall, it was a successful lesson.
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