Learning In Communities Of Practice Research Articles

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.

From Theory to Practice: The Effects of Community of Practice Implementation on Out-of-School Youth in the Philippines

Communities of Practice (CoP) aims to provide services and skills to partner communities while also establishing links to communicate learned knowledge to broader groups of people. This study identified and analyzed the impact of communities of practice in Barangay Nagtenga, Sta. Cruz, Ilocos Sur. It used a mixed quantitative and qualitative study approach to evaluate the level of satisfaction of the 18 CoP participants as well as their CoP learning and experience. The data demonstrated high levels of CoP satisfaction, notably with resource speakers and the quality of service provided. Participants shared their learning experiences during the CoP, focusing on themes such as knowledge acquisition, skill development, learning transfer to practice, and entrepreneurial management. This study emphasizes the importance of CoPs in empowering marginalized groups and promoting personal and professional development. Recommendations include maintaining and growing CoP initiatives, as well as conducting frequent evaluations to ensure continuous improvement.

Equity in practice: Lessons from a cohort-based model for community voice and input in data linkage and use

Objective and ApproachCross-sector data sharing and linkage can transform information about individuals into actionable intelligence to build stronger, healthier, and more just communities. Yet, the use of cross-sector data can also reinforce legacies of racist policies and produce inequitable resource allocation, access, and outcomes. To avoid this, we must embed data equity practices throughout the data life cycle and provide mechanisms for community voice and input. However, few integrated data systems are doing this well. To combat this challenge, AISP designed a 30-month technical assistance program–the Equity in Practice Learning Community (EiPLC)--to collaboratively develop guidance and models for centering racial equity in data integration. This session provides an overview of our EiPLC Scope & Sequence, a curriculum we designed to guide this work. Currently, 10 jurisdictions in the U.S. are receiving coaching around this curriculum and shifting their data integration practices to advance equity. ResultsTo date, progress has been nonlinear, with positive results. Work in action across the cohorts includes changes to cross-agency data governance, collaborative research agendas, legal agreements, staffing, and community participation practices including. ConclusionsWhile these efforts are nascent, progress is evident and site team members indicate growth as individuals and as site teams. Key features of success include a focus on building relationships, establishing working norms, grappling with racialized histories, and interrogating the role of structural racism and systems of power. ImplicationsThe EiPLC provides a successful model for supporting sites to embed data equity principles throughout the data life cycle.

Dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s: Operationalising a teaching and learning community of practice

Social theories of learning propose that communities serve as vital building blocks for knowledge sharing and construction (Bandura, 1977; Cobb, 1994). In essence, learning thrives when individuals congregate in a community where they exchange tacit knowledge and expose areas of ignorance (Wenger et al., 2002). Nevertheless, the process of cultivating a community of practice is not necessarily straightforward, as it requires meticulous planning and decision-making. This instrumental case study seeks to explicate the formation and development of a teaching and learning community of practice (T&L CoP) at a research-intensive university in Hong Kong. More specifically, it explores how the structural model of the community of practice – domain, community, and practice – are applied and manifested. Multiple sources of documents, including a project proposal, a project website, a project progress report and archival records, were analysed using deductive thematic analysis. The results reveal that the T&L CoP is constitutive of an overarching domain of teaching and learning, within which ten special interest groups are formed. The T&L CoP also bring together 150 professoriate and professional staff from across eight faculties. The community facilitates knowledge exchange through periodic professional development workshops and materials as well as sharing sessions that highlight exemplary teaching practice. The study concludes by discussing three fundamental questions regarding the operationalisation of a CoP, in terms of expansion, retention, as well as sustainability, and argues that the T&L CoP helps cultivate members’ social capital through improved networks and visibility among the teaching and learning community.

