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Equity: Culturally Responsive Practices Wheel

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Equity: Culturally Responsive Practices Wheel

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Shifting Limited Mental Models in Educators

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Shifting Limited Mental Models in Educators

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In my observations, I had noticed a trend in the teacher's interactions with them -- she didn't push them as she did the others, she let them off the hook easily, and she gave them simple tasks. All of these young men were African American, and this group comprised almost the entire group of African American males in her classes. I gently and carefully probed into the teacher's decision making, asking nonjudgmental questions about her assumptions about these boys, and then one day, she said this: "I think they're just lazy. I don't think they'll follow through. So I give them tasks they can manage."

I felt a mix of fear (would I know how to coach her through this?) and relief (she'd named it, not me) as I recognized the mental model that this teacher held about her African American boys -- a mental model that did not serve them as learners.

What Is a Mental Model?

Mental models are our values, beliefs, and a series of assumptions about how the world works. Unconsciously, we create a story about other people, institutions, and the world which drives our behavior. While everyone has them (in fact, we need them to make sense of the complex world in which we live), all mental models are flawed to some extent and usually invisible to us.

Instructional coaches often work with teachers around their practices in the classroom -- their lesson planning, assessment strategies, management approaches, and so on. This is the area in which I've worked for many years, and what I've seen is that when instructional coaches focus only on these behaviors, the outcomes are limited both in terms of the impact on children and the change in the teacher's practice.

But when an instructional coach also addresses and explores a teacher's mental models about a range of topics including students with learning disabilities, children in poverty, immigrants, English learners, and so on, then there's a greater likelihood of transformational change and equity for students.

A skilled transformational coach attempts to bring mental models to the surface, explore them, and see the impact of the mental model on the teacher's life as well as on students. Furthermore, a skilled coach facilitates the creation of new mental models that serve all of us, teachers and students, better.

Strategies for Shifting Mental Models

When we recognize a mental model surfacing, either in ourselves or in another, that doesn't seem to be of service (meaning, it could be having a detrimental impact on us or others), here are some approaches for shifting it:

First, greet the mental model with curiosity. Some mental models can feel scary when they've crystalized (such as "the African American boys are lazy") and can raise all kinds of feelings. But if we put a great deal of energy into the emotions and managing them, we'll get distracted from the learning opportunity. Acknowledge the feelings and get curious about the mental model.

Then ask: Where might this mental model have come from? What might be all the elements that contributed to its creation? And with genuine open curiosity, investigate those.

Third, ask: What's the impact of holding this mental model? What can and can't I do if I hold it? What's possible for others if I'm attached to it? How has it served me to hold it, and what might be possible if it shifted?

Fourth: Look for any and all evidence that the model might not be "true." Are there any exceptions to this rule? Create instability for the mental model, make it feel weak and send fractures through its construction. If the mindset is in someone else, remember that you can't make anyone change their beliefs, but you can make those beliefs unstable.

Fifth: Commit to trying something new to test the mental model. When I got to this point with the new English teacher I coached, I nudged her into giving the boys that she thought were lazy big roles in an upcoming production. We created a plan for the students so that they'd be successful -- which they were.

Sixth: Name the shift in mental model using the words belief, mindset, and mental model. This was what I said to the teacher in June, "Earlier this year, you expressed a belief that your African American boys were lazy. How would you say that mental model has changed based on what you did and saw this spring?" Acknowledge the learning and the new possibilities for the teacher and the students.

A Path Toward Equity

If we're intent on transforming classrooms and schools, if we are truly committed to seeing equitable outcomes for children, we'll need to take a long and hard look at our mental models. This is hard and scary work, because we need to poke around in the beliefs that we hold about education and children and their ability to learn.

There are strategies that we can learn so that these conversations can be easier and productive and so that they result in positive changes in the classroom.

How do you identify and challenge your mental models?

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Shifting Mental Models in Educators | Edutopia

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In my observations, I had noticed a trend in the teacher's interactions with them -- she didn't push them as she did the others, she let them off the hook easily, and she gave them simple tasks. All of these young men were African American, and this group comprised almost the entire group of African American males in her classes.

