Communities Of Practice In Education Research Articles

Two Years in the Making: Co-Learning Insights from the CSEAR’s Education Community of Practice

ABSTRACT As the imperative to address unsustainability grows, higher education institutions, individual academics, scholarly networks, and professional bodies are calling for sustainability to be (more prominently) embedded in curricula. Over the past 30 years, a strong body of work has been published related to social and environmental accounting education such as textbooks, academic articles, and teaching cases. Yet, the individual and collective endeavours scholars undertake to develop and embed social and environmental accounting education within their respective institutional contexts often remain invisible. Insights may be gleaned thanks to corridor conversations, informal networks, one-off workshops, or panel discussions. To further strengthen capacity to undertake such education, a community of practice approach might help connecting individuals and sharing experiences. This commentary outlines the aims of the CSEAR Education of Community of Practice, the process of establishing and running this community, and offers preliminary reflections following the first two years of its existence. Finally, we consider the next steps in the development of this initiative as means to enhance collective efforts to mobilize social and environmental accounting education to enable a more sustainable society.

Towards a critical co-construction of equity communities of practice in education

Students in Canada have unequal access to safe environments and learning in schools, which impacts their participation in education and their achievement of educational goals. Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) courses for future educators are one way to help them see that the benefits of schooling are not equally available to all students. The authors describe how post-secondary students, who were members of equity-seeking communities and their allies, worked together with instructor guidance to co-create EDI courses. The students were already familiar with the fully online learning community model (FOLC) where student voice and agency feature prominently. As the students co-designed new EDI courses, the critical co-construction of equity model was developed. The model is anchored in human rights and relies on a shared spirit of equity humility. The model recognizes the need for student safety as well as the necessity of potentially uncomfortable conversations. While, in the past, equity teaching tended to focus on distinct aspects of oppression in society as individual topics, the co-construction of equity model relies, instead, on building bridges of equity concepts that cross oppressions. These cross-equity understandings can help future educators see the importance of dismantling oppression and rebuilding safer and more inclusive learning spaces in education.

ASPiH 2022 Conference – All things being equitable: Diversity, inclusion, and simulation

Building upon the use of simulation to improve systems, as considered during last year’s conference The simulation community has been attentive to the issues raised and must not shy away from exploring deeper these underlying issues that may impair adequate care. Sensitive to this need, diversity and inclusion are the themes of this year’s Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare (ASPiH) annual conference. Many abstract submissions show how these topics can be meaningfully incorporated within simulation activities, scenario design, debriefings, and are applicable to various simulation modalities But diversity and inclusion are also highly relevant with regards to our colleagues in the clinical setting as well as within our simulation circle. We need to consider our own educational community of practice by being role models in terms of diversity and inclusivity. We hope to see a very diverse and inclusive groups of delegates attending the 2022 ASPiH Conference in Birmingham, 6-8 Thank you to everyone who responded to the call for abstracts for this year’s ASPiH conference. Thank you also to all the reviewers involved in the selection process as we couldn’t run the conference without you. Now is the time to start thinking about your contribution for next year! 1. Moneypenny M, Weldon SM, Hamilton C, Buttery A, Alinier G. ASPiH 2021 Conference–Moving upstream: using simulation to improve systems. International Journal of Healthcare Simulation. 2022;1(1):1–2. 2. Lee P, Le Saux M, Siegel R, Goyal M, Chen C, Ma Y, Meltzer AC. Racial and ethnic disparities in the management of acute pain in US emergency departments: Meta-analysis and systematic review. The American journal of emergency medicine. 2019;37(9):1770–7. 3. Drabish K, Theeke LA. Health impact of stigma, discrimination, prejudice, and bias experienced by transgender people: a systematic review of quantitative studies. Issues in mental health nursing. 2022;43(2):111–8. 4. Knickle K, Weir K, McNaughton N. Authoring and othering: examining bias in scenario design. International Journal of Healthcare Simulation. 2021;1(1):45–8. 5. Bignell A, Baxey E, Saunders A, Ortega-Vega M. Reducing Restrictive Practices- Using simulation education to tackle mental health stigma. International Journal of Healthcare Simulation. 2022. doi: 10.54531/WCNV4657 (In this current special issue) 6. Welsh H, Clay G, Fisher M, Ortega-Vega M, Virk K, Evans G. The Power and Influence of the Theatre on Immersive 360° Videos. International Journal of Healthcare Simulation. 2022. doi: 10.54531/CRTF6001 (In this current special issue) 7. Wadsworth J, Blair J, Millett R, Damberg K, Esposito M, Van Vuren E, Marshall E. Using a systems-based approach to explore the enablers and barriers to equality, diversity, and inclusion within a simulation-based education service. International Journal of Healthcare Simulation. 2022. doi: 10.54531/INKE9149 (In this current special issue) 8. Paul O, Connor DB. Fostering diversity in healthcare simulation. International Journal of Healthcare Simulation. 2022 Jul 29(null):1–2. 9. Kulkarni S, Tsigerides J, Sule Medha. Walk in Their Shoes - Immersive 360-degree VR experience of Diversity and Inclusivity in the NHS. International Journal of Healthcare Simulation. 2022. doi: 10.54531/LADH8978 (In this current special issue) 10. FitzGerald C, Hurst S. Implicit bias in healthcare professionals: a systematic review. BMC Medical Ethics. 2017;18(1):1–8. 11. Vora S, Dahlen B, Adler M, Kessler DO, Jones VF, Kimble S, Calhoun A. Recommendations and guidelines for the use of simulation to address structural racism and implicit bias. Simulation in Healthcare. 2021;16(4):275–84.

