Change or Improvement: Avoiding Pseudowork and Driving Educational Success

Are We Changing or Improving? The Distinction That Matters

Not all change is improvement, and not all improvement leads to real change. This distinction is critical for institutions aiming to achieve meaningful results rather than remain stuck in cycles of inefficiency.

In my work with schools, I often encounter “improvements” that don’t deliver meaningful outcomes or “changes” that fail to solve core problems. Many of these institutions are caught in the Pseudowork Trap, a concept I explore in Chapter 10 of my book, How to Successfully Transition Students into College: From Traps to Triumph.

Real-World Examples of the Differences

Here are a few examples of well-intentioned efforts that didn’t yield desired results:

Switching from lecture-based instruction to flipped classrooms in hopes of revolutionizing engagement.
Building a state-of-the-art learning facility with the goal of improving the teaching environment.
Requiring teachers to circulate classrooms to encourage student participation.

Though these efforts met internal objectives, they didn’t impact key outcomes like student performance or retention.

Insights from Florida Polytechnic University

At FPU, the challenge wasn’t just implementing change but ensuring those changes improved student outcomes. By distinguishing between the two, FPU redefined success by focusing on the root causes of underperformance.

Click here to read more about the Florida Poly Project.

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