How Mirror Neurons Shape Learning & Student Behaviour
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What if your brain mirrors what you see others do?
This is a good question to ask for those who are interested in student behaviour in schools. Mirror neurons are key to how we learn through imitation, empathy, and understanding intentions. Teachers can harness this brain-based insight to improve how students learn and interact.
In the research paper, Mirror Neurons: Enigma of the Metaphysical Modular Brain (Acharya and Shukla, 2012), we can understand mirror neurons and how it can help teachers make sense of why modelling is so effective.
Mirror neurons are a type of brain cell that fires both when someone performs an action and when they see someone else do the same. Discovered in the 1990s by scientists studying monkeys, these neurons are now thought to play a crucial role in human behaviours such as imitation, empathy, and language development.
In a classroom context, mirror neurons explain why students often copy what they see. When a teacher models positive behaviours or problem-solving strategies, students’ brains “mirror” those actions, as if they were doing them themselves.
This process is key to learning skills, understanding emotions, and grasping social cues.
Interestingly, research has linked a lack of mirror neuron activity to learning needs such as autism, where children may struggle with social interaction and understanding others’ intentions. For teachers, this offers practical insight into the neurological basis of imitation, empathy, and emotional learning.
Why is this brain research important for teachers?
When teachers show, rather than just tell, students absorb knowledge at a deeper level because their brains are engaged in a process of “doing” through observation.
For example, consider how toddlers learn to talk – not from grammar lessons, but from watching and imitating adults. In classrooms, the same principle applies to social skills, emotional responses, and problem-solving.
Teachers play a vital role in showing students how to behave, think critically, and collaborate with others.
What’s more, mirror neurons underpin empathy – the ability to understand and share feelings with others. Activating these neurons can help students develop compassion and improve their interpersonal skills, which are essential for both academic success and personal development.
How can teachers use mirror neurons in the classroom?
1. Model behaviour explicitly: Instead of telling students what to do, show them. Demonstrate how to solve problems, express empathy, and handle setbacks.
For instance, if a student makes a mistake, model how to stay calm and learn from it.
2. Use peer modelling: Let students learn from each other by showcasing examples of good work and positive behaviours. Peer influence activates mirror neurons just as effectively as teacher modelling, particularly with older students.
3. Encourage gestures and physical engagement: Research shows that gestures help embed learning in long-term memory.
Use hand movements to explain abstract concepts (e.g., “big” and “small” using hand sizes) and encourage students to mimic these movements.
4. Focus on social and emotional learning: Activities like role-playing, empathy exercises, and collaborative projects activate mirror neurons and help students better understand each other’s emotions and intentions.
This is particularly helpful for younger learners and those with autism.
5. Provide repetition and context: Learning isn’t just about what students do, but also why they do it. Provide meaningful contexts for tasks, and repeat key processes to strengthen neural connections.
Reflection questions for teachers to consider
- How often do you model behaviours for their students?
- Could you use more physical gestures to explain abstract ideas?
- How can peer modelling improve learning outcomes in the classroom?
- What social and emotional learning strategies are currently being used?
- How can you help students understand the intention behind their actions?
- Do you explicitly teach empathy and compassion as part of your pastoral curriculum?
- How might mirror neurons explain why some students learn better through observation?
- How do you currently support autistic students in understanding social cues?
- Could more role-play activities be introduced to strengthen empathy and understanding?
- How might you use modelling techniques to reduce disruptive behaviours?
The research concludes:
Children use their own emotions to predict what others will do … and why they are doing it. (Acharya & Shukla, 2012).
