Communities Of Practice Research Articles

Crossing boundaries: Beginner teachers transitioning from university graduates to full legitimate participants in the teaching profession

This paper stems from a broader study that foregrounded an existing mentoring programme against the backdrop of low teacher retention in the South African schooling system. It works from the premise that beginner teachers are exiting the teaching profession within the first three to five years of teaching. This research suggests that one way of addressing low teacher retention is through a formal mentoring programme that will assist in the transition from university graduates into school practitioners. Data was produced through semi-structured individual and group interviews with a principal, two mentors, and two mentees. Theoretically, we drew on the work of Lave & Wenger (1991) whose constructs of Community of Practice (CoP) and Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP) were used as analytical tools to frame this study conceptually. The data revealed that beginner teachers come into the profession with marked inadequacies stemming from their initial training at universities which meant that they were insufficiently prepared for the realities of schooling. Furthermore, the data reveals multiple and overlapping CoPs in operation, pointing to viewing mentoring as multidimensional and not only in dyadic terms as a relationship between a mentor and mentee as it has traditionally been viewed.

Motherhood and competitive coaching: six stories of generational differences in persisting and resisting gender inequities in sport

ABSTRACT In this paper, we examine mothers’ experiences of coaching; specifically investigating the nuances of generational cohorts (i.e. Generation X and Millennials). Using critical feminist narrative inquiry, we conducted interviews with fourteen mother-coaches (apprentice, assistant, or head coaches) within the context of an amateur national, 10-day multi-sport games event in Canada. Participants represented eight different provinces across Canada and 10 different sports. Three themes were constructed that call attention to the Canadian coaching culture: a) creating space in sport’s hetero-patriarchal culture, b) sport policy reproduces gendered coaching discourses, and c) reimagining coaching and the value of communities of practice. The findings draw attention to the importance and variation among generational cohorts and how mother-coaches engage in individual and collective acts of resistance to the everyday inequities. This study highlights the importance of support (e.g. from spouses and other women coaches) while exposing systemic inequities.

Outcomes of co-designed communities of practice that support members to address public health issues.

Communities of practice are commonly used to support members in responding to public health issues. This study evaluated the outcomes of five co-designed communities of practice to determine if members' expectations were met, if knowledge sharing between members extended to knowledge translation, and if that supported members in addressing public health issues. Data were collected through an initial needs assessment, observations were made during community of practice sessions over 1 year, and qualitative interviews were conducted at the end of that year. The findings provided evidence that members' expectations were met, knowledge sharing took place within the communities of practice, and personal benefits gained supported members in advancing knowledge sharing with other members to knowledge translation outside their community of practice. Results demonstrate three outcomes of knowledge translation for members: disseminating knowledge to others, applying knowledge to make small-scale changes in practice and leveraging the knowledge to expand its reach beyond members' organizations. While the scale and speed of expanding outcomes were below initial expectations as indicated in the initial needs assessments, members remained optimistic about achieving larger-scale impacts in the future. This study showed that communities of practice achieve gradual progress rather than quick wins. Co-design supports the facilitators in meeting members' needs, which can positively contribute to members sharing knowledge and translating that knowledge to support their practice to address public health issues.

Learning by Doing: An Online, Open-Source Course Design Approach to Systems Librarianship

This paper presents a novel approach to designing an online, open-source course in systems librarianship, an area of librarianship that may be perceived as complex and intimidating because of the technologies involved. The course design focuses on making systems librarianship more approachable for library and information science students who may have little prior knowledge of the topic. It introduces a comprehensive framework that addresses both content and climate solutions to foster a positive learning experience and a community of practice. This includes incorporating Universal Design for Learning principles and new assessment processes that replace traditional grading mechanisms. The paper describes two pedagogical tactics: content solutions that emphasize the use of cloud services and open-source software to provide students with hands-on experiences and a common user interface; and climate solutions that aim to cultivate a sense of belonging among students and minimize technology anxiety. The paper also provides a detailed description of the course structure and assessment methods, including an innovative ungrading approach and a “revise and resubmit” policy. The paper concludes by presenting the course framework as a guide for developing similar courses, emphasizing its potential implications for systems librarianship and library and information science technology education. It discusses the limitations of the approach and suggests ideas for future research in the field. Overall, this paper offers a valuable resource for educators seeking to create engaging and inclusive systems librarianship courses in an online, open-source context.

