The Noble Role of Teachers:

Transforming Ourselves to Change the World

 

“The mirror neurons…fire when I observe and comprehend an intentional behaviour in you. The exact same neurons fire in my brain as are firing in your brain when I observe the intention of the behaviour you are doing, or when I imagine myself doing it. If you make a random gesture of moving your hand towards your mouth, nothing much happens. If you pick up a glass of water and move it towards your mouth, the same neurons are firing in my brain as I perceive and comprehend your intention as are firing in your brain as you do that intentional behaviour. When we are attuning to another’s behaviour and expressions of intention – facial expressions, body gestures, tone of voice – mirror neurons fire in our brain.”
— Linda Graham (2008), The Neuroscience of Attachment

“Neuroscience has highlighted that there are two aspects to learning: implicit and unintentional learning, and explicit or intentional learning. These two aspects of learning are supported by two different capacities of the brain, namely, memory and the functioning of the mirror neurons…

Because implicit learning is less available to introspection, it can be a powerful mode of transmitting attitudes and patterns of behaviour because these are typically adopted and absorbed without conscious scrutiny. This facet of learning is given prominence in values education, where teacher modelling of the values serves to reinforce the explicit teaching of them.

Social learning is supported by the mirror neurons in the pre-motor cortex…These mirror neurons, which are instrumental in imitative learning, assist in the interpretation and understanding of the actions, intent and emotional states of others and thus contribute to the development of empathy.“
— Terence Lovat, et al. (2014), Values Pedagogy and Student Achievement: Contemporary Research Evidence.

The aim of this Study Session is to increase our appreciation of the powerful effect that a teacher has on each student, through every thought, word, feeling, gesture and action.

Neuroscientists are saying that this largely-unintentional shaping of the child’s brain, mind, habits and character is mediated through what have now been identified as mirror neurons.

Interspersed amongst the estimated 100 billion neurons in the brain, these mirror neurons are thought to be the key players in modelling or imitation learning whereby we can acquire a motor skill or behaviour pattern just by watching another person engaging in that activity. These specialised neurons also play a role in vicarious conditioning where we might form a habit of responding emotionally to a particular situation when we are in the presence of someone reacting in that way.

Mirror neurons also appear to play a leading role in the empathic response of someone who is with a group of people all caught up in the same emotion (e.g. infectious laughter, football crowd behaviour, grief at a funeral, disease pandemics). It is even thought that, when we watch the actions of others, our mirror neurons are not only imitating the action, they are also enabling us to understand and feel the intention or meaning behind the action of the other person. That is, mirror neurons provide the mechanism that makes it possible for us to attune with and empathise with others, often to a very high degree.

As teachers and education reformers, it is important to remember that, without our being aware of it, most of our internal states of joy, anger, satisfaction, hurt, fear, rejection and so on are being displayed through subtle non-verbal signals that our body is giving off. We can assume that, when students are in our proximity, much of this information is impinging on their body sense organs, triggering the firing of mirror neurons in their brain. That is, when we are feeling angry, impatient, judgmental or rejected in certain situations, the children are simultaneously learning to react in the same way, even when we are not overtly expressing our feelings.

As you can imagine, such understanding about the role of mirror neurons in the brain can have important implications for both values education and the wellbeing of students and teachers.

The Exercise – Step 1

Read and reflect upon what is said about mirror neurons in Handbook for Teachers in Human Values Education, page 128 (download here), recording any strong salient points in your Journal, for future reflection and contemplation.

The Exercise – Step 2

Using the internet, search for and read the following two articles, recording in your Journal any ideas and insights you might have:

a. Mirror neurons in education – Centre for Educational Improvement
b. Harnessing an awareness of mirror neurons for English language teachers.

    The Exercise – Step 3

    Reflecting upon your Journal entries for Steps 1 and 2 above, write a short essay on: The Relevance of Mirror Neurons for Human Values Education and the Teacher-Student Relationship.

    The Exercise – Step 4

    If you feel that your article is of a high standard, consider distributing it to teachers or adding it to your Facebook.

    The Exercise – Step 5

    Take some time to exercise your mirror neurons (empathy neurons or Gandhi neurons) by responding in writing to the following statements. There is no right or wrong answer. If you find yourself over-thinking or trying to edit your answer, move on to the next question. You can always return to a question later.

     a. When I see or imagine a baby bird that has fallen from its nest, I feel……………….
    and the sensation I experience in my body is ……………………………………….
    ………………………………………………………………………………………..

    b. When I see or imagine a child getting scolded in public, I feel………………………
    and I experience………………………………………….in my body

    c. When I see or imagine someone standing while watching his or her home burning down, I feel………………………… and I think……………………………………. ………………………………………..

    d. When I see or imagine my child (or a friend’s child) being teased at school, I feel……………………….
    and I …………………………………………………………………………………

    e. When I see or imagine someone’s pet lying dead on the road, I feel…………………
    and I ………………………………………………………………………………….

    f. When I see or imagine yelling at my child (or any child), I feel…………………………………….
    and my body is……………………………………………………………………….

    “I predict that mirror neurons will do for psychology what DNA did for biology: they will provide a unifying framework and help explain a host of mental activities that have hitherto remained mysterious and inaccessible to experimenters.”

    — Vilayanur Ramachandran (2017)
    Mirror neurons and imitation learning as the driving force behind the great leap forward in human evolution. Edge, Oct 18, 2017

    “Neuroscience has proven that similar areas of the brain are activated both in the person who suffers and in the one who feels empathy. Thus, empathic sufferings are true experiences of suffering.”

    — Matthieu Ricard (2016)
    Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World.