Communities of Practice
Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do; through regular interaction with these like-minded individuals they learn how to do their tasks more effectively.
In any learning institution, it is the collective human capital which can enrich institutional knowledge through the sharing of both formal and informal knowledge. It is the informal knowledge, which can be context-specific and personal, which can be undervalued by both individual and the organisation. If there is no opportunity to share this tacit knowledge, there is a wealth of experience that can be lost of the organisation. This is where the significance of belonging to a group becomes significant. Through Communities of Practice, there is an opportunity to share this informal knowledge so that this hidden knowledge becomes explicit. Wenger defined CoPs as groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis (Wenger, 1998). Communities of Practice are now found in a wide range of institutions, and schools have become enthusiastic adopters of this practice.
There are three commonalities to CoPs:
1. It has an identity defined by a shared domain of interest;
2. Members engage in activities, assist each other, and share information at a community level;
3. Through practice members of a community of practice develop a shared repertoire of resources: experiences, stories, tools, ways of addressing recurring issues.
In education, learning is the end product. Our aim is not transformation within the school, but within the wider community and for our students to value learning so that they become life-long learners. Therefore the school is not a self-contained, enclosed world but instead one which is part of the wider, vibrant community in which it resides. The class is not the main learning event. The school is not the main learning event. Instead, we should be focused on providing every student with a quest for knowledge that persists their school years.
Create an artefact that captures key leadership knowledge, skills and attributes necessary for building and sustaining professional communities in education.
The question we need to ask is whether intentionally created groups (as tends to happen in schools) actually are CoPs. The learning within the CoP has to lead to effective change. Is that truly the reality for CoPs within schools? Research demonstrates that collective leadership practices that share power generate greater motivation, increased trust and risk taking, and build a sense of community efficacy.
Bibliography:
Mittendorf, K; Geijsel, F; Hoeve, A; de Laat, M; Nieuwenhuis, L: Communities of Practice as stimulating forces for collective learning
Wenger, E: Communities of Practice; A brief introduction