Communities of Practice
Creating learning environments
Martin Kuipers

what is it about?
- competence based learning
- flexible learning routes
- communities of practice

Leeuwarden
University of
applied science
s
- 10.000 students
- Bachelor degree programmes
- Engineering
- Social studies (health, education)
- Business & management
- Built environment
- Communication
- Communication & Multimedia Design

Communication & Multimedia Design
- 4 year programme
- 240 european credits
- degree:
‘bachelor of multimedia’
Basicly: we learn people to
create multimedia products
like:
- (educational) games
- advanced web applications
- 3d visualizations
- crossmedia broadcastings
- new medial concepts (multitouch,
blended forms of media)

our learning cycle
student
- self directed learning
- competence based
- interdisciplinary projectgroups
- learning to learn

matchmaking
?
client/company student
- external (paying) clients
- ambitions, passions
- matching with authentic projects
- own projects

intake
!
mentor + expert student
- the project starts with an intake assessment
- the starting level is discussed
- attitude
- repeating the trick? vs learning new things!

working in teams
- all students work in teams (5/6/7)
- (almost) no individual projects...
- different roles: project manager, art
direction, lead programmer, designer,
developer.
- Every student gets personal feedback and
results

coaching + planning
mentor student
- every student has a personal coach: mentor
- discussion about ambitions
- personal issues
- activating, stimulating
- students formulate their plans

consulting
feedback! 50%
question?
client expert student
- questions and problems are discussed
- feedback on projectplan, prototype, products
- experts give leads to knowledge sources
- students maintain contact with client
- mid-term assessment: adjustment and
feedback

progress
75%
mentor tutor student
- progress is monitored and discussed by
mentor and tutor

peer assessment
peers student
- peer assessments result in feedback on
personal attitude within the group

the assessment (show and tell)
100%
tell!
peers student client experts mentor
- all involved have a meeting
- the product is presented to the client and experts
- students show and tell why they are competent
- students are responsible for brining evidence

feedback and reflection
expert expert student mentor
- feedback is passed to the student
- rewarded with credits. (+/- 30 each project)
- the student makes a final reflection on the
feedback
- and from this reflection a new plan is formed

PdP
matchmaking
consulting
planning
monitoring
coaching
plan do
results
+
feedback
+
new projects ! evidence
+
professioal profile
react check
reflecting make assessment
advizing rewarding
reflection

A few numbers
- 700 students in 6 cohorts
- 60 personell
- most of them part time
- aim: 25 students, 1 coach
- no ‘paper’ exams
- assessments are transactionpoint
- 42 competencies...
- 3 levels each...
- too many communication channels

How to organize all this?
lessons learned in flexible route learning

2000-2006, reality on paper:
year:
project 1 project 2 project 3 project 4
Propedeutic
2 project 5* project 6* project 7* authentic
3 internship authentic authentic
shopping (external) graduation
4
bottom line: educators want predicable timeframes

shoppin
2000-2006, reality. g (exte
rn
year:
project 1 project 2 project 3
Propedeutic ?
authentic
project 5*
2 project 4
internship
3 own
starting company
? $$$ project 6
4
bottom line: students are flexible, we aren’t...
graduation

organization...
3th floor
2nd floor
external
at home
?

creating a new organization:
!
- minimizing the time and location difference
- no distinction in years
- create groups working on the same type of projects
- shifting management to CoP leaders

vertical alignment vs horizontal alignment
project 1 project 2 project 3 project 4
propedeutic
year 2
year 3
Community of practice. Community of practice
year 4
time
internship graduate

3de verdieping
2de verdieping
extern
thuis

observations:
- more students at school
- making longer days
- share and learn with eachother
- average number of credits is rising

do’s:
- create a homebase
- create simple but strict rules
- work towards a culture of equality
- in a CoP their are no big differences
between students and experts...

do’s:
- set conditions for spontaneous contacts
- coffeemachine is the heart of the
organization :)
- celebrate successes
- listen to your students

dont’s
- if you want CoP to work, avoid top down
organization
- trust your students, at first things will be shaky,
but in time something beautiful grows.
- don’t be to good at it, otherwise people won’t
leave :-)

our next steps
- starting CoP in the propedeutic year
- fading borders between student + expert
- allow students to form own CoP’s
- allow students to self-manage CoP’s
- experts/educators participating instead of leading
- find better ICT tools and improve internal
communication

tnx.
martin@mrtnk.nl