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Communities that yearn together, learn together.

This is the first in a series of posts in which I will attempt to demonstrate critical reflection with respect to different aspects of life as a teacher.  This post aims to define my Community of Practice (CoP) with reference to Wenger's definition (2000), such that I can later explore other aspects of practice with reference to this foundation.

Zamantix (Auckland Sunday Football Association, 2016)

Communities of Practice


Definition: "A group of people who share a passion for something they know how to do, and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better."
Purpose: "To create, expand, and exchange knowledge, and to develop individual capabilities."
(Knox, 2009)

Following the conceptual framework offered by Wenger-Trayner and Wenger-Trayner (2015) wherein communities of practice are defined by the domain, the community, and the practice, I considered a few CoPs I belong to.  These included:

Community  The Domain   The Community The Practice

Zamantix Rovers FC                                                                     		We play football together.  We train, play, and discuss football. We sometimes win games and we like to think we know a bit about football.
MindLab July 2016 intakeWe're all doing the PG Cert course. We complete assignments at the same times, sometimes working in groups.  We seek and offer feedback via social media and in person.   We produce completed assignments.  We produce research and create resources for teaching.
Teachers at my schoolWe teach in the same school. We come to the same school every day to teach the same students.  We participate in regular professional development aimed at improving our practice. We often meet to discuss experiences and ideas. We teach students things they are required to know to meet set standards with reasonable effectiveness.  We have a good understanding of how to teach different students different things in different environments.

For the purpose of this exercise I will focus on the teachers at my school.  Digging a bit deeper into aspects of this CoP:
  • Sense of Connectedness or Belonging: I feel that my contribution to the CoP is valued, and I highly value the contribution of my colleagues.  While there is open acknowledgement of plenty of room for improvement, I am buoyed by the sense of united drive to provide better outcomes for our students.
  • My Role in the CoP: I am a relative newcomer to the profession, active in opportunities that arise to contribute to development, and increasingly a leader in areas of (relative) expertise.
  • My Contribution: I work hard to improve my practice, and endeavour to seek and take feedback well.  I assist colleagues when I can, and I seek development outside the CoP (such as with the MindLab course) to enhance my contribution within the CoP.

References

Auckland Sunday Football Association. (2016). Zamantix Rovers FC. [Online image]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/NZASFA/photos/rpd.700412118/1231550696890101/?type=1&theater
Knox, B. (2009, December 4).Cultivating Communities of Practice: Making Them Grow.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMPRZnRFkk
Wenger, E. (2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization,7(2), 225-246.
Wenger-Trayner, B., & Wenger-Trayner, E. (2015). Introduction to communities of practice: A brief overview of the concept and its uses. Retrieved from http://wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/ 
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Comments

  1. Reading my mindJanuary 26, 2017 at 2:51 PM

    Hey Jonathan, I can appreciate the effort you put in to create a table that visualises your community of practice (a big learning curve when starting a new blog!). It was interesting to note that you used your football team as an example. It is so easy to focus all of our attention to how we see CoP's in education, but they're everywhere. Linking learning and performance is not just restricted to the walls of the classroom, but can be applied on the field too. Thanks for sharing your thoughts :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. pathwaysJanuary 30, 2017 at 10:57 AM

    Really liked the way you simplified your thinking into a simple table that provides clarity of thought. I hadn't though about the wider CoPs that we are part of outside of education.Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownFebruary 12, 2017 at 11:40 PM

    Hi Jonathon,
    The way you have displayed your Communities of Learning is really clear and informative. Like others have stated, you motivated me to think about CoP that are outside the educational realm. Great reflective post. Thanks

    ReplyDelete

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