Wenger defines a Community of Practice as a "group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do, and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.”
Anyone can be present in a community, but they don't truly become a part of that community until they begin to interact with other community members. A community of practice relies on three key characteristics being in place, and those who belong in the community will engage with these.
The first of these is the domain of interest which is the joint enterprise that interests the community. This is what brings the community together and feeds the passion to share knowledge and learning - to encourage best practice in an open, honest and respectful way.
Mutual engagement is another characteristic shared by the community of practice. All members of the community have a commitment to contributing ideas, feedback, reflection and future considerations. The balance may change, depending on expertise, experience and involvement, but everyone carries the responsibility of sharing when and where they can. Both formal and informal interactions inform this high level interaction.
A shared repertoire is the third element and this offers a collective pool of communal resources that the community of practice produces. I believe that this pool is one that consists of the ebb and flow of ideas and experience that community members bring. A balancing act between old ways - tradition and school culture- and new ideas and change. These could be influenced by the introduction of new staff, new ideas or professional development.
All of these elements are dependant on a community that operates without fear of taking risks, where members trust that they can be open and honest and where they feel valued for their contributions.
In educational contexts my community begins with myself and my colleague who work together in a modern learning environment with 63 students. We take joint responsibility for social and academic development for our diverse range of students. This community requires a high level of trust and shared responsibility for balancing contributions. The ebb and flow of knowledge and experience is reliant on a trusting relationship and an equal partnership.We then add the Learning Assistants - there are five involved with our students, the SENCO, the release teacher and the ESOL teacher, all of whom are invested in our class and classroom programme. Communication and sharing of ideas are key to effective practice and this takes place in many and varied ways - from formal IEP's to casual conversations over morning tea or at the photocopier. The important aspect is the respect for the ideas and opinions that are proffered from a differing perspective. My responsibilities within this team are to meet my obligations towards planning, assessment and reflection on practices with a view to improvement.
This is then expanded to include the rest of our team. Two more teachers and other Learning Assistants working with another 62 students. We plan many activities collaboratively and co-construct learning tasks. Class and team culture are strongly evident. Our team are open, honest and highly motivated to share ideas and experience. This allows for honest discourse and provides a wider pool of resources to draw on for all team members. Professional responsibilities within this community include shared planning, assessment, review and reflection on current practice and planning for future growth within our programmes.
Like an onion the layers of the community keep growing. The staff in our school offer wide-ranging viewpoints that reflect a range of ages, experience, both in years and in variety of educational contexts, and cultural diversity. This allows for opportunities to challenge ideas and viewpoints.
I consider myself to be very privileged to work in a community of practice that values wide ranging viewpoints and encourages debate and flexible thinking. Not every community has this level of trust.
My challenge is to contribute positively, as well as to draw from the wealth of resources that this community offers.
References:
Etienne Wenger. Excerpted with permission from Wenger, E. (n.d.). Communities of practice: A brief introduction. http://www.ewenger.com/theory/communities_of_practice_intro.htm
Hi Jane,
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting reading your first reflection on community of practice and I could relate to your comments on the requirement of a high level of trust and shared responsibility for balancing contributions in a modern learning environment. Where I am teaching we are moving to a new ILE site at the end of the year and so are trailing ILE spaces to develop pedagogy and practice. As it is a secondary school we have been trying to work through the practicality of having 4 different groups of ( up to 100) students in the space at one time with potentially4 different combinations of teachers throughout the day.
Hi Jane, I really enjoyed reading your blog as it challenged me to really reflect on who I thought was in my Community of Practise. My initial idea, alike yours, was that it was my Collaborative team. Like you I teach in a collaborative space, but with 3 teachers and 84 Year 5/6 students. This was who I felt who the people using Wenger's concept of COP, were the ones who had joint enterprise, mutual engagement and shared repertoire. However, through your blog, I have questioned this now. In our space we have a large number of low learners and you are right in saying that TA's are a huge part therefore of the COP. Especially in our case, as our two TA's enter our room at different times, but have the same invested interest in our children and the same amount of time in the space. Their contributions, opinions, and knowledge are very much valued and do have a large bearing on the decisions we make that best benefit our learners. Their contributions may not have as much emphasis on our planning, however they certainly do on the success of the programmes we are using with these learners and on our overall OTJ of those children. I thank you for challenging my thinking and questioning my initial idea of my COP.
ReplyDeleteThanks Donna. I am jealous of your teacher student ratio. The TA's are definitely important and I really enjoy the perspective they bring as they are focused on one student's outcomes when I might miss some cues because I am looking at a wider picture. They also bring in fresh ideas that have worked with other students under their care.
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