Communities of Practice

          The community of practice is the idea that people come together who are practitioners in a similar field who have shared interest to learn from one another. They develop into groups or communities with a shared domain, interest, and practice and engage in discussions, activities, share information and resources and more while each develops their own ability and knowledge in that area. It is the idea that learning occurs when there is social participation and when people are engaged in a community with a common focus or passion they are all devoted to in varying levels. One person alone may be able to be in many communities of practice, both in the main heart of the community along with being more on the margin depending on their experience and knowledge in that area. The idea is that once one gains competence and experience they may become more involved and come farther into the community and away from the periphery. This is a gradual process of learning that occurs as one becomes more involved and knowledgeable which is reflected in the person’s involvement and role in that community.

            This is a practice that I have seen many times in my experiences, but especially recently in the educational world, though I have not before heard the label of community of practice attached to it. It seems to be a natural process much of the time for people with a powerful, shared interest to come together and discuss what they know and support one another to learn and develop their ideas related to what the interest may be.

            In the current MCC one year cohort I feel that we have developed our own community of practice with the shared domain not only of teaching and education but being in the same classes at the same school and going through this process together.  We all frequently share our ideas, knowledge, and experience for the benefit of ourselves and our peers so that we may grow together. This is a field that we are all invested in while sharing common goals, in addition to being in the same program we are all in different student teaching experiences and subject areas, so there is enough difference that we can be a community that shares different ideas with a common thread but that does not become repetitive. I have definitely seen and experienced the benefit of this and think that just the interaction of the group has led to a greater understanding and development of our skills and ideas over the course of the year that would not have been possible without that shared community atmosphere and the opportunity to collaborate with one another.

            In my student teaching experience I have also seen informal communities of practice that form between the teachers of the school. Because I am in the intern position as a student teacher I have been at the periphery of these groups but have been able to be a part of them and learn from the experience of others, even by participating or listening to discussion. Teachers in the same grade and different grades often chat informally at lunch, during breaks, or after school, sharing ideas about students and education and topics to help each other and learn from one another. They discuss ideas they’ve had or heard of and ask each other for advice or assistance, especially when one has had more experience in that particular area of the larger domain of education.

            This does seem to be a positive, engaging, and natural way for people to learn, and so I think it would be a good way to encourage students to enjoy the learning process and explore the things they are passionate about. This would help students to enjoy the learning process if given this opportunity along with the general standards, and emphasize the idea of becoming life-long learners beyond their school experience.

            I did read another article regarding the limitations of communities of practice and do see that there are some difficulties with implementing them. They are more of a natural occurrence and so that kind of atmosphere is the one in which a community will have the most potential to flourish and accomplish its purpose. When direct hierarchies are introduced there is not a shared pool of experience and the same level of comfort and ability to freely communicate and work together in a more collaborative and honest fashion. It is also difficult to set a time on development of a community of practice, and it may take longer than some would find convenient or useful in certain situations. These communities again need to develop more naturally in order to work as well which takes time and involvement. There is also controversy about the ability of these communities of practice to transition to the “virtual world” in order for members to communicate in an alternate manner.