Communities Of Practice Research Articles

Professional development in teacher education: (Vocational) teacher students’ descriptions

This article focuses on a learning objective, as part of a teacher education course at a Swedish university, where student teachers should be able to discuss their own professional development and identify further development needs. Since both research and policy documents highlight professional development as an important part of teacher education, it is important to study professional development from the perspective of student teachers. The theoretical starting point is Communities of Practice (CoP), and the study focuses on knowledge and learning within a social community. Ten subject teacher students and six vocational teacher students are interviewed about their descriptions of what the professional development for teachers in teacher education means for them, which results in six prominent themes: 1) the developmentof identity formation, 2) the development of subject specific and vocational knowledge, 3) the development of leadership, 4) the development of relationship-building, 5) the development of knowledge about policy documents, laws, rules and regulations, 6) the development in relation to changes in the society. Despite common denominators in the students’ descriptions of professional development, there are also nuanced differences that can be understood by positioning actors about the (vocational) teacher education community. The vocational teacher students frequently connect their professional knowledge to industry and working life, whereas the subject teacher students often connect their subject knowledge to university courses and research. Both the vocational teacher students and the subject teacher students in the study describe that they need to stay up-to-date and continue developing their competence in pedagogy. However, the vocational teacher students specifically highlight the need for pedagogical knowledge within the school environment, rather than in the context of working life and workshop settings. This may be because some vocational teacher students are accustomed to training and teaching interns in these environments as part of their professional practice.

Addressing psychological barriers to student learning: our role as learning developers

Since the launch of ALDinHE’s Health Community of Practice (CoP) in 2021, members have been sharing practice ideas and resources via monthly activities. One activity that stimulated particular interest related to the topic of psychological barriers to student learning (i.e. low confidence, anxiety, perfectionism and imposter syndrome) and how, as learning developers, we might address these. Although healthcare students may be particularly vulnerable to these kinds of issues (Bogardus et al., 2022), they are on the rise among all students (Curran and Hill, 2019). Therefore, it is pertinent to consider how they infiltrate learning development practice and how they can best be supported. The purpose of this workshop was firstly, to explore the professional boundary issues that this may raise, and secondly, to share and explore practice possibilities. This involved showcasing ideas from the aforementioned Health CoP activity and drawing on relevant research. In doing so, we aimed to open up a wider discussion about how learning development spaces can foster emotional growth and provide takeaways that participants can apply to their own practice.

How are Learning Developers engaging with artificial intelligence?

In recent years, Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) has become the topic of debate within higher education generally, within institutions (their official response and approach), within subject areas (how to utilise within subject teaching) and within the professional sphere of Learning Development. In the summer of 2023, an Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE) Community of Practice was established, and now, it has over 200 members from the UK, Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. This group meets monthly to discuss all aspects of Gen AI, and this mini keynote will share how Learning Developers are engaging (or not) with Gen AI. The session will be open and friendly. Designed to enable colleagues to discuss their challenges, avoidance or how they embrace AI within their practice. Prompt Questions 1) Are you engaging with Artificial Intelligence (AI)? If so, how? If not, why not? 2) Should Learning Developers be engaging with AI? If so, how? 3) What could ALDinHE do to support your (potential) engagement with AI?

Who are we? An autoethnographic investigation into professional role identity of the Learning Developer

This presentation was based on a proposed small-scale research project which aimed to investigate how a small team of Learning Developers (six) feel about their professional identity, and whether the job title of Academic Skills Advisor (ASA) at Edge Hill University has accurately reflected their combined experience and professional standing. This research project was designed to be undertaken within the Student Engagement Team Community of Practice (SETCoP) and had been identified as a useful chance to explore the Learning Development (LD) skills base through the practice of collaborative autoethnography (Chang, 2022). Eyre and Slawson (2018) recognise that self-descriptions enable Learning Developers to maintain control over defining the value of LD practice. This research project employs a qualitative research approach to investigate whether participants’ self-identify matches with the given job title. Ethical approval was sought internally within Edge Hill University. Thus, this presentation also highlighted the readiness of the professional role identity of the Learning Developer team and how they managed to build inclusive LD space within their Community of Practice in order to connect socially, emotionally, and physically. They also discussed how they planned for data gathering and evaluating the collective feelings of the ASAs to reflect the impacts of the evolution of the job title as an LD role which enabled them to show their identity, practices, values, and status.

