3. COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
Persistent, sustaining social network of people who share and develop an overlapping
knowledge base, set of beliefs, values, history and experiences focused on a common
practice or multiple enterprises.
Wenger &
Lave(1998)
define
communities
of practice
as
organized
into three
dimensions:
Shared
Repertoire
Mutual
Engagement
Joint
Enterprise
an agreed-upon,
negotiated purpose
or goal with mutual
accountability
distinctive discourse
framing a shared
understanding of
concepts, tools,
resources of practice
common activity of participants playing
distinctive roles in this joint work
4. define a community of practice as a “persistent, sustaining social
network of people who share and develop an overlapping knowledge
base, set of beliefs, values, history, and experiences focused on a
common practice or multiple enterprises.”
5. TANGIBLE ATTRIBUTES THAT HAVE DIRECT IMPACT ON TEACHER
FROM A DISTANCE LEARNING AND FACE-TO-FACE BY BURNS AND DIMOCK (2007)
reinforce many of the
skills, concepts, and
strategies
adapt new skills and
concepts to their
particular setting
may function better because of
collective ties
Creating supportive
environments for teacher
collaboration
Isolation is replaced by an
ethos of collegiality, sharing,
and collaboration
6. DEVELOPING COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
1. Understand the distinctions
among communities and help
learners through the stages of
community formation.
Communities with
shared interest
Communities
of learning
Community of
practice
7. 2. ORGANIZE LEARNERS INTO COHORTS, AND WHERE POSSIBLE BUILD
IN OPPORTUNITIES FOR FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS.
According to Dhanarajan
(2005) and Leung (2007) note
that teachers report that
peer-based online learning is
“deeper and more
meaningful” than non-peer-
based online learning
experiences.
DEVELOPING COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
8. 3. PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE COMPOSITION OF THESE
COHORTS.
It is important to have a strategy for grouping a certain cohort of teachers.
Homogeneously
particular set of
characteristics or abilities
Heterogeneously
representing diversity in
characteristics
DEVELOPING COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
9. 4. FOCUS ON COMMUNICATION, COOPERATION, COLLABORATION, AND
COMMUNITY AS PART OF COURSE DESIGN
•Making collective learning and the attainment of common, versus individual, goals a
central feature of their teacher education and upgrading program
•Soliciting learner input in the design of distance education courses and programs
(Haavind, 2006)
•Allowing groups to develop their own guidelines for group interaction (Commonwealth of
Learning, 2008)
•Ensuring that instruction is learner-centered (Commonwealth of Learning, 2008)
DEVELOPING COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
10. 5. CHOOSE TECHNOLOGY THAT FOSTERS COMMUNICATION AND
COLLABORATION.
The technology tools provided to learners must support a range of
communication types and styles.
a. Two-way audio
and interactive
video
DEVELOPING COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
12. C. PERSONALIZED INTERACTION AND CREATIVE COLLABORATION
Advantages:
Flexible
Cost effective
Everybody is the author and
editor
User-friendly
People all over the world can
work on same document
Disadvantages:
Open to spam and vandalism
Some articles are not that
accurate
13. Community formation can be further enhanced and expanded through participation in Web-
based experiences such as tele collaborative projects, ongoing webinars, WebQuests, and
online or virtual teaching and learning conferences
d. participation in Web-based experiences
14. CONCLUSION
Communities of practice offer several benefits to distance learning programs in general
and to teachers in particular.
First, they furnish the emotional, logistical, and procedural supports for their
members in the pursuit of common interests and goals, transforming an undertaking
from the individual to the shared realm.
Second, they can result in a purposeful educational network of professionals formed
around a “joint enterprise” (Wenger, 1998) that serves a larger public good.
Third, they make possible goal-oriented knowledge generation and shared learning
lubricated by the trust, mutual support, and open communication that form the basis
of a community.
These essential ingredients of community can be facilitated by technology-based
opportunities to talk, write, videoconference and co-create knowledge and ideas.
Finally, communities of practice make public the private, embedded, and tacit
professional knowledge of individuals within a group, so that knowledge generation
is transformed into informed practice that can result in improved instructional change
among teachers and within classrooms.
Editor's Notes
Being part of an online community is linked to teacher satisfaction with distance learning courses—and being part of a school-based community of teachers is linked to school change. This chapter discusses the importance and formation of on- and offline communities as part of any distance learning program.
They reinforce many of the skills, concepts, and strategies promoted in teacher training or professional development sessions.
By working together with colleagues, teachers can customize, personalize, and adapt new skills and concepts to their particular setting, enlisting colleagues to help them critique and improve implementation of a particular idea or strategy.
communities begin as collections of individuals who come together around a shared interest
can bring teachers together around a common pursuit
for example, broadcast radio or television, or print-based learning—cell phones, which allow for low-cost, text-based (SMS) and voice communication, are a successful technology tool used to foster the communication that is the lifeblood of a community.
EdModo,302 in concert with collaboration tools such as Dabbleboard303 and communication tools such as Skype or chat, can amplify among learners
