Part 1: paradigms, mental models, and mindsets in-use  (Page 2/8)

Creating a paradigm shift is like converting an entire religious community to a new religion

Christianity is a religious paradigm. Within that paradigm there are many different denominations (which are mental models); e.g., Catholicism, Presbyterianism, and Evangelicalism. There are also other religious paradigms: Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and so on.

As people practice their religious faith (their paradigm) in accordance with their denomination (their mental model) they make up their minds about how much they value their faith and their particular denomination (i.e., they develop mindsets about their paradigm and mental model), how much they like or dislike other denominations, as well as other completely different religions (other paradigms).

Their attitudes (their mindsets) toward their faith (their paradigm) and denomination (their mental model) motivate them to develop behavioral strategies for how to behave so that they can hold true to the tenets of their faith and denomination. As they implement their behavioral strategies, they can be observed practicing their faith and denomination in their chosen ways.

Creating a paradigm shift within this framework (paradigm, mental models, mindsets, behavioral strategies, and observable behaviors) would require having an entire religious community (e.g., Christianity) shift to a new religion (e.g., to Islam). Can you imagine that happening? At best, it probably only would be possible to motivate individuals to change their mental models (e.g., to convert from Catholicism to Presbyterianism; or for individuals to convert to another religious paradigm; e.g., a person converting from Islam to Christianity). But getting an entire religious community to shift paradigms (to adopt a new religion) would be an extraordinary event.

Now, let’s enter the world of education. The current dominant approach to schooling in America is a paradigm that is very much like a religion. Within the dominant paradigm (the Industrial Age, factory model paradigm), there are various mental models that include, for example, group-based instruction, presenting a fixed amount of content in a fixed amount of time, and expecting all students to master all standards at the same learning pace and at the same time.

As educators deliver educational services to students in ways that are aligned with the controlling paradigm and the mental models, they make up their minds (that is, they create mindsets) about the value of the paradigm and the mental models and they develop mindsets about the value or lack of value of other paradigms and mental models. Their attitudes (i.e., their mindsets) toward their preferred and non-preferred paradigm and mental models motivate them to create behavioral strategies for how to do their work in school districts. As they implement their behavioral strategies, they can be observed teaching, managing, leading, and so on, in ways that are aligned with the dominant paradigm and their preferred mental models.

Unlike the religious paradigm, it is probably easier to motivate the entire education community to convert to a new paradigm for schooling; after all, it’s happened before when educators shifted from the Agrarian Age paradigm of schooling to the Industrial Age paradigm. At first, however, advocates of the Knowledge Age learner-centered paradigm of education may only be able to help individual school districts break away from the prevailing Industrial Age paradigm and shift to the learner-centered paradigm (which would be analogous to an individual converting to a new religion).