APC Activity 4 - Communities of Practice

I have really enjoyed the emphasis on professional communities during my Mind Lab studies, and something that has really stood out for me is the huge importance and value of these. For this task we are looking at the concept of a ‘community of practice’.

For an excellent overview of this concept, see this webpage Introduction to Communities of Practice put together by Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner. It puts forward the following definition:

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.

It goes on to identify three key elements that must be present:

1. The domain
2. The community
3. The practice

I see myself as part of a number of communities of practice, which as pointed out on the webpage above, is common to most people. I like the concept of becoming more aware of less obvious formal communities and being able to “perceive the structures defined by engagement in practice and the informal learning that comes with it”.

I would align myself primarily with three communities: my school, the Bays Cluster and now the Mind Lab and associated Google + community. The interactions within these are what makes them so beneficial. Within my school, especially since moving to collaborative teams, we constantly share and learn together. Our cluster has become closer and more active over the last few years, and our regular professional development sessions and catch ups are an invaluable chance to collaborate and problem-solve. Mind Lab has turned out to be a fantastic community of practice which through Google + and personal connections we have forged, I expect to extend far beyond the end date of this course.

What are the current issues in your community? How would you or your community of practice address them?

One of the biggest issues in our school and cluster community is the move to MLEs and collaborative teams. This is only the second year into it for most of us and we have all taken part in a massive learning curve. The fact that we form such a strong community of practice is central to how we are addressing this. We are in constant communication, both face to face and digital, at a staff level, school level and cluster level. We exchange ideas, share experiences and offer advice. We hope to spend even more time working with other teams this year and taking opportunities to observe what each other are doing.

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

I have always had a keen interest in digital tools, and since commencing my Mind Lab studies this has become somewhat my ‘specialist area’ though I still have a lot to learn! I think this is becoming an increasingly important area in our professional context as it is more and more vital for students and teachers to be able to make the most of the amazing technology at our disposal. We also need to prepare students for the world ahead of them and equip them with vital 21^st Century skills.

What changes are occurring in the context of your profession? How do you think you or your community of practice should address them?

Change is very much the word of the hour! We are in a constant state of significant change and it is becoming increasingly vital for everyone involved in education to be open to this change and able to adapt constantly. We are responsible for equipping our students to cope with this changing society. Our community of practice needs to be proactive about staying relevant in terms of technology, modes of learning and global communities.