Communities Of Practice Theory Research Articles

Effect of the community of simulated participant model on the identity formation of simulated participants: A qualitative study

Health professional education is rooted in patient interaction. The utilization of the simulated participant method is a widely accepted approach in this regard, as it enables students to engage in experiences that closely resemble real patient interactions. So, the simulated participants need to be well-prepared and well-engaged in the concept of their roles. The purpose of the study is to evaluate a new model for identity formation of simulated participants based on communities of practice theory. An 8-month follow-up study with pre- and post-interviews, observations, and reflective diaries designed with a qualitative approach. The results were categorized together under the five themes: “motivation of simulated participants”, “background of simulated participants”, “interaction between simulated participants as a part of a community of practice”, “limitations from simulated participants’ perspectives”, and “roles of simulated participants in simulation”. Our model based on communities of practice theory is an effective method for the formation of identities of simulated participants. Educators have the responsibility to improve the quality of simulated participant–based simulation. Our model can be thought of as an effective tool to use in this regard.

Integrating Scientific and Everyday Concepts: Student Leadership in a Language Learning Community

This study examines the role of everyday and scientific concepts in developing student leadership in a self-access learning center (SALC) in Japan. For this purpose, data from three student learning community leaders and one SALC faculty member participating in an 18-month ethnographic case study of the Learning Group (LG), a student-led learning community within a university-based SALC in central Japan, was reexamined according to a framework informed by concept-based learning. Data was first coded inductively utilizing reflective thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) and subsequently deductively using communities of practice theory and the themes of scientific and everyday knowledge. This data highlights numerous ways three leaders of the LG had internalized concepts introduced to them through a SALC-based leadership course administered by a learning advisor (LA) and how this influenced not only their individual learning trajectories, but also the path of their community. Furthermore, the LG leaders were able to develop coherent management/facilitation guidelines for themselves and for future generations of leaders from the social mediation that collaborative group reflection and intentional reflective dialogue afforded. The implications of this study highlight the potential value within SALCs of learning advisors engaging in concept-based instructional approaches where explicit instruction is internalized through dialogic and communicative verbalization and through finding avenues for learners to apply scientific concepts to everyday practice.

Enhancing the Graduate Medical Education Clinical Learning Environment Through Community of Practice Forums.

An optimal clinical learning environment (CLE) is associated with improved learning and patient care outcomes. Significant concerns exist about the state of the CLE in graduate medical education (GME). Research suggests GME programming falls short in interpersonal aspects of training that promote trainee engagement and psychological safety. Furthermore, published educational interventions in the CLE lack adequate theoretical backing to inform a rational approach to interventions in the CLE that could address these important problems.The authors apply the 2002 work of Etienne Wenger on communities of practice (COP) to address these GME CLE concerns. To distinguish this COP intervention from earlier theoretical work on COPs, the authors refer to this management concept as "COP forums." COP forums favorably influence the GME CLE through effects that complement experiential learning in patient care. COP forums support trainee psychological safety, mentorship from near peers, and opportunities to innovate-effects that can serve as a counterbalance to the time pressures, hierarchy, and compliance culture often experienced in the clinical environment. Deliverables of COP forums, including practice innovation and trainee self-efficacy, can favorably impact organization-wide performance and engagement.This article describes the historical position of COP forums in the evolution of COP theory and outlines the basic structure and function of COP forums. It contrasts COP forums to other COP-related concepts to explain their relevance to the GME CLE. Examples of innovative GME COP forums illustrate the structure and function of these interventions. Finally, the authors call for more research on the impact of COP forums on the GME CLE. To avoid confusion, such scholarship must account for the ongoing evolution of the larger COP framework and target specific dimensions of the theory most pertinent to the medical education research question at hand.

Skill acquisition within a (more-than-human) community of practice: A study of beekeeping in Punjab, India

Understanding learning processes involved in sustainable rural transitions requires theories that recognise learning as a complex, socio-ecologically situated phenomenon. Communities of practice theory provides a socially embedded account of learning processes. It suggests that joining communities of practice and developing an identity as a practitioner provides a motivational and pedagogical framework within which learning can occur. Yet, we contend that understanding the complex situational factors at work in acquiring skills requires attention be paid to identities and relations beyond those currently recognised in communities of practice theory. Through a study of beekeepers’ skill acquisition in the Indian Punjab, we show how practitioners mobilise diverse identities that are relevant to learning, motivation, and belonging and not only their identities as (aspiring) practitioners. In Punjab, gendered, religious, and caste-inflected identities are particularly important. We also show that the communities in which learners are embedded consist not only of human practitioners but involve an array of entities and forces that enable, constrain, and share in learning and practice. For beekeepers, learning is a deeply social and ecological process, involving and conditioning human and nonhuman contributions.

