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Dr Paul Howard-Jones Reader in Neuroscience and Education
University of Bristol
Think as I think
For some years, there's been interest in this idea of mirror neurons: the fact that when
we observe somebody else, performing an action, our motor cortex activates as if we are performing
that action ourselves. Now, why do we have that ability? Because we're not even aware,
that our brain is doing that a lot of the time. So, it appears to be some form of unconscious
mind-reading and one theory suggests that it's about being inside the other person's
mind - embodying ourselves in their body if you like and having a better perception of
what they're thinking. Now, on that basis it changes the emphasis in how we think about
communication in the classroom. That it's not just about the verbal communication; gestures
and body movement are also important and very often, you know, we're told that teachers
should be modelling sometimes in terms of their activities, so it's not just a matter
of, you know, 'Doing as I say' it's a matter of 'Doing as I do'. But from what we understand
about mirror neurons and the possibility of that type unconscious communication, it may
also be a matter of 'Thinking as I think' and a need for teachers to model the mental
processes that they want their pupils to undertake.