We are all teachers, we are all learners. This is the philosophy I have carried with me throughout my teaching career. I carry it with me in the Community of Practices (CoP) which I have been a part of or am a part of. Each have shaped me into the person that I am today.
Like Knox (2009) I see that the most successful CoP that I have belonged to have emerged through interaction rather than design. Through personal interaction we think and discover learning together.
I am privileged to work with a fabulous group of educators. This group make up my CoP. Between us we have knowledge galore in regards to blind, low vision and deaf/blind learners, 0-21 years. There is history in this group, this group was born of interest and a desire to learn more.
On the one hand we are employed as Resource Teacher Vision (RTV) but this is not the only mandate which holds us together as a CoP. The underlying CoP is less formal and roles in it continually change. Overall we support each other in practice and over time have developed relationships which have grown in social circumstances and has seen the sharing of resource.
Wenger-Trayner (2015) write of the importance of:
Domain: the area of shared inquiry and similar issues.
Community: the relationships which have been fostered over time and a sense of belonging.
Practice: The body of knowledge, methods, stories, resources, tools and documents which are brought together and shared.
On reflection of the above, I have developed my place in this CoP over time. I remember when I was new in my job. I was in awe of the knowledge my colleagues had. I was the beginner.
I realise that I have learnt most from my informal CoP. We learn by doing, discussing, disagreeing, and sometimes out of adversity. We value each others input and we are problem solvers. The most successful interactions have happened informally in our CoP.
Our roles are not defined, sometimes I am the observer, leader, listener, problem-solver, problem or facilitator. People are at the centre of this group. We share our learning and resource to improve practice. We use each other as sounding boards to solve issues we may be facing in our practice. We are a CoP which has evolved out of common interest and need... and working in the background at National level (our school is nationwide.) we have a management who are orchestrating opportunities for RTV to connect through Regional days, Conferences and Immersion courses, not to mention the wealth of opportunity in Professional-Development at local level. Together we have collective competence, value and learn from each other (Wenger, 2009)
Being a diverse range of people leads at times to conflict within our CoP. Wenger (2009) says this is normal and can in fact be good. Being too harmonious may mean there is too much "group think" or do people feel silenced? I wonder, do we at times become too comfortable within our practice?
These things can all impact a CoP. "Success depends upon the energy that the community generates" Knox (2009).
Times are changing in education. We are facing recurring issues which aren't so easy to solve. Technology, modern learning environments are now integral parts of learning. We have differing comfort levels within our CoP. Boundaries are being challenged...
Here enters my new CoP: The Mindlab, my group who are sitting here reading my first blog (!) This is the CoP which is taking me to the edge of my learning, adding disruption to comfort.
I am valuing the learning I am gaining from this group. We are bonding through Domain and Practice and slowly become CoP as we interact with each other online, face-to-face and at times under adversity as we grapple with assessment.
But what about my other CoP? Wenger (2009) comments that a new element added into a practice may be accepted or rejected. I wonder will my new learning be accepted or will I be the crazy dancing man waiting for his first follower?
My Question: How do I infiltrate this new knowledge of learning into my practice and workplace? Will it be accepted?
References
Knox, B. (2009) Cultivating Communities of Practice: Making Them Grow. (Video File). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMPRZnRFkk&feature=youtu.be
Sivers, D. (2010) First Follower: Leadership Lessons from a Dancing Guy. https://sivers.org/ff
Wenger, E. (2009). Communities of Practice and Social Learning Systems. http://wenger-trayner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/09-10-27-CoPs-and-systems-v2.01.pdf
Wenger- Trayner, E & T. (2015). Introduction to Communities of Practice: A brief overview of concept and its uses. http://wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/
