Communities of Practice

I feel privileged to belong to communities of practice with colleagues I work closely with daily. I’m using CoPs plural because I interact with different groups depending on common needs. Prior to beginning this week’s reading and tasks I felt confused by the concept of a CoP but quickly realised they exist, just without naming them. I must admit, however, I struggle with having discussions online, preferring face to face conversations.

Wenger (2000) describes the three elements which define a CoP and I believe we demonstrate them all : with an open attitude and energy towards learning, relationships built on trust and respect and a willingness to share resources and knowledge. The groups of colleagues I am describing exist within the greater school staff community. This greater school community are working through professional learning and development around collaborative practice.

As a result of this PLD and my Mindlab learning I am interested to look further into collaborative practice as part of my inquiry, including project based, self directed learning in contexts relevant to learners. As a second idea I am fascinated by the concept of gamification as a valuable learning tool. I think gamification fascinates me because I have seen gaming as something which is more damaging than beneficial.

Both of these inquiry topics could provide valuable contributions to the CoP’s I currently work with and new groups that may be formed through the G+ community. They also provide opportunities to move into the augmentation and redefinition levels of SAMR model (Puentedura 2010).

Following Jay and Johnson’s Reflective model (2002) my topics may be reflected on as follows:

Description:

I am making attempts at collaboration but believe I am not yet embedding collaboration into my practice. I have also had one, not so successful, attempt at gamification. Others within my CoPs are taking on the challenges adopting collaborative practices. I believe I am missing opportunities for development of 21st century skills such as knowledge construction and real world problem solving (ITL Research 2012). I have a love of learning and do feel passionate about ensuring students enjoy school and also develop a love to learn. I am interested to discover if I can improve engagement and enthusiasm through contextually relevant problem solving. I still do not fully understand how to reach full collaboration and blended learning to the augmentation and redefinition stages of the SAMR model (Puentedura 2010) and will need to seek further learning to achieve this.

Comparative:

As I said earlier I am fortunate to collaborate with colleagues who seek new and improved pedagogy. Together we are strong as we bring a range of views to the CoP. Research supports the need for 21st century skills and learning to enable the learners of today to be in any way prepared for their futures (ITL Research 2012). I can show leadership by contributing my passion for learning and my views to my CoPs to encourage collaborative and contextual experiences for a greater range of students across the departments I work in.

Critical Reflection:

Implications can only be positive if, through the support of members of a CoP, both teachers and students are engaged and enjoying classroom experiences. Change is challenging to some, however a significant advantage of a CoP is that we can support each other and share our experiences and resources. 

References:

Jay, J.K., and Johnson, K.L. (2002) Capturing complexity: a typology of reflective practice for teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education 18 : 73–85. 74 

ITL Research. (2012). 21CLD Learning Activity Rubrics. Retrieved from https://education.microsoft.com/GetTrained/ITL-Research

Puentedura, R. (2010). SAMR and TPCK: Intro to advanced practice. Retrieved from http:// hippasus.com/resources/sweden2010/SAMR_TPCK_IntroToAdvancedPractice.pdf. 

Wenger, E. (2000) Communities of Practice and Social Learning Systems. Organisation Articles. Sage. Volume 7(2):225-246.