Paradigms, Mental Models, and Mindsets: Triple Barriers to ...

자료: Paradigms, Mental Models, and Mindsets: Triple Barriers to Transformational Change in School Systems: PART 3

Module by: Francis M. Duffy, Ph.D

.... Kuhn (1962) used the term “paradigm” to characterize significant changes in the hard sciences of his time. He argued that scientific advancement is not evolutionary; rather, he believed scientific advancement is a relatively peaceful journey punctuated by aggressive intellectual revolutions that replace one world view with another (this view is also supported by Tushman, Newman, & Romanelli, 1986). In other words, a paradigm shift is a revolutionary change from one way of thinking (as embedded in paradigms and mental models), believing (as reflected in mindsets) and doing (as reflected in behavioral strategies and observable behaviors) to another way. It is a revolution or disruptive transformation and it just does not happen on its own; rather, in the field of education it is being driven by frame-breaking revolutionaries with a powerful and compelling vision for creating and sustaining a new future for America’s school systems who are creating and nurturing powerful coalitions for transformational change. 1 However, as I have argued, creating a paradigm shift is no easy feat and doing so is analogous to trying to convince an entire religious community to shift to a new religion.

Paradigm Shifting Strategy

Let us say that we really want to create a true paradigm shift for the entire field of education. How would we do that? I believe that the initial target of paradigm-shifting efforts must be the mindsets (or attitudes) of educators. Our goal should be to motivate educators to open their minds to new possibilities, to increase the malleability of their mindsets, and to introduce new ways of thinking, believing, and doing. A process that might help to do that is visually depicted in Figure 3 and described below.