Creating online, inclusive spaces for learning: ‘Study Together’ with the personal learning advice service

There is a wealth of scholarship on the benefits of synchronous writing sessions for staff and students in higher education (Kornhaber et al., 2016; Eardley et al., 2021; Morley and Aston, 2023). In the Personal Learning Advice (PLA) Service at the Open University UK (OU), we developed bespoke, online study spaces for students from groups currently underrepresented in higher education – known as ‘Study Together’ sessions. The sessions prioritise students from minoritised ethnic groups, students with disabilities, and students with mental health needs who are at risk of poorer study outcomes. This presentation charted the development of Study Together in response to student feedback and evaluation and sought to show the value of ‘targeted’ invitations to engage students with spaces for learning development. Our presentation began by outlining the rationale for a 2022-23 Study Together pilot and its impact on community and belonging for students with mental health declarations (Lavery et al., 2023). We shared our approach to hosting Study Together and the techniques used to create an inclusive, productive study space; we showed how these approaches allowed us to incorporate timed study bursts and reflective practice, building positive study habits among students. Finally, we presented findings from the evaluation of Study Together in 2023-24 and situated this within the wider literature on the benefits of virtual communities of practice for learning. Our presentation spoke directly to the ALDcon24 theme ‘Building inclusive learning development spaces’ and invited delegates to consider the place of virtual, guided study spaces in their own practice.

Academic literacies as a theoretical underpinning for Learning Development support

Research into academic literacy or literacies, however the term is defined, and how the field relates to disciplinary practice, has been debated in recent decades (Lillis and Scott, 2007; Lillis, 2019). Consideration of academic literacies is also a key component of the Learning Development community as the profession has evolved and developed its own identity. Is the term defined as ‘literacy’ or ‘literacies’? Is it a core component of Learning Development practice, or is it more tied to disciplinary and curriculum-based delivery? By understanding the literature around the definition and the development and application of academic literacies, can we consider how this relates to current perceptions and understanding of the field in a Learning Development context and what impact it may have on student learning? This workshop provided participants with the opportunity to hear about current research being undertaken by the ALDinHE research virtual Community of Practice (vCoP) to investigate our current understanding of academic literacies, how they are (or it is, if considered a singular literacy) perceived across the Learning Development community, and how we might measure its impact on our practice and student learning. For simplicity within this paper, academic literacies will be referred to as a plural form. Due to the historical creation of Learning Development teams in response to sector changes in higher education, this workshop provided participants with the opportunity to hear about the current research on academic literacies. Participants were also able to discuss their own experiential views to develop a shared understanding of how we may apply this understanding to practice, and what the impact on our work may be. The workshop aimed to help define our understanding of academic literacies—both in terms of the literature and in practice—and take away ideas and examples of practice that we can apply in our own work.

MyFeedback: an online writing feedback service with students as partners

MyFeedback is an online feedback service run by the academic tutoring team at the University of East London (UEL). The service provides a formative type of feedback on the academic writing of students based on drafts they upload to a digital inbox. The service is a differentiating support mechanism that complements the one-to-one guidance provided by the academic writing tutors. This is possible by training and supervising students (online feedback initiators) to provide reviews of assignment drafts. In this ALDCon24 workshop, we discussed how the development and operation of the service has thrived through a partnership between learning developers and students, and thus establishing a community of practice (Wenger, 1998) of shared learning and vision. We provided insights into the working model and the ways in which students become partners and occasionally co-creators. We highlighted the opportunities and benefits that are shared among all those involved and the roles they assume. Student users of the service engage in a self-regulated learning experience (Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick, 2006) enacted by their repeated exposure to peer feedback interactions that is underpinned by pedagogical principles, such as the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978) and differentiation, for example in Tomlinson (2001). Tutors and student partners collaborate to consolidate their feedback mechanisms by bringing together teaching expertise, fresh enthusiasm, first-hand student experiences, and a sense of belonging, inclusivity and collaboration. At the same time, tutors direct their capacity efficiently to students who can benefit more from a live dialogue based on their assessment at hand.