Creative Pedagogies: School Without Walls and Forest of Imagination

AbstractThis paper responds directly to the question, how do we communicate our philosophy of art education? It does this by drawing upon previous research with House of Imagination, School Without Walls and doctoral research exploring children's learning identity as artists, to illuminate a philosophical approach to art education and its pedagogy that highlights both human and more‐than‐human dimensions of learning in communities of practice involving artists, researchers and educators working alongside children and young people where spaces of possibility for practice and innovation emerge. The paper focuses particularly on current and creative research in the Forest of Imagination, a long‐term participatory contemporary arts and architecture event in Bath, UK. Forest of Imagination offers an alternative, creative approach to learning, focusing on ecological imagination and nature connection. As a new aesthetic imaginary, the Forest of Imagination is a living, breathing art classroom, inspiring curiosity, imagination and a deeper connection with the natural world.

Using Project ECHO to deliver a tele-mentoring and teaching program on palliative care in South Asia: Interpretive description of participants' experiences with a community of practice for learning.

To explore the learning experiences of participants (learners and teachers), in a yearlong tele-teaching and mentoring program on pediatric palliative care, which was conducted using the Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) model and consisted of 27 teaching and clinical case discussion sessions for palliative medicine residents in India and Bangladesh. The goal of the study is to explore how participation and learning is motivated and sustained for both residents and teachers, including the motivators and challenges to participation and learning in a novel online format. Qualitative interviews with ECHO participants, including learners and teachers were conducted. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Thematic analysis of interview data was conducted within an interpretive description approach. Eleven physicians (6 residents, 5 teachers) participated in interviews. Key elements of the ECHO program which participants identified as supporting learning and participation include small group discussions, a flipped classroom, and asynchronous interactions through social media. Individual learner characteristics including effective self-reflection and personal circumstances impact learning. Providing opportunities for a diverse group of learners and teachers, to interact in communities of practice (COP) enhances learning. Three major themes and 6 subthemes describing learning processes were identified. Themes included (1) ECHO program structure, (2) learner characteristics, and (3) COP. Subthemes included flipped classroom, breakout rooms, learning resources, personal circumstances, self-awareness of learning needs, and community interactions. Project ECHO suggests a novel model to train health providers, which is effective in low- and middle-income countries. Online learning programs can lead to learning through community of practice when learners and teachers are able to interact and engage in peer support and reflective practice. Educators should consider incorporating small group discussions, a flipped classroom design, and opportunities for asynchronous interactions to enhance learning for participants in online learning programs.

Community-Based Inquiry from within Indigenous Early Learning Communities of Practice: Introduction to the Special Issue

Community-Based Inquiry (CBI) is a research method in which Indigenous communities engage in asking and answering their own questions about their early childhood practices. Community members are the researchers: they formulate the questions based on community needs, create the methodology to pursue answers to those questions, find solutions, and put those solutions into practice to strengthen early childhood education in their communities. In this introductory piece, we share the philosophical and practical foundations of CBI, and introduce readers to the visionary community and university scholars who, throughout this special issue, share their stories of innovation, insight, and advocacy on behalf of early learners, families, and their communities.

청소년 실천공동체 학습 모형 개발

Objectives This study aimed to develop an initial conceptual model of adolescence community of practice learning to overcome the limitations of knowledge memorization-based education and to revitalize education based on practical experiences suitable for the development of competencies required in the future society. This study sought to find ways to revitalize adolescence community of practice so that adolescence can grow educationally through more self-directed and practical experiences.
 Methods To develop the conceptual model, this study applied Randers’(1980) four-step methodology. First, for conceptualization, this study reconceptualized the general components of community of practice through literature review to fit adolescence community of practice. Second, for formalization, in-depth interviews with adolescence community of practice stakeholders were conducted to derive the constructs of the adolescence community of practice conceptual model and to illustrate the relationships among the constructs. Third, for validation, this study gathered perspectives, advice, and evaluations from experts with experience and knowledge in adolescence community of practice. The fourth step, implementation, is the policy dissemination and diffusion of the conceptual model, so this study was limited to the verification stage.
 Results The characteristics of adolescence community of practice learning model are youth's subjective interest, communication with others through joint activities, and practical activities inside and outside of school. The design principles are facilitative design principles, participatory design principles, ecological design principles. The strategies are summarized as stepping stone strategy, seed cultivation strategy, process-oriented strategy. Connecting them to the goals of the learning model, which are to have their own thoughts and language, improve communication with others, and improve problem-solving skills, this study summarized the process of forming self-interest, social expansion, and expansion of activities from self-standing to self-standing by comparing it to the life cycle of a tree.
 Conclusions By utilizing the adolescence community of practice learning model, adolescence can improve their ability to collaborate with others through education based on their interests and interests, rather than one-way transmission education centered on instructors, and they can acquire competencies by solving practical problems by themselves.

