Blog #6: Community of Practice

‘Communities of Practice’ (CoP) is a completely new term for me. Wenger’s definition, "Communities of practice members solve problems and share information. Learning is social. They talk about their lives, interests, and ambitions. They even mentor and coach each other. Knowledge is shared with the community, which gives group members a sense of identity" (2002) helps best to explain the foundation for CoP’s. While the term is new, the concept is not. As I think about all the CoP’s that I am a member, whether voluntary or not; family, church, colleagues in my department, in my Profession Learning Community, or my lunch bunch, peers at Full Sail, or the wide range of friends, I am astonished how unique each circle is by itself, and yet complement one another within my life. Why isn’t this true for our learners today. Unfortunately, middle school students tend to compartmentalize not only school and personal life, but also every subject area. Transference has not occurred to the extent that Math, Social Studies, Language Arts, Science, Art, Music, Family and Consumer Sciences, Tech Ed and Keyboarding can be seen as a way to enhance one another, not compete.

Greer, J (2008 December 4) Community of Practice EDD 8123.wmv [Video File] Posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25ZINuOYm2s

The concept of Communities of Practice started off as a volunteer situation for employees of Xerox Corporation as they shared ideas about repair and maintenance of copying machines (On Purpose Associates, 2009). Xerox realized the improved productivity of the employees, and satisfaction levels of customers. A spin-off was created (Institute For Research On Learning) that helps everyone, especially educators in recognizing the basics of learning. On Purpose Associates proposes that there are several assumptions connected with CoP’s;

1. Learning is fundamentally a social phenomenon.
2. Knowledge is integrated in the life of communities that share values, beliefs, languages, and ways of doing things.
3. The processes of learning and membership in a community of practice are inseparable.
4. Knowledge is inseparable from practice.
5. Empowerment – or the ability to contribute to a community – creates the potential for learning.

Students collaborating; sharing not only the task at hand, but also aspects of personal experiences with one another, can reflect CoP’s in the classroom. As learners talk, knowledge and empowerment intertwine to form a class that is relaxed, applicable, social, relevant, and fun!

References

On Purpose. (February 2009). Communities of Practice. Retrieved August 22, 2009 from
Funderstanding website: http:// www. funderstanding.com/content/communities
of-practice

Wegner E. & Snyder, R. (2002) Cultivating Communities of Practice. McGraw-Hill. Europe