Editorial policy and procedure

The Journal of Vocational, Adult and Continuing Education and Training (JOVACET) recognises the need for critical engagement through studies in TVET and Adult and Continuing Education and Training, and for encouraging critical scrutiny of this expansive knowledge area on the African continent. The voices and experiences of practitioners, reflecting on all aspects of teaching and learning within vocational education and adult education settings, should be heard through publication of empirical and robust research. While the journal clearly wishes to take forward academic scholarship, it also seeks to strengthen opportunities for reflective practice that makes a scholarly contribution to the field. New knowledge emerging out of complex developmental contexts has significant value and needs to be showcased beyond existing geographical and political boundaries. The journal is therefore committed to also supporting the development of emerging researchers by providing them with a space to present and defend their research among a network of global scholars. Within the field of vocational and continuing education there is substantive ‘grey literature’ that remains in project report form. The journal is potentially a vehicle for the translation of this important work into an academic contribution to a wider community of practice and thereby enhancing its value. The JOVACET will appear at least once a year. Unsolicited articles are welcome for consideration and should be uploaded onto the JOVACET’s website online journal or else emailed to the journal’s managing editor. The editors are accountable for everything published in the journal and should therefore:• work towards improving the contents of the journal;• adopt peer-review methods best suited for the journal and the research communityit serves;• ensure that all manuscripts have been reviewed by appropriate reviewers;• ensure quality assurance processes are in place for the material that is published; and• uphold the highest standards of integrity, intellectual rigour and ethics. The editors will not disclose any information about the submitted manuscripts or their authors to anyone other than the author(s) and reviewer(s), as appropriate. Submitted articles will be reviewed by two anonymous external referees in a ‘blind’ peer-review process. Appropriate papers will be reviewed according to their significance and soundness. Articles that have been submitted must not have been published or accepted for publication elsewhere. The editors are responsible for deciding which of the manuscripts submitted to the journal will be published. The editors’ decision to accept or reject a manuscript should be based on the importance of the manuscript, its originality and clarity, the validity of the study and its relevance to the journal’s scope. Considerations will also include current legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. Submissions may not exceed the 8 000-word limit and must contain a title, abstract of not more than 200 words and be correctly and completely referenced according to the Harvard system of referencing. Footnotes should be kept to a minimum. Tables should be positioned where they are referred to and not be submitted separately. Authors are requested to consult the author’s guidelines on the website. The article should not contain any identification of the author and should be anonymised as far as possible. The name(s) and affiliations of the author(s), as well as their email address, should appear on a separate page. The Journal of Vocational, Adult and Continuing Education and Training (JOVACET) is an open access, peer-reviewed journal committed to disseminating the latest research in post-school education to the global community as widely as possible. The journal content is freely and openly available after publication on the website, www.jovacet.ac.za, and can be read, downloaded, copied, distributed and printed without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.

Journal of Vocational, Adult and Continuing Education and Training, Volume 7, Issue 1 2024

The Journal of Vocational, Adult and Continuing Education and Training The Journal of Vocational, Adult and Continuing Education and Training (JOVACET) recognises the need for critical engagement through studies in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and adult and continuing education and training, and for encouraging critical scrutiny of this expansive knowledge area on the African continent. The voices and experiences of practitioners, reflecting on all aspects of teaching and learning within vocational education and adult education settings, should be heard through the publication of empirical and robust research. While the journal wishes to take forward academic scholarship, it also seeks to strengthen opportunities for reflective practice that makes a scholarly contribution to the field. New knowledge emerging out of complex developmental contexts has significant value and needs to be showcased beyond existing geographical and political boundaries. The journal is therefore committed to also supporting the development of emerging researchers by providing them with a space to present and defend their research amongst a network of global scholars. Within the field of vocational and continuing education there is substantive ‘grey literature’ that remains in project report form. The journal is potentially a vehicle for the translation of this important work into an academic contribution to a wider community of practice, thereby enhancing its value. (c) 2024 Journal of Vocational, Adult and Continuing Education and Training