Crisis and Transformative Learning in Communities of Practice: Semi-Formal Learning in CSDP during COVID-19

Abstract This article analyzes learning in the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) by way of drawing on recent theoretical advancements on the concept of communities of practice (CoP) in international relations (IR). The article presents an analytical framework that distinguishes between reproductive and transformative learning in relation to levels of contestation in CoPs. To illustrate the framework’s analytical usefulness, the article analyzes the case of CSDP lessons learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis draws on data from a survey as well as interviews with EU officials, and it suggests that the combination of an external crisis and an institutional momentum to facilitate collective learning produced a context where CSDP practitioners demonstrated more willingness to engage in the formal process of recording lessons. A shared sense of urgency in collecting lessons from the pandemic and the unprecedented absence of informal sites for learning practices due to restrictions of physical meetings, meant that semi-formal learning practices could fill the void of informal interactions. This provided for a unique context for transformative learning in the CSDP that is highly relevant for IR scholars interested in the political effects of learning and contestation in international organizations and in CoPs more generally.

From Theory to Practice: The Impact of Communities of Practice Implementation on Out-Of-School Youth

Communities of Practice (CoP) aims to provide services and skills to partner communities while establishing links to communicate learned knowledge to broader groups of people. This study identified and analyzed the impact of communities of practice in Barangay Nagtenga, Sta. Cruz, Ilocos Sur. It used a mixed quantitative and qualitative study approach to evaluate the level of satisfaction of the 18 CoP participants as well as their CoP learning and experience. The data demonstrated high levels of CoP satisfaction, notably with resource speakers and the quality of service provided. Participants shared their learning experiences during the CoP, focusing on knowledge acquisition, skill development, learning transfer to practice, and entrepreneurial management. This study emphasizes the importance of CoPs in empowering marginalized groups and promoting personal and professional development. Recommendations include maintaining and growing CoP initiatives and conducting frequent evaluations to ensure continuous improvement.

Social learning communities of practice as mechanisms for sustainable tourism: a process tracing evaluation of a government intervention

ABSTRACT Many governments introduce interventions to help small enterprises adopt more sustainable practices. We used process tracing to evaluate how and why communities of practice and social forms of learning are key mechanisms to facilitate action-oriented sustainability learning. We subjected each piece of evidence to a contribution analysis, in addition to the probabilistic necessity and sufficiency, to affirm causal attribution and its strength. The study shows how learning is contingent on the context designed. Knowledge assimilation and behavioural change are more likely to happen when an intervention delivers structured resource-based training that is amplified with community support and peer interactions. Setting tangible routines and regular interactions that allow participants to gain knowledge and best practices through resource-based learning were necessary but not sufficient to promote change. This evaluation highlights the need to provide structured learning with tangible routines and regular interactions with peers (i) to leverage communities of practice to create a supportive social environment (ii) that introduce normative influences building a sense of peer accountability. Process tracing proved to be a useful methodology to compare the benefits of two learning approaches in the intervention, without the need for a control group.

“I give, and they give back”: teachers’ views on the professional implications of mentoring

ABSTRACTThis article provides an account of how six mentor teachers in Sweden reflect on the professional development opportunities they encounter, in the act of mentoring student teachers. The interview data come from the initial phase of a study titled Growing through mentoring: An activity-based inquiry into mentor teacher growth in knowledge and practices (Mentor Growth), which aimed to investigate the knowledge, processes and conditions involved in mentorship practices that lead to professional growth for mentor teachers. The study draws upon the theoretical concepts of social practice theory and situated learning in communities of practice, professional identity development and relational agency. The findings show that despite the challenges such as lack of time and poor support from the school leaders, mentoring benefits professional development by offering opportunities for fruitful collaboration with student teachers and self-reflection.

