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learning_theories:communities_of_practice [2011/05/13 15:42]
jpetrovic [General]
learning_theories:communities_of_practice [2023/06/19 18:03] (current)
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 ===== General ===== ===== General =====
  
-The term "//​community of practice//"​ was coined by [[http://​www.ewenger.com/​theory/​|Etienne Wenger]] and [[http://​www.ischool.berkeley.edu/​people/​faculty/​jeanlave|Jean Lave]] during their studies ​of [[instructional_design:​cognitive apprenticeship]] learning model. Communities of practice are +The term "//​community of practice//"​ was coined ​in 1991 by [[http://​www.ewenger.com/​theory/​|Etienne Wenger]] and [[http://​www.ischool.berkeley.edu/​people/​faculty/​jeanlave|Jean Lave]] during their study of [[instructional_design:​cognitive apprenticeship]] learning model.(([[http://​books.google.com/​books?​id=CAVIOrW3vYAC&​printsec=frontcover&​source=gbs_ge_summary_r&​cad=0#​v=onepage&​q&​f=false|Lave,​ Jean, and Etienne Wenger. Situated learning: legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press, 1991.]])) ​Communities of practice are 
  
   * "//​**groups of people** who share a **concern or a passion for something they do and learn** how to do it better as they interact regularly.//"​(([[http://​partnershipforchildhealth.org/​mhip_intro_10_Communities_of_Practice-A_Brief_Introduction_by_Etienne_Wenger.pdf|Wenger,​ E. Communities of practice: a brief introduction. June, 2006.]] Retrieved May 12, 2011.))   * "//​**groups of people** who share a **concern or a passion for something they do and learn** how to do it better as they interact regularly.//"​(([[http://​partnershipforchildhealth.org/​mhip_intro_10_Communities_of_Practice-A_Brief_Introduction_by_Etienne_Wenger.pdf|Wenger,​ E. Communities of practice: a brief introduction. June, 2006.]] Retrieved May 12, 2011.))
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   * "//a tribe learning to survive, a band of artists seeking new forms of expression, a group of engineers working on similar problems, a clique of pupils defining their identity in the school, a network of surgeons exploring novel techniques, a gathering of first-time managers helping each other cope.//"​(([[http://​partnershipforchildhealth.org/​mhip_intro_10_Communities_of_Practice-A_Brief_Introduction_by_Etienne_Wenger.pdf|Wenger,​ E. Communities of practice: a brief introduction. June, 2006.]] Retrieved May 12, 2011.))   * "//a tribe learning to survive, a band of artists seeking new forms of expression, a group of engineers working on similar problems, a clique of pupils defining their identity in the school, a network of surgeons exploring novel techniques, a gathering of first-time managers helping each other cope.//"​(([[http://​partnershipforchildhealth.org/​mhip_intro_10_Communities_of_Practice-A_Brief_Introduction_by_Etienne_Wenger.pdf|Wenger,​ E. Communities of practice: a brief introduction. June, 2006.]] Retrieved May 12, 2011.))
  
 +Members of a community of practice don't need to be aware of its existence(([[http://​books.google.hr/​books?​id=heBZpgYUKdAC&​printsec=frontcover&​dq=Communities+of+practice:​+learning,​+meanings,​+and+identity&​hl=hr&​ei=3tfUTdDyLciSOpGk5KMN&​sa=X&​oi=book_result&​ct=book-preview-link&​resnum=1&​ved=0CCsQuwUwAA#​v=onepage&​q&​f=false|Wenger,​ Etienne. Communities of practice: learning, meanings, and identity. Cambridge University Press, 2007.]])).
 ===== What are communities of practice? ===== ===== What are communities of practice? =====
  
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   * **Practice** - Members of the community of practice practice the knowledge they share among themselves.   * **Practice** - Members of the community of practice practice the knowledge they share among themselves.
  
-Size, formality and meeting frequency of a community of practice can vary.+Size, formality and meeting frequency of a community of practice can vary. New members may join a community of practice and existing members can leave. Also, a community of practice cannot be created since this would mean forcing individuals to develop an interest for a specific domain and interact with each other to exchange and develop knowledge about the subject. Still, what can be done is to **facilitate emergence** of a community of practice and support it.
  