Cultural Transitions in Mathematical Discourse: Unveiling Mathematical Writing Hurdles during the Rite of Passage

This qualitative case study delves into the intricate landscape of mathematical writing challenges faced by first-year university students undergoing the critical transition from school-level to university-level mathematical discourse. Conducted at a prominent South African university, the research, employing a purposive sampling technique, engaged thirty first-year mathematics students. Guided by the community of practice theory by Lave and Wenger, alongside van Gennep’s rite of passage analytical lens, the study sought answers to the question: What are the mathematical writing challenges encountered by first-year university students during their rite of passage period? Thematic analysis, informed by Adu's (2019) coding framework, was utilized to systematically examine common themes and patterns within the qualitative data. The findings illuminated key hurdles during this transitional phase, prominently including the inconsistency in working with mathematical notations, erroneous use of universal and existential quantifiers, and a notable confusion between the acts of illustrating and proving in mathematical contexts. In response to these challenges, the study advocates for the explicit incorporation of mathematical writing instruction to scaffold students during this rite of passage. Furthermore, it recommends a shift in the emphasis of first-year mathematics courses—suggesting a redirection from a content-centric approach to one that prioritizes the cultivation of students' new identities. This entails focused attention on teaching the customs, traditions, and adept ways of constructing and articulating mathematical proofs in the university context. The implications of this study extend beyond the immediate challenges identified, offering actionable recommendations to enhance the pedagogical strategies employed in the crucial transition period for first-year mathematics students.

Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Online Collaborative Learning in Germany

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the cross-cultural perspectives on online collaborative learning in Germany.
 Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries.
 Findings: In Germany, online collaborative learning prioritizes structured environments and asynchronous communication to accommodate diverse schedules. Emphasis is placed on clear communication, punctuality, and achieving consensus through respectful dialogue. Educators stress the development of intercultural competence alongside disciplinary knowledge for effective cross-cultural engagement.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory, social identity theory & communities of practice theory may be used to anchor future studies on the cross-cultural perspectives on online collaborative learning in Germany. Establish professional development programs that offer continuous training and support for educators to enhance their cultural competence and pedagogical skills in facilitating online collaborative learning. Advocate for the integration of cross-cultural competency standards into teacher education programs and accreditation requirements to ensure that educators are adequately prepared to address the needs of culturally diverse student populations in online collaborative learning environments.

The CoP Theory in Reading Enhancement Programme(REP) from Pragmatic Lens of Language Development

The Community of Practice (CoP) theory is principally anchored on active involvement of members of the community with one common shared purpose. They foster camaraderie and preform a common practice. In applied linguistics, CoP is a less explored area of language learning. By highlighting the benefits of CoP, school administrators will be able to solicit active involvement from stakeholders. A phenomenological approach was adopted to investigate the independent and dependent variables under qualitative research design. One hundred five L2 learners and 2 teacher participants served as a bridge to offer philosophical findings to the framed RQs. Features such as consultation conferences, orientation to the internal and external stakeholders and commitment to the school-based intervention are the essential features of CoP and REP. Presence of parents, donation of instructional materials, reading follow-up at home, financial support of LGU & NGO as well as close monitoring of school administrator paved the way for the increase in the academic performances. Researcher concludes that CoP theory has been found efficient in implementing REP incorporating principles of pragmatism to language development.

Building a community of practice through a doctoral research group

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight the role an intentional and cohesive research group for doctoral researchers and supervisors can play in surfacing and de-mystifying many of the implicit doctoral literacy practices involved in doctoral study.Design/methodology/approachThis participatory, collaborative project, involving 11 doctoral researchers and three supervisors, was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, doctoral researchers and supervisors engaged in a discussion which resulted in a shared concept map. The concept map was then used as a prompt for stimulated recall interviews in which the participants reflected on the connections and peer learning afforded by the research group.FindingsDrawing on ideas from Communities of Practice theory, the data revealed that the research group, including both supervisors and doctoral students, developed knowledge, relational connections and an awareness of a range of doctoral literacies.Practical implicationsThis paper makes suggestions for how those in doctoral education can develop and embed research groups into institutional practices.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates the significant role a research group which is structured, intentional and guided plays in supervisors’ and doctoral students’ development of doctoral literacies and the fundamental intellectual and relational connections afforded by participating in such communities.

