Mirror Neurons and their Significance for Adult Education

The brain, as the central information processor of the human body, requires proper attention, care, and responsibility of human beings because the internal structure of the brain depends on what and how we think, what and how we learn, what and how we perform, what we eat and how we communicate with the environment and other people. It is the responsibility of every human being to "feed" their brain with constructive thoughts, feelings, and stimuli. These strengthen the neural connections that build the structure of our brain.

At the same time, we are responsible to all other human beings with whom we communicate, live, and work. Our every action, thought, emotion, the way we talk to other human beings, and how we teach them significantly affect the brain structure of others.

Neuroscience realized this by discovering the existence of the so-called mirror neurons. Mirror neurons, or networks of these neurons, are activated when an individual behaves or observes the same activity performed by another person, mimicking the person's actions being observed. The brain reflects what it sees, what it hears, what it witnesses. Brain imaging measurements have shown that by observing a person in motion, similar areas in the brain of the person observing it are activated, particularly when we perform the movements ourselves. Thus, when two people interact, the brains’ same structures are simultaneously activated in both brains.

In the learning process, imitation as a form of learning requires understanding and knowledge of the task being learned and the very act of completing the task. Likewise, this suggests that the practice of adult education in which demonstration exercises are practiced can, to a certain extent, create new neuronal connections in the learners (observers) at the start of acquiring a new skill. But for a skill to be acquired, the learner must make the observed movements on his own.  That will strengthen the newly formed neural connections due to the activation of mirror neurons. Mirror neurons also indicate that kinesthetic activity is important for perception, communication, and interaction occurring during the learning process.

The role of mirror neurons can be demonstrated in teaching any sports and recreational activity, such as yoga practice. A yoga teacher who teaches asanas (body positions) in each yoga class demonstrates the body positions which are observed by practitioners. They transfer the body positions into their own practice by following instructions and observing. The accompanying verbal instruction of the teacher on how to perform individual asanas contributes to a more profound interpretation and a better understanding of what the practitioner has observed through the activation of neurons and mirror neurons.

These insights indicate that every behavior of ours, that every spoken word and emotion experienced is reflected in the people around us and who observe us. Everything is connected, which means that adult teaching takes place on higher levels than the naked eye can see, even when we only focus on teaching a skill.

Published in: "The Competence of Lifelong learning from the Neuroscientific Point of View on Adult Learning," Key Competencies in Adult Learning, Book of Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Adult Education, Vodice, Croatia, 3rd and 4th October 2013, http://www.andragosko.hr/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/zbornik-had-vodice-2013.pdf