Post on 06-May-2015
Communities of Practice (CoP)
“No man is an island…” (Donne, 1967)
Jean Lave
“learning is ubiquitous in ongoing activity, though often unrecognized as such” (Lave, 1993).
Etienne Wenger
“The basic idea is that human knowing is fundamentally a social act. This simple observation has profound implications for the way we think of and attempt to support learning” (http://www.ewenger.com).
http://www.wordle.net/
What are CoPs?
Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.– a tribe learning to survive– a band of artists seeking new forms of expression,– a group of engineers working on similar problems,– a clique of pupils defining their identity in the school– a network of surgeons exploring novel techniques– a gathering of first-time managers helping each other cope.
(Wenger, n.d)
Why do we need to adopt CoPs?
Usefulness at Holland CollegeWithin Departments Within Administration Throughout the World
Distributed Learning and Online Education
Flow of information between Administrative Departments
Research ideas
Apprenticeship Model Product development
Hands on learning, industry based training
Collaborative college wide projects
Training needs
Collaborative projects, events & community involvement
Pool of resources
College Considerations
Benefits Warnings
Numerous experts within Holland college organization
Release of authority may be unsettling for some
Supportive climate Unreal expectations
Encourages imagination and innovation Fear of change or failure
Ready access to resources Time constraints
Belief in lifelong learning Loss of interest in project
Shared values and common goals
Implications on US
We are here
We will get here
http://wiki.nasa.gov/cm/wiki/?id=2698
ReferencesCormier, D. (2008, June 3). Rhizomatic education: Community as curriculum. Dave’s educational blog.
Retrieved July 29, 2009 from http://davecormier.com/edblog/2008/06/03/rhizomatic-education-community-as-curriculum/
Lave, J. (1993). The practice of learning. In S. Chaiklin & J. Lave (eds.), Understanding practice: perspectives on activity and context (pp. 3-32). New York: Cambridge University Press.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (n.d.). D. Development Model. Retrieved July 30, 2009, from http://wiki.nasa.gov/cm/wiki/?id=2698
Seaman, M. (2008, September). Birds of a feather? Communities of practice and knowledge communities. Curriculum & Teaching Dialogue, 10(1/2), 269-279. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.
Smith, M.K. (2003,2009) Communities of practice. The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved July29, 2009 from www.infed.org/biblio/communities_of_practice.htm
Wenger, E. (n.d.). Communities of practice: A brief introduction. Retrieved July 30,2009, from http://www.ewenger.com/theory/index.htm