A mixed methods, longitudinal study: characterizing the differences in engagement and perceived learning of medical students in online and in-person team-based learning classes

Background The rapid transition from in-person to online delivery of medical curriculum has facilitated the continuation of medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst active learning approaches, including Team-Based Learning (TBL), are generally more supportive of the learner’s needs during such transition, it remains elusive how different learning environments affect a learner’s motivation, engagement, and perceived learning over a prolonged period. We leveraged on the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and key learners’ characteristics to explore the levels of student’s engagement and perceived learning in two TBL learning environments, online and in-person, over an extended period. We hypothesize that students’ self-reported perceptions of engagement and learning will be lower in online compared to in-person TBL classes. Methods This is a mixed methods study with 49 preclinical graduate medical students completing the same questionnaire twice for each learning environment, online TBL and in-person TBL, over an eight-month period. Quantitative data were collected on learners’ characteristics, basic psychological needs satisfaction, motivation, student’s engagement and perceived learning. Additionally, the final questionnaire also explored the participants’ perception on which learning environment better supported their learning. Results We found that autonomy support, perceived competence and needs satisfaction, and perceived learning were higher in-person than online. Additionally, most learners felt that in-person TBL was better for learning, as the concepts of learning space and the community of practice were mediated by being in-person. Conclusions TBL, being an active instructional method, can maintain students’ engagement because it supports many aspects of SDT constructs and perceived learning. However, online TBL is unable to fully support the students’ needs and perceived learning. Hence, we strongly advocate for any in-person opportunities to be included in a course, as in-person classes best support students’ engagement and perceived learning.

Conceptualizing the adventure tourist as a cross-boundary learner

In recent years, the adventure tourism sector has seen new travelers seeking self-transformation, learning, and an expanded worldview rather than risk and thrill. They have attracted attention for their contribution to the local economies. However, their motivation behind seeking such goals through adventure tourism remains unknown. Therefore, this study proposes a hypothesis explaining their transformation. An explanatory hypothesis is that adventure tourists possess the evaluation axis of cross-boundary learners who discover new selves through serendipitous encounters and events. Cross-boundary learning, a part of organizational learning, can be conceptually identified with planned happenstance theory (psychology) and effectuation theory (management) that locates self-transformation source in given non-cognitive abilities. Also, adventure tourists have an “ambivalent value” allowing them to simultaneously evaluate the exploitation of knowledge from the servicescape and the exploration of knowledge from the ethnoscape. This conceptual model thus bridges theory and practice for the development of the adventure tourism industry. Management implicationsThe findings of this study can be summarized as follows.•Adventure tourists have ambivalent values of knowledge exploration and exploitation;•They become adventure tourists when they incidentally encounter ethnoscapes that are specific to and still rooted in the region of their travel destination; and•What makes them adventure tourists is a cross-boundary learning mindset, which can be confirmed by measuring their non-cognitive abilities.Based on the above, the management implications are that adventure tourism operators should.•Focus their attention not only on the sophistication of their services, but also on preserving the ethnoscape of the business area; and•Plan for the generation of communities of practice in destinations that facilitate cross-boundary learning including knowledge exploration and exploitation by travelers.

Learning from risk: an ethnography of a risky play

This text discusses the relationship between risk and learning in the practice of the rolling cart, based on an ethnography carried out in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte between 2019 and 2022. The community involved in the activity is characterized by disputes and interests about this practice. Although it is considered risky, different narratives about the risks of this practice emerge in an urban and contemporary context. The analysis presented argues that risk is a social construction, in line with Jean Lave's theories of situated learning and Tim Ingold's ecological approach. According to these theories, the skills necessary to practice rolling cart are developed through a process of education of attention, and not through mental representations that are converted into body movements. Thus, men, women, adults and children participate, constitute and are constituted by the practice, which is polysemic and situated. The theories of Giddens and Douglas are also relevant to the discussion, as they suggest the social construction of risk and the importance of the cultural and social context in which this practice is carried out. In short, the analysis emphasizes the complexity of the relationship between risk and learning in rolling cart practice and the importance of considering the ecological approach to understand the dynamics of this community of practice.

