0.1 Part 2: why mental models are difficult to change  (Page 3/5)

A social infrastructure that supports unlearning can be intentionally and effectively designed. Starbuck (1996) identified the essential characteristics of an “unlearning environment.” He believed that these unlearning environments should:

1. Create dissatisfaction with mental models;
2. Introduce new mental models as “experiments,” which reduces the fear of failure;
3. State the desirable outcomes of exploring new mental models without expecting people to start applying the mental models, which, again, reduces the fear of failure;
4. Encourage and consider dissent and dialogue;
5. Reconcile differences between old and new mental models by seeking commonality and complimentarity;
6. Encourage and actively seek the views of “outsiders”; and,
7. Encourage people to be skeptical of all mental models, not just the old ones.

Constructing New Mental Models

The process of constructing new mental models is a knowledge-creation process. Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) described a knowledge-creation process for organizations. The core elements of their knowledge-creation process are what they called tacit and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is difficult to describe using words. It is often situated at an intuitive level. For example, a teacher may be “famous” for her ability to manage classroom behavior. But when asked to describe in words how and why she is so successful she replies, “I don’t know. I just do it.” Explicit knowledge, on the other hand, is easily described using words. For example, when asked how to solve a quadratic equation a mathematics teacher describes the formula and solution steps accurately and in detail.

Nonaka and Takeuchi’s knowledge creation process, as noted above, was created for use by organizations. Their methodology for creating organization-wide knowledge begins by engaging individual experts in structured activities to make their tacit expertise (their tacit knowledge) explicit. The “best” of that explicit knowledge is then transformed into organization-wide explicit knowledge (in other words it is shared throughout the organization). Then, steps are taken to embed that explicit organization-wide knowledge deep within the organization’s memory thus making it organization-wide tacit knowledge. The goal of this process is to create functional organization-wide mental models that are sustained.

Mindsets

Given their dominant paradigms and related mental models individuals, teams, and entire school districts begin to make up their minds about what works and what does not work and about what has merit and value and what does not. “Making up one’s mind” is another way of saying that a person’s mind is set. In other words, they have established a mindset. And, these mindsets are, in fact, really attitudes fueled by beliefs and values. These attitudes can be either positive or negative.

As a mindset hardens it creates a predisposition to think, believe, and do things in a particular way. Within a profession, mindsets are hammered in hard by the profession’s controlling paradigm and related mental models and the reward systems that reinforce them. Mindsets also create powerful incentives for individuals and groups to behave in ways that are congruent with the controlling paradigm and mental models.