Global Ordering and the Interaction of Communities of Practice: A Framework for Analysis

Abstract Several new frameworks for the study of the differentiation of and relations between global orders have recently been introduced to International Relations. This article demonstrates how the communities of practice (COP) framework provides complementary as well as novel answers to processes of global ordering. COP theory has become a thriving research framework and has led to substantial innovative work on the internal logics of international institutions, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union, and various professions, such as diplomats. Surprisingly, researchers have so far not appreciated the potential of the approach as a more general theory of global order. We argue that lifting this potential implies focusing on the interaction of and spaces between communities as well as going beyond the study of the internal logics of a discrete community. We propose a framework for the study of this interaction with a focus on its spatial and agential dimensions. We then show how this leads to an innovative research framework, drawing on an illustration from the case of global ocean governance.

Impact of Geographical Factors on Vietnamese Teachers’ Satisfaction with “Teacher Activity Groups” Project

This study examines how geographic location affects the satisfaction of English language teachers participating in the innovative Teacher Activity Groups project. The project represents a pioneering example of technology-enhanced, cross-cultural collaboration between a Welsh institution, where English is the native language, and Vietnam, where English is taught as a foreign language. The six-month project was conducted entirely online, using digital platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet for interaction, fostering cooperative learning and problem-solving among 147 K-12 teachers. Employing a theoretical framework that draws upon the adult learning theory, the community of practice theory, and the zone of proximal development theory, this study offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Teacher Activity Groups project, focusing on five key levels of analysis: participants’ reactions, participants’ learning, organisation support and change, participants’ use of new knowledge and skills, and student learning outcomes. The questionnaire’s quantitative findings reveal notable differences in teacher satisfaction across urban, suburban and rural areas. Notably, suburban teachers expressed greater satisfaction in almost all measured categories. This disparity across different geographical areas highlights the importance of considering context-specific factors in the design and implementation of professional development initiatives like the Teacher Activity Groups project. Through its analysis, this study underscores the potential of cross-cultural, online collaborative projects in fostering professional development and suggests areas of focus for enhancing English language teaching and learning in different socio-educational contexts.

Learning programming for mathematical investigations: an instrumental and community of practice approach

ABSTRACT In this article, we seek to understand how university students learn to use programming for mathematical investigations; our precise focus is on how the analysis of social elements in operational knowledge elucidates this learning. We propose a framework coordinating the instrumental approach and communities of practice (CoP) theory. We apply it in the context of project-based university courses (MICA courses), where the CoP of mathematicians using programming for their research is a reference. We investigate the schemes associated with the programming language and its environment developed by students along trajectories of legitimate peripheral participation. We focus on the scheme developed for the goal “validating the programmed mathematics.” Our results indicate that for the same goal, common rules-of-action are developed by students, but differences can appear concerning theorems-in-action. This study also suggests theoretical developments linked with the coordination of the instrumental approach and CoP theory.

Moving into communities of practice: experiences of psychology students in their internship

Internships that are carried out as part of an education program are a way of preparing students for their professional entry. Internships can be seen as an introduction to communities of practice (CoP) that students are to act in. The aim of the present study is to investigate the experience of psychology master students in Denmark during their internship and how this experience may reflect their moving into a community of practice. Eighty-seven psychology master students described a total of 495 experienced challenges in the beginning and at the end of their ten-month part-time internship as part of a reflective teaching task. Content analysis identified ten themes. CoP theory and its three common process denominators community, practice and identity were used as theoretical lens. The “Practice” domain included the themes Skills to solve concrete tasks, task delineations and directives, and relational competencies. “Practice community” encompassed Interns’ position for participation, Internship supervisor as a community gatekeeper, Community stressors, and Disagreement in the professional community; and “identity” included experiences related to professional identity, personal impact of work, and personal characteristics. Psychological professionalism emerged as an overarching concept across these domains. Future studies and educational planning should focus on supporting students in handling not only challenges related to concrete work practice and interaction in the community of practitioners, but also identity and the idea of learning as personal transformation as part of moving into practice.