More Knowledgeable Other(s)

Vygotsky’s (1934; 1980) sociocultural theories of learning posit that learning is a socially negotiated activity. Learners can sustain this activity, and specifically how they engage in literacy practices, through participatory experiences with experts, known in sociocultural theory as a more knowledgeable other (MKO). However, hierarchies in academia can make these possibilities for collaboration scarce or difficult to break through for doctoral students, sustaining traditional hierarchies and bureaucracies of education. Digital platforms, though, can afford the possibility of subverting these divisions of social order in the academy and make room for different interlocutors to not only better access these MKOs but to also become an analogous MKO. In socially-mediated spaces such as Twitter, otherwise known as X, an acceptance of ontological and epistemological plurality can occur in virtual communities of practice. Through three examples with the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Writing and Literacies monthly Twitter chats, the authors showcase how Vygotsky’s concept of the MKO can appear in digital spaces, demonstrate the participatory nature of online writing communities, present the possibilities in providing opportunities for online collaborative experiences, and highlight the importance of a plurality of knowledge in public scholarship.

Survey of Post-Prophylaxis Delayed-Onset Cytomegalovirus Management Strategies Among Transplant Providers.

Preventive strategies for cytomegalovirus (CMV) in the posttransplant period have changed the pattern of CMV infections, now more commonly manifesting as late-onset occurrences known as post-prophylaxis delayed-onset CMV disease (PPDOC). We conducted a survey to investigate provider practices in managing PPDOC. A web-based provider survey on the management of PPDOC was developed using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap). It was distributed to the online forums of the American Society of Transplantation communities of practice (COP) for Infectious Diseases (IDCOP), Kidney and Pancreas (KPCOP), Liver and Intestinal (LICOP), and Thoracic and Critical Care (TCCOP). The survey was posted twice within a span of a month. Fifty-six respondents, comprising 50 (89%) transplant physicians and 6 (11%) transplant pharmacists, from 46 distinct transplant centers, completed the survey. Universal antiviral prophylaxis (UAP) was the predominant preventive approach for both high-risk (85%) and moderate-risk (85%) transplant recipients. Out of 56, 51 respondents completed the questions regarding management of PPDOC. Regular surveillance with nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) (88%) was the most commonly used approach in high-risk recipients, while symptom monitoring (73%) was the most common strategy in moderate-risk recipients. Immunologic monitoring was used only by a few respondents who found it moderately useful in high-risk recipients. Management of PPDOC was highly variable among providers and strategies differed based on patient risk profile. These findings could help shape future studies and guidelines to harmonize CMV management.

Analytic autoethnography: Centering students’ linguistic and cultural experiences in assessment

utoethnography is often used as a field research method and by educators to foster intersectionality in, and critical reflection upon, their own pedagogy. However, autoethnography is not commonly used as an assessment tool. There appears to be no literature on its use in a linguistics course, and this paper aims to address that gap. Analytic autoethnography is a productive assessment method for a linguistics course. The goal of analytic autoethnography is to connect one’s lived experience to theoretical concepts and research. I argue that using analytic autoethnography as an assessment method can help students critically reflect on their own lived linguistic and cultural experiences and to connect these to course content. Importantly, I argue that the assessment is more meaningful and more inclusive than standard exams. Additionally, analytic autoethnography is well suited to antiracist teaching as it requires students to examine the ways linguistic privilege and discrimination have affected their own lives and their communities of practice, thereby creating a linguistics classroom that is inclusive of all students’ linguistic and cultural identities. As analytic autoethnography is written using the authors’ native dialect(s) and language(s), it mitigates the privileging of Standard English in the classroom and puts into practice linguistic justice.