 Some other important characteristics of a community of practice are(([[http://​www.abdn.ac.uk/​~lls007/​Radio4/​Articles/​wenger2000.pdf|Wenger,​ E. Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization 7, no. 2: 225. 2000.]])): Some other important characteristics of a community of practice are(([[http://​www.abdn.ac.uk/​~lls007/​Radio4/​Articles/​wenger2000.pdf|Wenger,​ E. Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization 7, no. 2: 225. 2000.]])):
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   * **Mutuality** - how deep is the sense of community among its members?   * **Mutuality** - how deep is the sense of community among its members?
   * **Repertoire** - how self-aware is the community about its own levels and ways of practice?   * **Repertoire** - how self-aware is the community about its own levels and ways of practice?
 +
 +Learning in a community of practice typically occurs through dialogue and discourse, sharing of ideas and knowledge, collaborative search for solutions to problems. [[learning_theories:​social_cognitive_learning_theory|Social learning]] through interaction with others is here expected to occur.(([[http://​www.ou.nl/​Docs/​Expertise/​NELLL/​publicaties/​Online%20communities%20of%20practice%20in%20education.pdf|Kirschner,​ Paul A., and Kwok-Wing Lai. Online communities of practice in education. Technology, Pedagogy and Education 16, no. 2: 127-131. July 2007.]])) By interacting with experts new members of a community of practice increase their expertise and move from the periphery of a community towards its center. This process is called the //​legitimate peripheral participation//​(([[http://​books.google.com/​books?​id=CAVIOrW3vYAC&​printsec=frontcover&​source=gbs_ge_summary_r&​cad=0#​v=onepage&​q&​f=false|Lave,​ Jean, and Etienne Wenger. Situated learning: legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press, 1991.]])).
 ===== What is the practical meaning of communities of practice? ===== ===== What is the practical meaning of communities of practice? =====
  
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 ===== Criticisms ===== ===== Criticisms =====
  
 +Communities of practice are, depending on the point of view on them, subjected to different criticisms. Some of them, identified by Roberts(([[http://​northumbria.academia.edu/​JoanneRoberts/​Papers/​323719/​Limits_to_Communities_of_Practice|Roberts,​ Joanne. Limits to Communities of Practice. Journal of management studies 43, no. 3: 623-639. 2006.]])), are:
  
 +  * **Power** - No matter if its source is a hierarchical position in an organization and thereby in a community of practice or length of participation in the community, members with greater power will have a greater influence in negotiating meaning possibly leaving new members on the periphery of the community.
 +  * **Trust** - Members of a community of practice might be unwilling to share their knowledge without feeling of trust in other members.
 +  * **Predispositions** - A community of practice may become inert in changing its views and practices.
 ===== Keywords and most important names ===== ===== Keywords and most important names =====
  
-  * **Communities of practice**, **community**+  * **Communities of practice**, **community**, **social learning**, **legitimate peripheral participation**
   * [[http://​www.ewenger.com/​theory/​|Etienne Wenger]], [[http://​www.ischool.berkeley.edu/​people/​faculty/​jeanlave|Jean Lave]]   * [[http://​www.ewenger.com/​theory/​|Etienne Wenger]], [[http://​www.ischool.berkeley.edu/​people/​faculty/​jeanlave|Jean Lave]]
 ===== Bibliography ===== ===== Bibliography =====
 +
 +[[http://​northumbria.academia.edu/​JoanneRoberts/​Papers/​323719/​Limits_to_Communities_of_Practice|Roberts,​ Joanne. Limits to Communities of Practice. Journal of management studies 43, no. 3: 623-639. 2006.]]
  
 [[http://​partnershipforchildhealth.org/​mhip_intro_10_Communities_of_Practice-A_Brief_Introduction_by_Etienne_Wenger.pdf|Wenger,​ E. Communities of practice: a brief introduction. June, 2006.]] Retrieved May 12, 2011. [[http://​partnershipforchildhealth.org/​mhip_intro_10_Communities_of_Practice-A_Brief_Introduction_by_Etienne_Wenger.pdf|Wenger,​ E. Communities of practice: a brief introduction. June, 2006.]] Retrieved May 12, 2011.
 +
 +[[http://​www.ou.nl/​Docs/​Expertise/​NELLL/​publicaties/​Online%20communities%20of%20practice%20in%20education.pdf|Kirschner,​ Paul A., and Kwok-Wing Lai. Online communities of practice in education. Technology, Pedagogy and Education 16, no. 2: 127-131. July 2007.]]
 ===== Read more ===== ===== Read more =====
  
-[[http://​www.abdn.ac.uk/​~lls007/​Radio4/​Articles/​wenger2000.pdf|Wenger,​ E. Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization 7, no. 2 : 225. 2000.]]+[[http://​www.abdn.ac.uk/​~lls007/​Radio4/​Articles/​wenger2000.pdf|Wenger,​ E. Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization 7, no. 2: 225-246. 2000.]]
  
 +[[http://​books.google.com/​books?​id=CAVIOrW3vYAC&​printsec=frontcover&​source=gbs_ge_summary_r&​cad=0#​v=onepage&​q&​f=false|Lave,​ Jean, and Etienne Wenger. Situated learning: legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press, 1991.]]
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