Clinical Outcomes of Rural Patients with Diabetes Treated by ECHO-Trained Providers Versus an Academic Medical Center.

Despite clinical practice guidelines prioritizing cardiorenal risk reduction, national trends in diabetes outcomes, particularly in rural communities, do not mirror the benefits seen in clinical trials with emerging therapeutics and technologies. Project ECHO supports implementation of guidelines in under-resourced areas through virtual communities of practice, sharing of best practices, and case-based learning. We hypothesized that diabetes outcomes of patients treated by ECHO-trained primary care providers (PCPs) would be similar to those of patients treated by specialists at an academic medical center. Specialists from the University of New Mexico (UNM) launched a weekly diabetes ECHO program to mentor dyads consisting of a PCP and community health worker at ten rural clinics. We compared cardiorenal risk factor changes in patients with diabetes treated by ECHO-trained dyads to patients treated by specialists at the UNM Diabetes Comprehensive Care Center (DCCC). Eligible participants included adults with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes on insulin, or diabetes of either type with A1c > 9%. The primary outcome was change from baseline in A1c in the ECHO and DCCC cohorts. Secondary outcomes included changes in body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, cholesterol, and urine albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR). Compared to the DCCC cohort (n = 151), patients in the ECHO cohort (n = 856) experienced greater A1c reduction (-1.2% vs -0.6%; p = 0.02 for difference in difference). BMI decreased in the Endo ECHO cohort and increased in the DCCC cohort (-0.2 vs. +1.3 kg/m2; p = 0.003 for difference in difference). Diastolic blood pressure declined in the Endo ECHO cohort only. Improvements of similar magnitude were observed in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in both groups. UACR remained stable in both groups. ECHO may be a suitable intervention for improving diabetes outcomes in rural, under-resourced communities with limited access to a specialist.

“We have a damn duty”

Abstract This article presents a case study of Ciocia Wienia, a collective of activists who facilitate abortion travel between Poland and Austria and provide support and interpretation in abortion clinics in Vienna. Drawing on a framework based on activist translation and motivational psychology, we investigate the factors that compel activist interpreters to join the collective and motivate their commitment to this activist work. Our study is based on a corpus of thirteen qualitative interviews with members and associates of the collective. The activists’ commitment is grounded in a range of purpose- and task-centred motivators, including their desire to respond to perceived gender-based injustice; to actively participate in society and be a member of a community of practice sharing the same pro-choice beliefs; to empower both oneself and individuals who need help; and to do good and feel satisfaction resulting from one’s work.

An open door to the job market? Music therapy students’ reflections on practice placement in Norway

This study explores the transition between learning at university and learning in a work context through practice placement. It was conducted at the University of Bergen (UiB), which offers a five-year programme in music therapy. Practice placement is integrated at all levels of the programme, starting with observation of music therapy, to a placement where students work more autonomously. The aim of this study was to learn from the experiences of students participating in the programme, as their insights are crucial for informing the programme’s content. Our question was: How do students from the UiB five-year integrated music therapy programme reflect on their internship experiences, and how can we understand their reflections from a work-based learning perspective? To investigate this, we conducted two focus groups, each with five students. Following a thematic analysis of the data, three main themes and six sub-themes were developed: 1. Developing an identity as a music therapist (1.1. Gaining a professional identity, 1.2. Finding a voice in interdisciplinary meetings); 2. An open door to the job market (2.1. Learning from experience, 2.2. Developing new networks); and 3. Challenges with the music therapy practice placement (3.1. Feeling side-lined, 3.2. Lack of a broader teaching model). The themes, grounded in the empirical findings, are discussed from a sociocultural perspective, drawing on concepts such as apprenticeship learning, community of practice, and weak ties. This article concludes with implications for practice and suggestions for further research.

