by Branislav Kaleta
What is awe?
Stargazing, looking at a beautiful view from the top of a mountain, or listening to your favourite song. All of these experiences have at least one emotion in common: awe. It is a transformative emotion, which challenges our current assumptions about what we know, and shows us just how much we don’t know, making it perfect for the classroom.
Two things need to happen for awe to occur: perceived vastness and the need for understanding. Perceived vastness can be physical, like when you’re standing under the Eiffel Tower, or abstract, like when you’re trying to imagine how many stars there are in the universe. It’s 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 by the way. It isn’t just about large things though, you can experience awe with small things as well, like looking at bacteria or tiny insects under the microscope. Perceived vastness is more about the difference in size than largeness itself. You are small in comparison with the Sun, but huge in comparison with an ant, and both can make you feel awe.
The need for understanding is the second core part of awe, and it essentially means you not only need to perceive something vast, but you also need to be somewhat interested in it and try to understand it. For example, the school building might be tall in comparison with your students, but they wouldn’t be in awe purely just because it’s tall. Similarly, if you were looking up at Mount Olympus in Greece, chances are you would find it more awe-inspiring if you’re into Greek mythology or a hiker, compared to someone who hates hiking.
Awe offers a wide spectrum of benefits relevant within and beyond education. Research has found that it makes people feel more connected to each other, increases generosity, humility, and tolerance of uncertainty, and reduces impatience and aggression. Most importantly, as we experience awe when we are confronted with something beyond our understanding, it makes us ready to perceive new information, which is perfect for the classroom. Some people report experiencing awe reminds them of childhood, and that’s no surprise. As a child you are small, everything is bigger than you both physically and abstractly, and you are trying to understand everything happening around you, which makes awe a prime emotion for educational settings.
Awe in education
Chances are that topics which inspire awe in you are also topics which your students might find more exciting through your enthusiasm and in-depth knowledge. In your area of expertise, try to think about which parts of the curriculum you’re most looking forward to explaining.
Inspiring students is a large part of education and awe can be a great tool for inspiring students to see the beauty and complexity of your topic. Let’s go back to our two core parts of awe: perceived vastness and need for understanding. Show your students the vastness and complexity of the topic – awe them! You can show them vastness which is either physical, such as showing them how short they are in comparison with the wingspan of a white stork (which can reach 215cm), or abstract, like asking them about the history of Earth. For example, if the history of Earth were to be plotted on a one meter long tape measure, dinosaurs went extinct around the 97th centimetre marker and early humans appeared around the 99th centimetre marker. Alternatively, if Earth formed on January 1st of a year, modern humans only appear on December 31st at 11.59pm. School subjects are full of awe-inspiring topics and facts, and now you’re equipped to use them to awe your students.
Awe is contagious. If you’re in awe and show it to your students, some of them might share your enthusiasm. Moreover, if you manage to awe your students, awe might spread between them. Lastly, have you ever asked your students what they find awe-inspiring?