The ethico-aesthetics of teaching: Toward a theory of relational practice in education

This paper discusses what constitutes good teaching, taking as its cue the ‘aesthetic’ concept treated in everyday aesthetics and ‘internal good’ accounted by McIntyre. Teaching is viewed as practice, not merely as a basic action, due to its epistemological nature as everyday work. What everyday aesthetics teaches us is that even in the practice of teaching, sensory experiences such as comfort, familiarity, discomfort, ordinariness, etc. can be viewed as aesthetic experience. This kind of aesthetic experience constitute intuition supporting ’good teaching’ that confirmed by examining Dreyfus et al. This ‘good teaching’ sensitivity is not specific to the individual practitioner, but is considered to be an ‘in-practice value (internal good?)’ (McIntyre) shared by the community of practice. From the aesthetic perspective, this value could be called ‘aesthetic value in practice’. In the teaching community of practice, ‘good teaching’ is both ‘beautiful teaching’ and ‘ethically good’ teaching. Teaching should be seen as a relational practice, and for this reason, The Ethico-Aesthetics of Teaching should be constructed.

Perceptions of Chinese Students Regarding the Role of Anglophone Cultures in Study Motivation and the Learning of English

Language and culture are intricately linked, and it is believed that the success of learning a language is affected by the culture of the language being learned. This study assesses the perceptions of Chinese students studying at an Anglo-Chinese joint college with regards to whether prior or existing knowledge and/or exposure to Anglophone culture(s) had or would improve their learning and if this also had motivated them to study in this joint college. The findings indicate students perceived a direct correlation between understanding Anglophone culture and the learning of English, and that gaining more knowledge about Anglophone cultures would positively affect their learning of English. However, this was not a significant motivation factor to pursue their higher education studies in the college. Most students stated that learning more about Anglophone cultural social interactions and popular culture would improve their English. Our results suggest the formation of a higher education community of practice among more senior students. As students progress through their course, they refer to their experience at university as their main exposure to Anglophone culture. Therefore, further developing students’ exposure to, and knowledge of, Anglophone culture might have a beneficial impact on their English language skills, student experience and prospects.

Empowering teacher leaders: the role of research in changing teacher leaders’ sense of themselves as professionals

ABSTRACT Teacher leaders often have to navigate implicit leadership structures within their schools and often move between communities as part of their roles. This study explores how a Noyce Master Teaching Fellow program fostered a sense of empowerment within teacher leaders. The program provided opportunities for the teacher leaders to become legitimate participants in a research community in addition to supporting the transfer of new meanings, practices, and identities to their teaching community of practice. Drawing upon frameworks of border crossing and communities of practice, we highlight mechanisms by which teacher leaders become empowered and cross the boundaries between research and teaching. We identified four mechanisms of empowerment: (1) identification of shared boundary objects, (2) coordination of professional visions, (3) experimentation with provisional selves, and (4) expansion of professional networks. Additionally, our analysis revealed ways in which validation, legitimacy, and sense of belonging are fostered through engagement in a research community. The findings from this study have both theoretical and practical implications for leadership development and teacher leader scholars.

