"I won't just now go into my association of this neglect with the
trivialization of constructivist learning theory by converting it into an
all-pervading pedagogical approach.  More on that later, if anyone's
interested in a retired guy's rant."

Herb,

Please do share! How intriguing! If you decide not to share on-list, please
feel free to send your thoughts on this topic off-list. I've been doing a
lot of thinking about pedagogy in general lately, and, based on my
experience with your posts here, your perspective is certain to be valuable!

Regards,

John Alexander

On Mon, Sep 22, 2008 at 9:21 PM, STAHLKE, HERBERT F <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

>  Carol,
>
>
>
> I'm pretty much with Bill on the meaning of "paradigm shift."  I associate
> the term with Thomas Kuhn's seminal book "The Structure of Scientific
> Revolutions," which was required reading when I was in graduate school back
> before the first moon landing.
>
>
>
> A term like this tends to get coopted by other disciplines, in this case
> other than the history and philosophy of science, and I suspect your student
> was using not to describe a paradigm shift in communication media but rather
> to justify a broad neglect of the most important technology of information
> storage, retrieval, and transfer in the history of humanity:  the printed
> page.
>
>
>
> I won't just now go into my association of this neglect with the
> trivialization of constructivist learning theory by converting it into an
> all-pervading pedagogical approach.  More on that later, if anyone's
> interested in a retired guy's rant.
>
>
>
> Herb
>
>
>
> *From:* Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:
> [log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Spruiell, William C
> *Sent:* 2008-09-18 18:50
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Re: Paradigm Shift?
>
>
>
> Carol,
>
>
>
> *Paradigm shift *is something I associate with revolutions in scientific
> theories, but not automatically with shifts in everyday practices, although
> those might eventually follow. I think there *has* been something that we
> could call a paradigm shift in models of "literacy," in that what were
> originally models only of reading have been expanded to deal with other
> "literacies" (I'm using quotes not because I don't like this approach, but
> because I'm still a bit conflicted over using a term that refers to letters
> for things that letters aren't involved in; i.e., I'm a fogey). Saying that
> science needs to discuss how people "read" visual images and the like is not
> the same, though, as saying that we now think they don't need to read
> written texts.
>
>
>
> Some students (and others) do seem to assume that acknowledging the utility
> of a wide range of modalities means that we can abandon written text, and I
> suspect they see discussions of multi-literacies as verifying that
> assumption and signaling the end of written text as a medium. This view can
> dove-tail with an overextension of discussions of multiple learning styles
> ("I'm not a verbal learner, so I shouldn't have to read anything").  In my
> classes with education majors, I try to get them thinking about the subject
> by asking them to come up with a visual symbol for relationships like
> "although" – just as visual representation is much better at some things
> than language is, language still lets you handle concepts that can't be
> visualized with any degree of generality. And written text is still the best
> means of making language persistent and rapidly navigable (you can use an
> audio recording, but….ever try to skim one of those for particular pieces of
> info?).
>
>
>
> Bill Spruiell
>
> Dept. of English
>
> Central Michigan University
>
>
>
> *From:* Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:
> [log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Carol Morrison
> *Sent:* Thursday, September 18, 2008 5:17 PM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Paradigm Shift?
>
>
>
> Hello Grammarians,
>
>
>
> I was a bit astounded today when one of my freshman writers announced in
> class that there has been a "paradigm shift" from reading books to viewing
> films and other visual texts as a means of acquiring knowledge. This
> was immediately after I took an informal poll to ask how many class members
> read books. (Only 2, including myself, raised their hands). I was impressed
> with the student's insight, but also wondered if this related to his poor
> writing skills and the writing skills which seem to be lacking in other
> students who don't "read." I'm not really trying to discuss the relationship
> of reading and writing so much on the grammar list, but rather the usage of
> "paradigm shift." I've always struggled with terms like this and also with
> terms such as "agency" which are buzz words in academia, but used in so many
> different contexts that their meaning becomes fuzzy to me after a while. Any
> thoughts? (About "agency" or "paradigm shift"?)
>
> Thank you!
>
> Carol
>
>
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