Unveiling the Unforeseen

A group of researchers have collaborated for three years to explore learner agency across vocational contexts in Canada, Denmark, and New Zealand. To investigate the learning from this collaboration, participants carried out a collaborative autoethnography. Participants wrote their perspectives and themes, which were distilled. What emerged is a community of practice that has generated unexpected trust and depth. The cultural exchange and diversity-building have changed previous views of each other’s practices. There has been significant personal and professional growth for all participants. The collaboration has led to an increased criticality, something all participants noted would not have been possible without the freedom to be candid about the challenges and changes they face in their home contexts. What began as an inquiry into learner agency has resulted in the researchers becoming the unexpected learners by unveiling unforeseen insights into their own practices.

Responsive professional development: A facilitation approach for teachers’ development in a physics teaching community of practice

Creating learning environments that can accommodate teachers’ diverse needs is challenging because responsive elements are not clearly defined or identified. This study identified responsive teacher professional development (PD) elements by taking a phenomenological approach. Using surveys and interviews with 13 high school physics teachers in a PD program at a Midwestern university, we identified responsive features such as practicality, flexibility, and accessibility core to the enactment of a responsive PD. Other features were opportunities for community engagement, pedagogical support, and professional growth, which were aligned with the benefits of engagement in a Community of Practice model incorporated in this work.

The Communities of Social Humanitarian Pedagogical Practice (COPPESH): an education designed from the teacher’s viewpoint, towards and with the territories

Este artículo de reflexión, producto de una investigación, muestra los avances teórico metodológicos de las configuraciones pedagógicas denominadas Comunidades de Práctica Pedagógica Social Humanitaria (COPPESH), emergentes del proyecto denominado “Conceptos de pedagogía contemporánea: aportes teórico-metodológicos para la formación de docentes”, del grupo de Investigación GIFSE. El objetivo principal de las COPPESH es promover una educación contextualizada que responda a las necesidades de las comunidades. Esta estrategia busca empoderar a docentes y estudiantes como agentes de cambio, promoviendo la colaboración y el diálogo en el proceso educativo. Este enfoque integra saberes locales y culturales, promoviendo aprendizajes significativos que trascienden el aula. La propuesta metodológica de las COPPESH se basa en fases metodológicas que incluyen comunitarización, sensibilización, deconstrucción, resignificación y reconstrucción. Estas etapas permiten a educadores y estudiantes trabajar juntos para identificar y abordar desafíos educativos y sociales, fomentando la creatividad y la innovación. Las COPPESH representan una estrategia educativa que no solo busca mejorar la calidad de los aprendizajes, sino que también pretende transformar realidades sociales a través de la educación. Al integrar la reflexión crítica y el reconocimiento de la diversidad cultural, este enfoque contribuye a la construcción de una cultura de paz y reconciliación, empoderando a las comunidades para enfrentar los desafíos del presente y el futuro.

A Systematic Literature Review on Knowledge Management in Healthcare: Best Practices and Future Directions

The role of knowledge management (KM) in improving the standard and effectiveness of healthcare is gaining more attention. However, because of the complexity and the sensitive nature of medical information, the use of knowledge management approaches in this industry faces unique challenges. In order to identify best practices, summarize current research on knowledge management (KM) in healthcare, and suggest future research paths, a comprehensive literature review was conducted. A detailed search was carried out across many important databases, including PubMed, Scopus, IEEE Xplore and Web of Science, in order to gather the relevant studies for the review. The review focused on studies published between 2010 and 2024 that specifically addressed KM practices within healthcare settings and adhered to the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews. The review found 50 papers that satisfied the requirements for inclusion. Significant findings illustrate how important organizational culture, leadership backing, and technology infrastructure are, to the effective use of knowledge management. Some of the most significant techniques in Knowledge Management that are emphasized are creating communities of practice, fusing KM systems with medical guidelines, and employing data analytics for knowledge creation. On the other side, challenges include hesitation to change and interoperability issues

