Week 25 (That's really week 32 because I'm slow) Communities of Practice

If you are a part of a Community of Practice, but don't really know it, are you even a part of it? 

Never before have I explicitly thought about mine, or if I was part of one but upon reflection I am a part of many living, working communities. Communities of Practice (COPs) are essentially just a group of people who share a passion (Knox, 2009). They interact together with a shared purpose - in education this is usually surrounding improving the learning of our students - together we work to improve the capability of ourselves and those around us. 

I mix with various groups, who all share a passion for something in particular. My department colleagues, colleagues within my school areas (I work across 2 areas, Junior and Senior college), Mind Lab members (of which there are 7 in my school) as well as wider communities online, including Google+ and twitter. All of these include other key elements of COPs identified by Knox (2009). We all share a certain domain, or shared interest, have a sense of identity and came about organically. The one I'd like to focus on is my HPE colleagues as this is where I feel the most impact can be made on teaching and learning. 

According to Knox, there are 3 main characteristics that make up a COP. 

1. Domain - for us this is a shared interest based around improving provision for our students in Health and PE. Our philosophy is clear and well established.

2. Community - We engage regularly in joint discussions and activities. However, it essential to note that simply having the same job or shared interest does not ensure members are actually learning from each other. In our COP it is currently a case of not devoting enough time to fostering our community to allow it to truly meet its potential. 

3. Practice - We currently contribute our ideas and plan lessons and units together. Greater advantage could be made from practicing, evaluating and truly collaborating as opposed to simply splitting our workload. 

Whilst the community itself isn't necessarily organic, we have a sense of identity. In addition to our shared interest, we are genuinely friends and have fostered our relationships as individuals and as a team and consequently feel a sense of belonging. Wenger (2000) suggests that connectivity is an integral part of any COP and we have a deep sense of mutuality. Trust is important to all members, despite their role in the group. 

Leadership is often shifting within our COP, dependent on the specific focus. and shifting roles within the department have clouded the water. Essentially, as the TiC I am the 'community coordinator' that Wenger describes. I organise formal meetings and suchlike, however I feel that all of our members have a leadership role to play. Some members are innovative, full of ideas. Others are pioneers, leading change in their own classroom and feeding back to the group. 

In order to make the most of our existing COP I believe we would benefit from more formal goals and learning projects. With clear expectations to work towards I think we would become more efficient. Wenger asks 'how much initiative does your community take to keep learning at the centre?' For us, it is always at the centre of what we do. But how much we focus on our own learning vs the learning of students isn't quite as balanced as it could be. 

References 

Knox, B. (2009, December 4).Cultivating Communities of Practice: Making Them Grow.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMPRZnRFkk

Wenger, E.(2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization,7(2), 225-246.

Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.