Cross-community enactive research: a relational practice-based approach to academic engagement

ABSTRACT To respond to the call for broader ways to understand academic engagement in sustainable tourism, I conceptualized a relational practice-based approach, termed cross-community enactive research. Relying on central ideas from the enactive research approach by entrepreneurship scholar Bengt Johannisson, which draws on autoethnography and action research, and the communities of practice theory by educationalist Etienne Wenger, this approach involves researchers playing the temporary role of practitioners, with other practitioners. I applied such approach to an exploratory case concerning my participation in a collaborative, sustainable tourism project. The case discussion highlighted the non-linearity and mutuality of deep academic engagement. Such engagement has evolved over time as a growing web of relationships and roles, along which the processes relative to identity (being/becoming a sustainability-engaged person), knowledge (thinking sustainability) and action (doing sustainability) occur across diverse practices, sectors, and contexts. The case showed the potential of the elaborated approach for real-world impact, especially on the involved practitioners and destinations, and highlighted challenges about researchers’ multiple roles, the formalization of their engagement in non-academic activities, and the research impact’ predictability and novelty.

Perceived network bridging influences the career commitment decisions of early career teachers

BackgroundRetaining highly qualified science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers is imperative for meeting demands of the twenty-first century STEM workforce. While multiple studies have revealed several factors that influence teacher retention, little work has examined how these factors interact with one another. This study explored the relationship between two critical factors that relate to teachers’ decisions to remain in the profession: teacher identity and communities of practice (CoP) networks.ResultsDrawing upon scholarship on science teacher identity, CoP, and social network theory, we demonstrate a quantitative relationship between perceived network bridging roles and career commitment, which is mediated through teacher identity.ConclusionsThe findings from this study have both implications for scholarship in teacher retention and science teacher identity development. Potential solutions for improving novice teachers’ self-image through providing opportunities to grow their professional networks both locally and regionally/nationally are suggested.

Becoming a podiatrist: an exploration of the practices and processes which underpin the acquisition of a professional identity

BackgroundUndergraduate podiatry degrees are designed to enable students to become professional podiatrists. To be successful students must manage academic and practical activity to ultimately acquire a professional identity. Little is known about the practices and processes which underpin the acquisition of a professional podiatry identity. It is the aim of this paper to begin to address this absence of knowledge. Community of Practice theory, arguably the dominant contemporary learning theory, represents identity shift as an interaction of imagination, engagement and alignment which enables students to successfully participate in higher education, and ultimately, the professional context. This success is underpinned through assisting students to develop an enabling identity in their learning and doing.MethodsHere we present findings that emerged from a yearlong ethnography in a successful higher education podiatry department. The project followed students and staff in the classroom and the clinic and explored their experiences through interviews.ResultsThe findings suggest that the journey to professional identity is facilitated through meaningful learning relationships between staff and students and clarity around professional practices. Here we discuss how those relationships form and enable undergraduates to become podiatrists.ConclusionsOur findings offer a model for the transition from student to professional and highlight the importance of relationship and experience in becoming a podiatrist. There is a paucity of research around not only podiatry but also other allied health professions around this topic and given the increasing emphasis around employability skills in HE, more research in a range of contexts is needed.

Community of Practice in the Context of the Rapid Transition to Online Learning at a Rural University in South Africa: Successes and Pitfalls

The purpose of this reflective paper is to give an account of how we managed to navigate online learning and teaching amid the COVID-19 pandemic to enhance students’ learning at a rural university in South Africa. The aim is to share our experiences on how we used community of practice as a theory to support ourselves as lecturers in designing, accessing, and engaging with online content amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the paper details the successes and pitfalls encountered in trying to adjust to the online mode of delivery. The paper makes use of qualitative self-reflexive personal narrative inquiry. Community of practice theory and connectivist theory guide our reflections. We succeeded not only in helping each other navigate the e-learning platform but our working relationships also improved as well as our skills. Through use of community of practice and connectivism, we managed, not without difficulties, to migrate content online, to engage meaningfully with our students, and to network with other lecturers. We recommend adoption of community of practice by lecturers even beyond the pandemic since it promotes knowledge- and skill-sharing, and networking, thereby easing lecturers’ burden and fears. Furthermore, community of practice encourages scholars to share their work in the form of scholarship of teaching and learning.