85. A Virtual Platform for Mentoring Clinician Educators at IDWeek is as Effective as In-Person

Abstract Background Career mentorship for clinician educators (CE) may be difficult to obtain within one’s home institution. During IDWeek 2018 and 2019, a mentoring program pairing junior faculty pursuing careers as CEs with more experienced CEs from other institutions was found to be feasible and effective. During IDWeek 2020, the program was transitioned to a virtual format. We assessed the feasibility and efficacy of this virtual mentoring program. Methods Junior and established CEs were recruited through the IDSA listserv and Medical Education Community of Practice and paired. Mentees completed an individual development plan (IDP) and identified discussion topics for their meeting. Mentors received training on successful mentoring and their mentee’s IDP and CV prior to meeting. Mentor and mentees met via videoconference for one hour during IDWeek 2020, created an action plan, and scheduled a follow-up call. Post-participation surveys were sent to mentees and mentors. Results 30 mentor and mentee pairs were matched; 1 pair did not meet. Compared to IDWeek 2018 (17) and 2019 (20), the 2020 program had more mentees (30). 24 (80%) mentees completed the pre-session survey; 17 (59%) mentees and 20 (69%) mentors completed the post-session survey. When compared to survey results from mentees in 2018-19 who met in-person, mentees in the virtual format reported similarly high rates of satisfaction, planned to make changes at work, had an increase in confidence, and felt it was a valuable experience (Table 1). Mentors also reported high rates of satisfaction with the experience in 2020 and were likely to participate in the program next year (Table 2). Only 1 (6%) mentee reported that the virtual format negatively impacted their experience, although 6 (30%) mentors reported some negative impact of the virtual format (Table 3). Table 1. Post-session mentee survey responses across 2 in-person years (2018, 2019) compared to the virtual mentoring program (2020) Table 2. Post-session mentor survey responses across 2 in-person years (2018, 2019) compared to the virtual mentoring program (2020) Table 3. Experience of mentees and mentors with the 2020 virtual mentoring program Conclusion A virtual mentoring program for CEs was feasible and as effective for mentees as an in-person format. Some mentors felt that the virtual nature did negatively impact the experience although it had minimal negative impact on mentees. Disclosures David J. Riedel, MD, MPH , Gilead (Advisor or Review Panel member)ViiV (Advisor or Review Panel member) Vera Luther, MD, Nothing to disclose Wendy Armstrong, MD, Nothing to disclose Brian Schwartz, MD, Nothing to disclose

A conversation with the Connecting Legal Education Community of Practice

A conversation with the Connecting Legal Education Community of Practice

Rethinking the theory of communities of practice in education: Critical reflection and ethical imagination

One of the leading theories of social learning today is Wenger's theory of Communities of Practice' (CoP-theory). CoP-theory reiterates basic tenets of social learning theory yet it us set apart from other theories of social learning and education not only by centering on identity-formation but by positing four key dualities as inherent structural features of the educational process. While concurring with Wenger's 'dilemmatic' understanding of education and his open-ended, practice-based conception of identity-formation, we argue that Wenger's theory overlooks central elements that are needed in order to fully articulate the ends of the educational process, as he conceives them. We claim that further supplementation is needed to support the kind of educational processes that Wenger advocates. Referring to the work of Jack Mezirow and Charles Taylor, this supplementation concerns both critical (rational) reflection and 'ethical imagination'. Rather than threatening the coherency of the theory, we claim that these supplementations are internally derived from the ends of CoP-theory and are necessary for its very possibility. To remain in line with Wenger's dilemmatic structure of education, these supplementations are presented in the form of a duality: the tension between artistic and ethical imagination.

