Knox (2009) defines a community of practice as 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. I feel this definition
reflects my community of practice closely as my community is predominantly made
up of teachers who are committed to learning how to provide the best education
they can.
Within my workplace I am a member of several
communities of practice:
- my collaborative team
- my syndicate team
- mixed-team COPs groups
All of these groups share the same common purpose -
how can we make learning better for our students - but examine this issue from
different perspectives.
Wenger (2000) states communities of practice must
have three key elements to succeed, joint enterprise, mutuality and shared
repertoire. He argues that through the community's joint enterprise or purpose
the community builds a sense of being a competent practitioner. In my community
of practice our joint enterprise is the desire to improve learning for our
children. Depending on which specific community I am working in this may be
more specific, e.g. improving literacy learning for children. Wenger (2000) and
Knox (2009) both highlight the importance of mutuality or relationships within
a community of practice. Knox (2009) states the relationship between members of
a community creates a sense of belonging while Wenger (2000) explains these
relationships create a sense of accountability and trust. In my community of
practice, I have different relationships with different members. For example,
my collaborative partner and I have a relationship built on trust and honesty
that has developed over time. In other groups I am still getting to know the
participants and building this relationship. A key aspect of communities of
practice is to meet and discuss knowledge and ideas regularly. I feel my
community of practice is very strong in this as we are always reflecting on
progress and discussing how we could change our practice to increase progress
further.
The final aspect of communities of practice
researchers discuss is the concept of a shared repertoire being built. In my
community of practice this has been an invaluable resource to me as I seek to
improve my own practice. Through our regular discussions our community has
shared ideas and programmes that have worked well in different classrooms as
well as evaluating programmes members are currently trying. This has led to a
set of resources and ideas that all members can use if desired.
When reflecting on my community of practice I was
surprised to feel very connected to my professional community. Entering a new
school year has given us the opportunity to take some slow brain time to
reflect on our own practice and then return to school and share these
reflections with members of my community. Although this has not been done in a
formal meeting I think the informal sharing and debating has strengthened our
community further. I have also been reflecting on my role in my community of practice.
I always considered myself a very new member of the community however I have
come to the realisation that I am one of the longest serving members of our
community now! This caused me to reflect on my role and how I interact within
community discussions. I feel more confident now to lead discussions and
question members to help them reflect. I initially found this very hard and
sought the guidance of more experienced members however now I am
(surprisingly!) one of the more experienced members I am looking forward to
stepping into this 'helper' role more. I think this is also reflective of how
much I contribute to group discussions. In the first year of my teaching career
I think I probably said 10 words during group meetings! However, now I feel I am
one of the more vocal members. I think this is also a reflection of growth in
my own confidence as a teacher and more clarity around my personal beliefs and
pedagogy.
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