Enhancing doctoral learning through virtual communities of practice: an autoethnographic perspective

This article explores the role of virtual communities of practice in enhancing the doctoral experience, particularly in the contemporary digital era. The author emphasizes the multifaceted benefits, including elevating academic networking, optimizing knowledge management, and supporting the mental well-being of remote learners. The establishment of clear shared objectives, dynamic leadership, and a conducive environment for collaborative innovation are identified as key prerequisites for building successful virtual communities of practice. As remote doctoral education becomes more prevalent, virtual communities of practice not only facilitate academic engagement but also foster mutual support and advocacy among doctoral students. The researcher, as a final year PhD student employed autoethnography as a research method to offer an intimate and reflective exploration of her personal experiences within virtual communities of practice. This unique insider perspective adds depth to the discussion on elevating academic networking, optimizing knowledge management, and supporting the mental well-being of remote learners. Furthermore, her ongoing doctoral research focuses on the socialization process and the development of a sense of belonging among doctoral students. Motivated by her research topics, she commenced her doctoral studies during the epidemic and cultivated the practice of consistently maintaining a researcher’s reflection diary. This perspective article examines her diary, elucidating her experiences, opinions, and feelings. The researcher utilized a thematic approach to thoroughly analyze the author’s research diaries covering the period from December 2020 to August 2023. The article concludes by calling for further research into the professional identity development of doctoral students within virtual learning communities, exploring potential challenges and effective coping mechanisms to achieve inclusive practices in the complex and diverse digital era of academia.

Gaining English and other foreign languages through immersion: lessons from Indonesian polyglots

ABSTRACT Although there has been much research on second language learning, minimal literature reports how language learners learn multiple foreign languages through immersion. Further, a majority of these previous studies have been conducted using exclusively quantitative methods. In response to these empirical and methodological gaps, the current study adopts a qualitative case study to investigate how polyglots immerse themselves in particular settings during their path of learning multiple foreign languages. I collected data through demographic questionnaires and semi-structured interviews obtained from Indonesian polyglots. Findings indicated that polyglots learn multiple foreign languages through immersion contexts by using the target language in content-based language learning, mingling abroad in the target language, participating in a community of practice, and engaging the target language in social networks. The findings of this study also suggest that other language learners can adapt to the ways polyglots learn foreign languages through immersion.

From teacher to teacher researcher: Identity change in the power dynamics of an EAP reform community

Educational reforms often entail and afford teachers’ identity change. Adopting a community of practice (CoP) framework to examine reform-inflicted teacher identity change and drawing on data from eight rounds of semi-structured interviews over three and a half years, our longitudinal case study traced how three English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teachers negotiate their teacher researcher identity during an educational reform in China. We find that a multi-layered, multi-centered, and multi-functional reform CoP of complex power dynamics can facilitate EAP teachers’ negotiation of teacher-to-teacher researcher identity change during a curriculum reform, which can further enrich the long-term sustainable development of a community. Highlighting the significant role of CoPs in educational reforms and teacher development, we advocate a CoP of dynamic power relations and multiple power positions and call for frontline teachers’ engagement with teaching-based research to potentially strengthen the research-practice nexus. This study bears implications for educational reform participants and teacher educators.

Mentoring as a complex adaptive system – a systematic scoping review of prevailing mentoring theories in medical education

