On The Town 2

Mike and Pedagogical Agents using the Personalization Principle

 

The Crucifixion of Saint Peter by Michelangelo is an excellent way to explain the personalization principle and the use of pedagogical agents. The frescos painted by Michelangelo were supposed to be educational. As Pope John Paul II stated on April 8, 1994, “…the paintings, like the images of a book, serve to render the truths expressed in the Holy Scriptures more understandable”. One does not need to understand the personalization principle and pedagogical agents to learn what this fresco represents, but it is because of those principles that we do understand. Indeed, Michelangelo understood both of those principles more than 400 years before we were born.  Michelangelo is speaking to all who entered the Sistine Chapel, usually during mass, and he is telling them that they, like Saint Peter, are not worthy of God’s grace unless they are willing to sacrifice themselves for Christianity.

Michelangelo, himself, acts as a pedagogical agent in this picture along with several other persons. As you look at Michelangelo, who put his self-portrait into this fresco in the upper left corner, he appears to be asking a question to the man on the horse who seems to be pointing and explaining what is going on. Saint Peter, on the cross, is another pedagogical agent. Saint Peter stares at the viewer, daring them to look away while he is being martyred. The woman in the crowd directly above Saint Peters feet has a finger to her lips telling us to be silent while two women in the group of four people at the bottom of the fresco stare at us, perhaps telling us that we should be afraid of judgement. There are more agents in the crowds that surround Saint Peter and one just has to imagine for a moment to determine what they are telling us.

It is through the pedagogical agents that we realize the personalization principle and the feelings that are being transferred to the learner. Michelangelo uses the fresco to appeal to the pathos of the viewer by using the pedagogical agents convey all kinds of emotions. I have added the thought bubbles and captions that represent my interpretation, but anyone who views this fresco could certainly interpret those feelings in an alternate way. For example, it seems as if one person with a spear is incredulous with wide eyes and not really believing what is happening. Other figures seem concerned or afraid while many more seem to convey indifference as if this is a normal occurrence.  Saint Peter himself could be showing anger, disappointment, or pity. One thing that Saint Peter does not show is pain. That lack of pain encourages further exploration and learning.

The logos of this fresco were intended to teach the stories of the church, but perhaps more importantly to warn the learner about what they might have to endure.  The Pope is the father of the Catholic Church and perhaps the fresco tells the learner that even the father of the church, Saint Peter as the first Pope, must be willing to sacrifice himself to get into heaven. The personalization principle shown here is informal, and because many of the pedagogical agents look at the viewer, it is personal. This fresco appears natural and lifelike, and draws the viewer in starting at the disproportionately larger than life Saint Peter in the middle.  The agents invite the learner to be curious and to solve the riddles asked by the painting. It is through similar uses of pedagogical agents and the personalization principle, like the fresco shown that those techniques work.

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