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Indicators of a Learning Organization_The Art of Coaching Teams

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Team Temperature Check_The Art of Coaching Teams

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Spheres of Influence_Art of Coaching (1)

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Understanding Teachers' Mental Models to Support Their Professional Development and Learning

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Understanding Teachers' Mental Models to Support Their Professional Development and Learning

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Towards a learning community  understanding teachers  mental models to support their professional development and learning

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Changing Our Own Mental Models Before Changing the Education System

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Changing Our Own Mental Models Before Changing the Education System

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For example, the guidebook features the hypothetical systems thinking journey of a fictional group of educators, students, parents and community members who are working to address their school's disproportionate suspension of Black students. After much discussion and applying the tools of systems thinking to understand the wide variety of experiences and beliefs related to the problem, the group members find themselves asking:

What is the purpose of the behavioral expectations we hold for students?

Why do we have this set of rules?

Do those rules support or detract from a just and equitable school culture?

The group questions not only the procedures and features of their system, but also the foundational assumptions and beliefs that inform the ways their school operates. In so doing, they are trying out new stencils. The result could be a system that works in entirely new ways.

Once we recognize that we all have mental models and that they affect our beliefs, our actions and ultimately the ways our systems operate, we can no longer allow those mental models to remain hidden. Systems thinking offers tools for making mental models explicit, and simple conversation can also uncover the ways in which different people see reality. We must reflect on our own mental models, share them, seek to understand others' and, where possible, align our collective mental models with the future we hope to see.

Extraordinary circumstances are rightly leading more and more people to scrutinize the social systems that determine how young people experience education. Now is the time to consider:

How willing are we to allow those circumstances to shift our mental models?

How willing are we to let go of our sense of certainty about how the world works and examine our opportunities, challenges and solutions through a new set of filters?

Our collective answer to those questions will determine whether our education systems can transform to be just, joyful and life-affirming or whether they will end up as a slightly different version of what they have always been.

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Changing Our Own Mental Models Before Changing the Education System

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We must transform our mental models in order to transform education systems.

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Fears Toward Disability and Their Impact on Teaching Practices

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Fears Toward Disability and Their Impact on Teaching Practices

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Fears Towards Disability and Their Impact on Teaching Practices

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Understanding Teachers' Mental Models of Collaboration to Enhance the Learning Community

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Understanding Teachers' Mental Models of Collaboration to Enhance the Learning Community

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Understanding teachers  mental models of collaboration to enhance the learning community (1)

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The Diffusion of Innovation theory, developed by Everett Rogers in 1962, explains how, over time, an idea or product gains momentum and spreads through a specific population or social system. The result of this diffusion is that people, as part of a social system, adopt a new idea, behavior, or product. Adoption means that a […]

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Diffusion of Innovation in Education

The Diffusion of Innovations theory, developed by Everett Rogers in 1962, is a widely recognized theory that explains how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread through cultures. The theory suggests that the spread of a new idea or technology is a process that occurs over time and is influenced by several factors, including the characteristics of the innovation itself, the characteristics of the individuals and groups that adopt it, and the communication channels through which information about the innovation is transmitted.

Diffusion in Education

In the context of education and educational technology, Rogers' theory can be used to understand how new teaching methods and technologies are adopted and implemented in schools and classrooms. The theory suggests that some teachers and schools will be more likely to adopt new technologies and teaching methods than others, depending on their characteristics and the characteristics of the innovation itself. For example, teachers who are more open to change and experimentation may be more likely to adopt new technology and teaching methods, while those who are more resistant to change may be less likely to do so.

In addition, the theory suggests that the way in which information about new teaching methods and technologies is communicated can also influence adoption rates. For example, if teachers receive information about new technology through personal communication with colleagues, they may be more likely to adopt it than if they receive the information through more formal channels, such as workshops or professional development sessions.

T﻿ypes of People

According to Everett Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations theory, there are five types of people in the adoption process of a new innovation:

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N.Dincer is a Ph.D. Candidate at the department of Educational Technology. He provides instructional design assistance, SCORM and xAPI support to faculty responsible for building fully online, hybrid and in-seat courses. He can work individually with a high-level of independence, have strong project management, communication and collaboration skills, a willingness to provide superior service, and a passion for creating and supporting innovative educational solutions for students and faculty.

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Change Your Mind Before You Change the System

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Change Your Mind Before You Change the System

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Change Your Mind Before You Change the System: Taking a Closer Look at Mental Models and the Water of Systems Change - FSG

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Influencing mindsets and mental models requires identifying what current mental models need to be shifted, targeting priority stakeholders for change, and designing strategies that involve target groups. The most effective practitioners, before seeking to influence the thinking of others, first examine their own beliefs and attitudes and their role in shaping the system. We recently had the privilege to facilitate […]