Robert Marzano Study: A New Paradigm for Educational Change

This article examines powerful change-oriented educational innovations and how Landmark's educational experience provides access to a new, effective approach.

Summary
The authors explore the nature of the change process, examining two types of change:

• First-order change assumes innovation is assimilated into existing beliefs and perceptions, and is rejected when it does not fit into the current framework.
• Second-order change addresses the existing framework of perceptions and beliefs, or paradigm, as part of the change process—an ontological approach.

The article proposes that most educational innovations do not address the dynamics of second-order change. In contrast, the ontological approach to change seeks to provide individuals with:

• An experience of their paradigms as constructed realities.
• An experience of consciousness other than the “I” embedded in their paradigms.

These experiences provide individuals with an opportunity to try out new paradigms that might allow them to be more effective in dealing with current problems.

Conclusion
“To date, the majority if not all of the innovations designed to improve education in substantive ways have not endured. One possible reason…is that those innovations simply have not addressed the dynamics of second-order change, which is fundamentally ontological in nature. Given the dramatic effects produced by [Landmark] the theory and practice of second-order change appears to be a fruitful area for increased research and study.”