The tourist pose: aesthetic labour, social media, and new gendered tourism geographies

The concept of the ‘tourist pose’ is developed to examine the feminised aesthetic labour involved in ‘post-selfie’ tourist self-portraiture for social media consumption, and its role in vernacular geographies of tourist visitation. We elaborate on what constitutes the tourist pose, its linkage to distinctive cultural groups and practices, and altered tourism geographies. Young female Chinese tourist-influencers visiting Sydney, Australia, combine photography, fashion, colour, text, and compositional skills, to curate high-end social media posts within a culturally-inflected community of practice. Their aesthetic labour also creates new distinctive geographies of ‘marked’ (daka) places. Democratisation of photography through smartphones and social media platforms, notably Xiaohongshu, has encouraged tourists to discover and recommend distinctive sites, beyond the mainstream, selected for their colour and curatorial possibilities. The tourist pose and accompanying aesthetic labour, fuel creativity and performances of femininity, extending the tourist gaze while diffusing tourism geographies. Visitation patterns associated with the tourist pose are dispersed and small-scale, and eschew managerial interventions. The point is not to ‘develop’ chosen sites for commercial gain, but to acknowledge tourists’ vernacular social practices and accompanying gendered performances. The tourist pose reveals how visitors find meaning, refine aesthetic skills, perform gendered identities and explore vernacular creativity, in distinctive places.

The impact of social media and online communities of practice in rheumatology

The COVID-19 pandemic changed healthcare practices and social media played a significant role in those changes. While social media and online practice communities allow collaboration and engagement, education and knowledge dissemination, research and publication, promotion, and the potential for improved clinical care, their use also involves perils and pitfalls. The literature suggests that rheumatologists use innovative social media platforms for both professional and social purposes. Similarly, many patients with rheumatic disease use social media for education and communication. This review outlined the background of social media platforms, the reasons for their use, and associated risks. This review further discussed the need to better understand the benefits of social media and online communities as well as the potential negative effects that could impact the practice of rheumatology.

Coaching by doing: communities of practice at Swedish sport schools in XC skiing since the 1970s

Since the introduction of a national system for upper-secondary sport schools in Sweden in the 1970s, these institutions have been an important environment for developments in training and coaching. This is particularly true for cross-country skiing, where these schools quickly became an obligatory passage point. Coaches at the sport schools, often formally employed as PE teachers, were among the first professionalized endurance sport coaches in Sweden. This article examines how communities of practice have influenced the professionalization process of XC ski coaches at Swedish sport schools. The results show how being part of this community is conditioned on personal experience of active learning, historically as a skier yourself and currently as a coach who participates in the everyday work. The strong communities of practice have enabled coaches to maintain a high degree of self-­governance and ensured that experiential knowledge remain important in relation to scientific knowledge.

What is the meaning of PE? Exploring the influence of an educational curriculum approach on students’ participation and non-participation in physical education

There is evidence that the longstanding multi-activity sport-based approach to physical education (PE) limits the opportunities for students to participate in and learn from PE. Furthermore, studies of educational approaches to PE have identified a willingness to re-orientate and re-structure PE by exploring diverse ways of learning in, through and about movement. This study endeavours to advance this issue through an empirical analysis of how an educational PE curriculum approach influences student engagement. Using the concept of the landscape of practice, it explores how students’ participation or non-participation in PE is moulded by various communities of practice (CoPs), with a specific emphasis on the school as a learning community. The study is based on a qualitative single case study in a state school in Denmark. Data generation included weekly observations of PE lessons taught with an educational approach and focus groups with a total of 33 students from the seventh and ninth grades (13–15 years old). The material was processed using Massey's model for thematic analysis. Our analysis reveals that an educational approach supports student engagement with a broader landscape of PE that is no longer solely associated with communities of sport and physical recreation, but with the school as a community of learning. Such new articulations of PE, which were constructed on the boundaries between multiple CoPs, influenced the students’ willingness to participate in and learn from PE, depending on their positions within the landscape. We discuss the implications for the future design and development of a PE curriculum.