Evaluating real-patient learning in medical education - Hungarian validation of the Manchester Clinical Placement Index.

The Manchester Clinical Placement Index (MCPI) is an instrument to measure medical undergraduates' real-patient learning in communities of practice both in hospital and in GP placements. Its suitability to evaluate the quality of placement learning environments has been validated in an English-language context; however, there is a lack of evidence for its applicability in other languages. Our aim was to thoroughly explore the factor structure and the key psychometric properties of the Hungarian language version. MCPI is an 8-item, mixed-method instrument which evaluates the quality of clinical placements as represented by the leadership, reception, supportiveness, facilities and organization of the placement (learning environment) as well as instruction, observation and feedback (training) on 7-point Likert scales with options for free-text comments on the strengths and weaknesses of the given placement on any of the items. We collected data online from medical students in their preclinical (1st, 2nd) as well as clinical years (4th, 5th) in a cross-sectional design in the academic years 2019-2020 and 2021-2022, by the end of their clinical placements. Our sample comprises data from 748 medical students. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed, and higher-order factors were tested. Although a bifactor model gave the best model fit (RMSEA = 0.024, CFI = 0.999, and TLI = 0.998), a high explained common variance (ECV = 0.82) and reliability coefficients (ωH = 0.87) for the general factor suggested that the Hungarian version of the MCPI could be considered unidimensional. Individual application of either of the subscales was not supported statistically due to their low reliabilities. The Hungarian language version of MCPI proved to be a valid unidimensional instrument to measure the quality of undergraduate medical placements. The previously reported subscales were not robust enough, in the Hungarian context, to distinguish, statistically, the quality of learning environments from the training provided within those environments. This does not, however, preclude formative use of the subscales for quality improvement purposes.

Understanding the role of learning communities of practice within a degree apprenticeship to enhance inclusive engagement

PurposeBuilding on the concepts of learning communities of practice, the paper aims to evaluate their application within degree apprenticeships (DAs) to support pedagogic engagement and inclusive education within a university setting.Design/methodology/approachA case study of an existing B2B sales degree apprenticeship reviewed relevant programme documents and evaluated apprentice learner experience through an anonymised online survey.FindingsThe study found that sales apprentices had a reflexive awareness of how learning communities operated within this context and raised some valuable insights about their perceptions of inclusive education. These communities have differing dynamics that value engaging with workplace professionals, peers and university. Apprentices prefer tuition that accommodates their shared interests as employee learners within an occupational role. Issues surrounding inclusive education are seen as integral to the experience of being an apprentice.Practical implicationsPost-Covid engagement could be used to frame more effective social learning for work-integrated practice and programme teams could advocate for a greater integration of DAs within institutional settings.Originality/valueThis research indicates that B2B sales degree apprentices see themselves as operating within distinctive learning communities of practice that support their work-integrated (WIL) studies in higher education. The paper recommends programme teams provide more collaborative engagement within learning communities to support inclusive education goals.

A Study on the Co-planning Journey of Required Courses in Senior High Schools: The Development of Learning Communities of Practice

A Study on the Co-planning Journey of Required Courses in Senior High Schools: The Development of Learning Communities of Practice

Efl Teacher Learning In Online Community Of Practice

Teachers’ professional development is essential for improving student learning outcomes and fostering overall educational quality. However, many teachers believe that TPD programs are ineffective. Teachers require ongoing programs, encouraging them to discuss ideas and give feedback, and do a collaboration. One of the programs is community of practice, which is a social learning process in which individuals with similar interest collaborate. Thus, this study aims to explore teachers’ learning in community of practice to develop their professional growth. This study adopted case study design involving a group of English teachers in Indonesia who joining an online TPD program. The data were gained through WhatsApp interaction between the teachers and the trainer, and among the teachers. The findings indicated that teachers learn in community of practice by getting proposed questions and given feedback by the trainers, getting teaching resources from the trainers and their fellow teachers, and presenting an issue related to their teaching. These aspects lead to interaction among them. Moreover, the presence of a group coordinator and administrator may help the teachers to foster teachers’ engagement towards the program.

