Week 25 - Communities of Practice

My Community of Practice
Communities of practice are described as "groups of people informally bound together by shared expertise and a passion for joint enterprise" (Wenger & Synder, 2000).

According to Wenger, humans have always "formed communities that share social practices reflecting their collective learning: from a tribe around a camp fire, to a medieval guild, to a group of nurses in a ward, to street gang, to a community of engineers interested in brake design." (Wenger, 2000).  Participating in these communities is what helps us define competence in that particular context - what makes a good teacher for example is defined through engagement with the community of practice.

Using this definition my communities of practice are:

• My cluster - the four classes I work as part of on a daily basis.  We are working to develop our Innovating Learning Environment and are focused on collaborative teaching and learning.  As part of this community we are also engaged with others outside our school (such as Mindlab, other schools in similar situations and advisors from Core Education).
• My school - as a whole school we are continually striving to improve outcomes for our students and to ensure we are providing them with the best education possible.  This means engaging with the students, whanau, outside agencies as well as with the rest of the staff.
• Other teachers - through social media it is now much easier to engage with the wider teaching profession using facebook groups, twitter and blogs.  It's a great way to share ideas, discuss issues impacting on us and our students and to gain a different perspective.

What is your specialist area of practice?  How does your specialist area of practice relate to the broader professional context?

My specialist area of practice is ICT and collaborative learning.  Within my school I assist others with ICT assistance for them and for their students and also sharing ideas about how to better integrate ICT into their own classroom practice.  In terms of collaborative learning, I am working with a smaller group within the school to develop a collaborative teaching and learning programme which we will eventually be able to share with the rest of the staff.  Both areas are key within the broader professional context as schools look to ensure they are equipping students for the changing demands of the 21st century and beyond. At the moment I still feel like our group within school is at the beginning stages of this journey but we do need to share more with the wider community including our school staff and engaging with other schools as this will help us shape our ideas and also allow others to learn from our experiences.

What is the purpose and function of your practice?  In what ways do you contribute to the community of your practice?
The purpose and function of my practice is to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for my students in which they are exposed to quality learning experiences that enable them to become lifelong learners and provide them with the skills they will need to be successful and valuable members of their community.  

I contribute to the community of my practice primarily as a classroom teacher and a member of my cluster.  This involves me engaging with my students, their whanau and my colleagues to ensure I am providing learning experiences that meet their needs. I also engage with other teachers in the school to share ideas and knowledge which will benefit our students.  Through engagement with colleagues from other schools, through Mindlab and Core Education I have also been discussing ways to improve outcomes for our students which I have then been able to take back to my school.


References:
Wenger, E.(2000).Communities of practice and social learning systems.Organization,7(2), 225-246

Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.