Communities of Practice

Communities of Practice are groups of people who share a passion for something that they do (their practice) and interact on a regular basis so that they could learn from each other how they could perform their practice better.  Learning takes place in context and in a low stress environment which maximizes the acquisition and generation of ideas.  This term was coined by social anthropologist and social learning theorist Dr. Jean Lave and education theororist and practitioner Etienne Wenger.  While the term is relatively new, the actual communities of practice are not.  Communities of practice were the first knowledge-based social structures and developed when people realized they could profit from sharing their knowledge, insights, ideas and experiences with others who possessed similar interests or goals. According to Lave and Wenger, a Community of Practice must have a community (a group of people) with a defined domain (what it is they care about or do) who work on developing their body of knowledge concerning their practice (their work).  I feel that this is an extremely effective and meaningful way to learn about one’s practice because surrounding yourself with people who share your passions, goals and desires to learn can be motivating and inspriring.  When ideas, challenges and ideas are shared, solutions can be found in an extremely efficient and meaningful way.  Additionally, improvements to ideas can be immediately communicated and suggestions can be tweaked to meet individual classrooms and needs.     

I believe that belonging to a Community of Practice cab be extremely valuable, especially for new and/or experienced teachers.  It is extremely easy for educators to feel isolated within their own classrooms and groups of students.  As a result, problems can appear to be magnified, the risk of burnout increases, and the effectiveness of one’s teaching decreases significantly.  Knowing that there are other professionals who share your concerns, failures and joys not only can improve one’s mental and emotional health, it can also shed light on solutions, resources and directions that have proven to be useful and successful.  This can save many educators a considerable amount of time because they will not have to “reinvent the wheel.”

The idea of learning through a community of practice applies to my Personal Learning Network (PLN) because they are, essentially, one in the same.  I will be tasked to choose a domain and become part of a community that will assist me in becoming the best educator and learner that I can be.  For this course, I believe our domain is learning how to utilize technology and social media to effectively find resources and ideas that will improve our abilities as teachers.  Our community consists of the students in this course, the instructors, and even previous students.  Our practice is educating students so that they reach their fullest potentials and develop into lifelong learners.  Outside of this classroom, I feel that I am part of a Community of Learners who are dedicated towards educating elementary school-aged children so that they can become successful and productive citizens in our society.  Technology makes it easier for communities to “meet” and connect on a regular, convenient basis.