Społeczność wzajemnego uczenia się. Opinie nauczycieli na temat możliwości ich uczenia się w szkołach realizujących międzynarodowe programy kształcenia

The purpose of the study is to identify teachers’ opinions on their learning opportunities in schools implementing the following international programmes in Poland: International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced Placement (AP), and International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE). The study was conducted using the diagnostic survey method on a group of 103 teachers. The theoretical basis was Wenger’s (1998) model of learning in communities of practice, which assumes that adult learning (in this case, teachers) can be analyzed in four areas: (1) Belonging, (2) Doing, (3) Becoming, and (4) Experiencing. Therefore, the socio-cultural situation of teachers and their common but specific educational practices conditioned by the specificity of international schools were adopted. The results show that teachers do not feel fully prepared to work after graduation, they use the knowledge and skills acquired in the workplace more often than that acquired during studies, and international programmes create favourable conditions for their learning and professional development. Teachers form a learning community at three levels: school, national, and international. Thus, they form a type of community of communities that Wenger calls a ‘constellation’.

Building school leaders’ instructional leadership capacity through virtual professional leadership learning communities

IntroductionResearch is still emerging on how to develop school leaders’ instructional capacity. We implemented research-based practices through virtual professional leadership learning communities (VPLCs) for building school leaders’ instructional capacity. We examined school leaders’ perceptions of (a) the effectiveness of the VPLC as a vehicle for improving instructional practices, (b) the essential components of an effective VPLC, and (c) school leaders’ instructional leadership practices through discussions within VPLC.MethodsThe participants of this study were 40 school leaders at the principal and assistant principal levels in elementary schools in the state of Texas. Based on the research purpose and design, multiple types of data were collected to explore participants’ perceptions and experiences of VPLC.ResultsBased on both qualitative and quantitative analyses of the data from questionnaires and interviews, we found that this VPLC allowed participants to share leadership research and resources and provided them with an avenue for collaborating and communicating with other school leaders. The results of the qualitative data revealed two major components that the participants thought a VPLC should provide based on their experiences in the program (a) community building through collaboration and (b) reflective modules and discussion.DiscussionAn SST explanation can potentially reduce some aspects of homophobia among both healthcare professionals and lay people. Also, worryingly, Chinese healthcare professionals, especially medical professionals, reported more homophobia than lay individuals These VPLCs were regarded as grounds for innovation, as participants worked together with other school leaders to find problems and determine creative and workable solutions focused on building instructional capacity in serving high-needs schools. Thus, school leaders can be supported through sustained, effective professional learning in communities of practice, or virtual professional leadership learning communities.

Importance of Community Engagement in Data Decision Making.

Importance of Community Engagement in Data Decision Making.

Teacher learning for transformation: a framework

ABSTRACT Teachers working to transform classrooms towards equity and justice must resist the continual press of dominant culture, which seeks to reproduce longstanding arrangements of inequity and injustice. Little is known about the learning that supports teachers in this resistance. This article offers the Teacher Learning for Transformation (TLT) framework, which is built from two theoretical pillars: Wenger’s articulation of four aspects of learning in Communities of Practice: meaning, practice, identity, and community; and Holland et al.’s notion of Figured Worlds. The resulting conceptualisation of TLT is a holistic view of multiple aspects of teachers’ learning, which are embedded in and mediated by socio-historical and socio-cultural contexts. I offer an illustrative example of an articulation of the framework to support research on teacher learning towards transformation in a particular context. I comment on ways in which the framework might support further research and design of professional development which aims to support transformative learning towards greater justice in classrooms.