BackgroundEffective mentorship is an important component of medical education with benefits to all stakeholders. In recent years, conceptualization of mentorship has gone beyond the traditional dyadic experienced mentor-novice mentee relationship to include group and peer mentoring. Existing theories of mentorship do not recognize mentoring’s personalized, evolving, goal-driven, and context-specific nature. Evidencing the limitations of traditional cause-and-effect concepts, the purpose of this review was to systematically search the literature to determine if mentoring can be viewed as a complex adaptive system (CAS).MethodsA systematic scoping review using Krishna’s Systematic Evidence-Based Approach was employed to study medical student and resident accounts of mentoring and CAS in general internal medicine and related subspecialties in articles published between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2023 in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, ERIC, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases. The included articles underwent thematic and content analysis, with the themes identified and combined to create domains, which framed the discussion.ResultsOf 5,704 abstracts reviewed, 134 full-text articles were evaluated, and 216 articles were included. The domains described how mentoring relationships and mentoring approaches embody characteristics of CAS and that mentorship often behaves as a community of practice (CoP). Mentoring’s CAS-like features are displayed through CoPs, with distinct boundaries, a spiral mentoring trajectory, and longitudinal mentoring support and assessment processes.ConclusionRecognizing mentorship as a CAS demands the rethinking of the design, support, assessment, and oversight of mentorship and the role of mentors. Further study is required to better assess the mentoring process and to provide optimal training and support to mentors.

Analyzing the CTOSH listserv to understand the needs, barriers, resources, and strategies used by homeless service providers in central Texas

ABSTRACT Introduction: People experiencing homelessness (PEH) have complex needs but access barriers and unclear communication channels contribute to many needs being unmet. The purpose of the current study was to examine use of a free e-mail listserv by homeless service providers in order to better understand informal systems for communicating needs and identifying available resources. The following specific aims were assessed: (1) examine and classify reasons why homeless service providers use the listserv, (2) describe the most common needs expressed, (3) assess the high priority barriers to health and wellness, and (4) identify strategies that homeless service providers use to overcome barriers. Methods: Qualitative descriptive methods were used to analyze n = 5630 emails sent over a 4-year period from 2/1/2017 to 2/28/2021. Results: The CTOSH listserv is a valuable tool that enables sharing institutional knowledge and collective experience thereby facilitating interorganizational collaboration. Findings reveal several strategies that listserv users employed to overcome service barriers and resource scarcity, and also indicate that informal communication channels are critical during times of crisis. Conclusions: Implications include future research to develop agile tools such as the CTOSH listserv and the creation of a community of practice to better support the complex work of homeless service providers.

Hurdles and Straightaways: Building a Cross-School Community of Practice

ABSTRACT Research shows that building teacher expertise can be enhanced through collaboration among colleagues, potentially through communities of practice (CoP) and professional learning communities. However, much of this research primarily investigates student and teacher outcomes. Therefore, our collaborative case study explored the critical aspects of the process behind forming a multimembership CoP consisting of high school teachers from two different schools: one school in the Southeast and one school in the Southwest U.S. We wanted to understand their successes and challenges as they navigated the beginning stages of their work together. As noted in current research, this process was complicated; however, teachers noted success and challenges regarding collaboration, time, and communication. Notably, ample time was required to develop relationships and trust before participants could openly share their thinking and demonstrate a willingness to shift their perspectives about instructional planning. While more research is needed, our findings share initial teacher-reported information about moving past the potential power imbalance between CoP teams and navigating the ebbs and flows of the early stages of partnerships.

Knowledge sharing in virtual communities of practice of family caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s

IntroductionKnowledge sharing can only happen in the context of a trusting and supportive environment, such as evolves in communities of practice and their virtual equivalent, virtual communities of practice. The main objective of this study was to understand knowledge sharing between participants in a virtual community of practice of caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s.MethodsThe authors designed their own mobile application, and two virtual communities of practice were created independently and differentiated by how they were moderated: one by an expert caregiver and the other by three health professionals. 38 caregivers and four moderators were involved in the study, which ran between July 2017 and April 2018. A total of 1925 messages were exchanged within the two communities and used as data in the study. Message data was analysed using LINKS (Leveraging Internet Networks for knowledge sharing).ResultsParticipants were more motivated to acquire knowledge related to caring for the person with Alzheimer’s rather than caring for themselves. The purpose of the messages was to inform others about the sender and not to seek answers. It seems that the interaction was more to socialise and to feel heard, than to gain information. Face to face meetings appear to have accelerated community development. On nearly every parameter, behaviour was significantly different in the two communities, reflecting the importance of the character of the moderator. Caring for oneself was a much stronger theme in the community that included health professionals. Experiential knowledge sharing was particularly strong in the group led by a caregiver.DiscussionCaregivers adapted the virtual community of practice to their own needs and mainly shared social knowledge. This focus on social support, which seems to be more valued by the caregivers than information about the disease, was not an expected pattern. Virtual communities of practice where peers count on each other, function more as a support group, whereas those moderated by health professionals function more as a place to go to acquire information. The level of interactivity points to such communities being important for knowledge sharing not mere knowledge transfer.

