Paradigm Shifts (Reading)

We have 6 readings associated with this topic.

The first is called "What is a Paradigm Shift?" and it is from www.taketheleap.com. The next reading is called "What is Your Paradigm?" and it is from www.erm.ecs.soton.ac.uk. The third is "Critical Theory" from en.wikipedia.org. The fourth reading is called "Paradigm Shifts and Instructional Technology" by Timothy Koschmann. It is a chapter from a larger book called "CSCL: Theory and Practice of an Emerging Paradigm". The fifth reading is called "Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge" by Punya Mishra and Matthew J. Koehler. It appears to be from a journal called Teachers College Record. The final reading is a few pages from the first chapter of Andrew Feenberg's book "Critical Theory of Technology".

The answers to the following questions are all gleaned from the sources outlined above.

1. What is a paradigm?
Paradigms are essentially ways of thinking or schools of thought. It helps shape the approaches that we take to things and how we think about the world. They are subject to change and many different ones can be found based on the beliefs of people. In that sense a "paradigm shift" is the replacing of one way of thinking with another. One of the examples provided was the way that thinking and doing changed with the introduction of the personal computer and the Internet.

2. What is the shift in IT that Koschmann outlines?
The shift is discussing the usage of technology in education. The previous views discussed seem to be more about the process of the individual and technology likewise outlined the feelings of the philosophy as tools to help the individual. In this sense, the shift is the growing belief of learning to be a collaborative process. Following that, technology in education is becoming more the tools to support and enhance that collaboration in a variety of ways.

3. How does Koschmann's shift align with paradigm shift discussed in rapid prototyping?
Both are based in the emergence of different ways of thinking about learning. Rapid prototyping assumes that it is hard to follow a prescriptive method for design because learning is complicated. Things are learned due to a variety of factors and they affect each other. CSCL is similar in that it states learning is hard to outline in a scripted fashion, because it is affected by social factors, which can be very hard to predict.

4. Define and explain TPACK.
TPACK refers to an approach of looking at content, pedagogy, and technology as intricately connected skills, ideas, and thoughts that are essential to a teacher in order to make them effective. As stated in the article, TPACK:
"requires an understanding of the representation
of concepts using technologies; pedagogical techniques that use
technologies in constructive ways to teach content; knowledge of what
makes concepts difficult or easy to learn and how technology can help
redress some of the problems that students face; knowledge of students’
prior knowledge and theories of epistemology; and knowledge of how
technologies can be used to build on existing knowledge and to develop
new epistemologies or strengthen old ones."
So it really is about the complex interplay of the three types, keeping many basic rules in mind. The approach is different between all teachers with no right answer. In that sense, it is ever changing and dynamic.

5. How does TPACK align with Koschmann's paradigm shift?
It is saying that teaching is much too complicated to be approached in a prescribed manner, in much the same way that Koschmann and Tripp talked about how learning was much too complicated to do the same. Koschmann also talked about his theory as being about viewing interactions (among people) as being integral to learning. TPACK is about interactions as well (though between content, pedagogy, and technology) being integral to teaching.

6. What is critical theory?
Critical theory is a school of thought that focuses on the examination and critique of society and culture, based on information gleaned from the studying of people. It's goal is generally the change of society for the benefit of it. It calls upon many other schools of thought and many of the sciences in order to do this.