Boundary Transitions Within, Across, and Beyond a Set of Digital Resources: Brokering in College Algebra

We address a problem of promoting instructional transformation in early undergraduate mathematics courses, via an intervention incorporating novel digital resources (“techtivities”), in conjunction with a faculty learning community (FLC). The techtivities can serve as boundary objects, in order to bridge different communities to which instructors belong. Appealing to Etienne Wenger’s Communities of Practice theory, we theorise a role of the instructor as a broker, facilitating “boundary transitions” within, across, and beyond a set of digital resources. By “boundary transition”, we mean a transition that is also a brokering move; instructors connect different communities as they draw links between items in their instruction. To ground our argument, we provide empirical evidence from an instructor, Rachel, whose boundary transitions served three functions: (1) to position the techtivities as something that count in the classroom community and connect to topics valued by the broader mathematics community; (2) to communicate to students that their reasoning matters more than whether they provide a correct answer, a practice promoted in the FLC; (3) to connect students’ responses to mathematical ideas discussed in the FLC, in which graphs represent a relationship between variables. Instructors’ boundary transitions can serve to legitimise novel digital resources within an existing course and thereby challenge the status quo in courses where skills and procedures may take precedence over reasoning and sense-making.

Resituating situated learning within racialized and colonial social relations

ABSTRACT This conceptual paper makes a theoretical intervention into situated learning and communities of practice theories, arguing that they must account for social relations of racialization and colonialism. I contend that the epistemologies and ontologies of a community of practice are embedded in social relations; therefore, neglecting power dynamics dilutes theorizations of learning, participation, resistance, and identity. I draw on vignettes from an environmentalist community of practice to demonstrate possible gaps in the ways situated learning theory is mobilized. I argue that the field of situated learning needs more robust tools to theorize the practices of both privilege and resistance to understand learning in multiracial, multigendered, settler-colonial communities of practice.

University as a Site to Learn Citizenship from the Perspectives of Students in the UK

The role of universities in preparing students to be active citizens within civil society has gained increasing attention. However, only limited research has been conducted on students’ views of universities as sites to learn representative democracy. To address the research gap, this article conducts eight semi-structured interviews with staff, student leaders and students without any positions in a case university. The students are undergraduate and post-graduate from different academic majors. Community of practice theory is employed to help understand students’ views of their experiences of representative democracy at the university. After analysing the interview data, the article finds that student leaders regard their role as mainly representing students and that all students in the study realise the importance of such democratic representation through participation. Importantly, through participation in representative democracy, students, especially student leaders, gain knowledge and skills on voting and elections. Interestingly, students’ sense of belonging is a result of participation in student union, society and club activities, which very likely includes voting and engagement with elections. Learning and belongingness are likely to make students participate more in future democratic representation activities. Although students give credit to the university’s role in promoting representative democracy, there are challenges. Specifically, the university is supposed to promote more participation in voting and elections for first-year students, and there is also concern that the short-term nature of positions in the student union may not allow real changes to be made. The findings shed some light on how students learn representative democracy in universities in neoliberal countries.

Becoming a member of a nursing community of practice: negotiating performance competence and identity

ABSTRACT The challenge faced by newly graduated nurses from undergraduate study to practice is a persistent theme in nursing practice literatures. However, there is a lack of understanding about how this transition happens. This focused ethnographic study explored how newly graduated nurses (novices) interacted with experienced nurses and learnt in a hospital ward in Singapore. Using the ‘Trajectory of identification framework’ developed from Wenger’s Community of Practice theory, data was collected through observation and focused group discussions. This research revealed the participating rules as the sociocultural characteristics of the nursing community, and how these characteristics are ongoingly negotiated among the nurses. The nurses’ changing performative competence and identity in different situations are conceptualised as the ‘Participation Space’. This study also showed how concepts of Community of Practice theory can be analytically applied and further developed in empirical study. Specifically, a conceptual ‘Participation Matrix’ is theorised which adds an additional tool to understand the nurses’ dynamic participation and negotiation of membership in a Community of Practice. Novices’ transition should be viewed as an ongoing dynamic workplace learning, through which negotiation of performative competence and identity among members take place. The soon to be novices and workplaces should be prepared with this understanding.