Making the Student Experience Everybody’s Business: Cultivating Collaboration in the Exosphere

It has long been recognised that a key element in improving student transition, retention and success in higher education is cross-institutional consistency and unity of action among disparate academic, policy and support units. However, transferring this principle into practice often requires overcoming departmental silos, negotiating shared understandings of key concepts, and establishing patterns of cross-institutional collaboration in spaces where this may have been lacking. This study examines the effect of a program of supported communities of practice among teaching academics that sought to improve the culture of learning and teaching in a large science, health and engineering faculty in an Australian university. We found indications that these communities of practice promoted collaboration by functioning as loci of cross-institutional consultation and coordination, providing the basis for an enhanced student experience. We interpret this finding through the lens of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of development, and propose an approach based on academic communities of practice as a way of building cross-institutional unity of action and making the student experience everybody’s business.

It's like Jenga: A collaborative autoethnography study into facilitators' experiences of a person‐centred community of practice, focused on critical thinking skills for counselling and psychotherapy students

It's like Jenga: A collaborative autoethnography study into facilitators' experiences of a person‐centred community of practice, focused on critical thinking skills for counselling and psychotherapy students

Best practices for hepatitis C linkage to care in pregnant and postpartum women: perspectives from the Treatment In Pregnancy for Hepatitis C Community of Practice

There is an increasing burden of hepatitis C virus among persons of reproductive age, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, in many regions worldwide. Routine health services during pregnancy present a critical window of opportunity to diagnose and link women with hepatitis C virus infection for care and treatment to decrease hepatitis C virus-related morbidity and early mortality. Effective treatment of hepatitis C virus infection in women diagnosed during pregnancy also prevents hepatitis C virus-related adverse events in pregnancy and hepatitis C virus vertical transmission in future pregnancies. However, linkage to care and treatment for women diagnosed in pregnancy remains insufficient. Currently, there are no best practice recommendations from professional societies to ensure appropriate peripartum linkage to hepatitis C virus care and treatment. We convened a virtual Community of Practice to understand key challenges to the hepatitis C virus care cascade for women diagnosed with hepatitis C virus in pregnancy, highlight published models of integrated hepatitis C virus services for pregnant and postpartum women, and preview upcoming research and programmatic initiatives to improve linkage to hepatitis C virus care for this population. Four-hundred seventy-three participants from 43 countries participated in the Community of Practice, including a diverse range of practitioners from public health, primary care, and clinical specialties. The Community of Practice included panel sessions with representatives from major professional societies in obstetrics/gynecology, maternal fetal medicine, addiction medicine, hepatology, and infectious diseases. From this Community of Practice, we provide a series of best practices to improve linkage to hepatitis C virus treatment for pregnant and postpartum women, including specific interventions to enhance colocation of services, treatment by nonspecialist providers, active engagement and patient navigation, and decreasing time to hepatitis C virus treatment initiation. The Community of Practice aims to further support antenatal providers in improving linkage to care by producing and disseminating detailed operational guidance and recommendations and supporting operational research on models for linkage and treatment. Additionally, the Community of Practice may be leveraged to build training materials and toolkits for antenatal providers, convene experts to formalize operational recommendations, and conduct surveys to understand needs of antenatal providers. Such actions are required to ensure equitable access to hepatitis C virus treatment for women diagnosed with hepatitis C virus in pregnancy and urgently needed to achieve the ambitious targets for hepatitis C virus elimination by2030.