Active participation of ‘real-time’ patients in undergraduate medical education: a qualitative study

BackgroundThe ‘patient’s voice’ is increasingly emphasised in educational strategies. However, much of this has focused on patients who have been recruited to have a primary educational role. Students also benefit from interaction with ‘real-time’ patients who attend the clinical settings with diverse health problems. The involvement of these patients does not usually extend to having an active part in the learning encounter, where the patient completes a potential triadic relationship with the clinical teacher and student.AimTo identify ways to enhance the active participation of ‘real-time’ patients in medical students’ training.MethodFocus groups were conducted with patients, who were selected purposively from an earlier questionnaire survey. The discussions were audiorecorded, transcribed, and analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsA total of twenty-three participants attended four focus groups in general practices across the North East of England. Patient involvement in medical education may be described using Communities of Practice theory. Patients’ role within the educational Community of Practice is mainly peripheral. Factors affecting their active involvement may operate at the micro level (individual teaching consultation), organisational level, or within the NHS. Issues identified include patients’ awareness about medical education, ambiguity about their role, attitude of the doctor, and processes for consent and feedback.ConclusionThis research has provided insights into patients’ perspectives towards their involvement in medical education. The data may provide evidence for a practical framework to encourage and prepare patients to play an active role in educational processes.

How research is conceived and practised in higher education? Assumptions of Masters/doctoral students and instructors

ABSTRACT As part of a large-scale project, this study explored research conception and research engagement of English as a second/foreign language (L2) researchers as stakeholders of research in higher education communities of practice. To this end, 10 Masters students, 10 doctoral students, and 10 instructors in L2 education of English in different high-ranking state universities in Iran participated in the study. A narrative frame was used to explore the participants’ research conception and research engagement. Semi-structured interview was also conducted to explore the research questions of the study more deeply. The results of data analysis, guided by Grounded approach, revealed a number of themes for the following categories of research conception: contributions, procedure rigidity, research logistics, writing style, published articles, research topic, design, and researcher ability. The findings also generated a number of themes for the following categories of research engagement: instrumental purpose, professional development, course requirement, and research reading and doing processes. The findings are discussed in the light of the available literature and the postgraduate L2 education status in Iran.

Reframing peer mentoring as a route for developing an educational community of practice

ABSTRACTThe benefits of peer mentoring in school settings are well-documented, however, the focus has been on the perceptions of teachers, as opposed to teaching assistants, who report distinct beliefs about their professional development. A mixed methodology was used in which 304 primary school teaching assistants completed questionnaires regarding their views of their professional development while undertaking training on a mathematics intervention for underachieving pupils. Open-ended questions elicited the perceived benefits of the peer mentoring aspect of the training. We utilized Lave and Wenger’s (1991) community of practice framework to inform the qualitative analysis and the principles of grounded theory to arrive at three themes representing the perceived benefits: an opportunity to discuss and share experiences; increased confidence; and a safe space to test teaching plans and resources. Findings were used to reframe the benefits of peer mentoring for teaching assistants undertaking intervention training, which can inform further research and future training programs.

ЦИФРОВІ ТЕХНОЛОГІЇ В НАВЧАННІ СТУДЕНТІВ МЕДИКІВ

There is bountiful evidence of the urgency of introducing modern approaches to higher medical education, especially digitalization and Web 2.0. This review presents the possibilities of using educational techniques such as information technology and the integration of Internet resources in medical education, in particular teaching the pre-clinical subject of “Physiology”. The Taekke and Paulsen (2017) “three-wave theory” of using digital technology and media in medical education which initially contributed to the reduction of students’ attention, was but, once accepted, became a source of motivation and information for creating a local learning environment which is connected to the world educational room. The advantages of using digital training platforms and resources for the qualification of a doctor (master degree) and for future medical career development are described. The experience of the Physiology Department of the Lviv National Medical University in introducing digital technology and media to encourage medical students to study the “Physiology” course (“Student Mediateka” via iCloud) both in Ukrainian and English are presented here. The teaching material is in line with international subject benchmarks in physiology. The experience of the education of the faculty in utilizing social media, the collaboration with other education institutions and utilization of online resources (such as edX, MedEdPORTAL, and the Physiology Education Community of Practice [PECOP]) are discussed.

The Development of a Community of Practice for Educators Working with Newcomer, Spanish-speaking Students

Drawing on 3 years of observational, survey, and interview data, this article highlights the importance of communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991) for school staff members supporting Spanish-speaking, newcomer students in large, comprehensive high schools that often lack the resources to directly support this population. We highlight how a research project focused on the implementation and development of a bilingual math and science curriculum across 4 schools in urban and rural California provided teachers, counselors and school leaders the necessary space and community to know what and how to best serve immigrant, Spanish-dominant students. The article demonstrates how these school staff people leveraged the research project meetings and check-ins with research assistants to share best practices and common challenges across schools and roles when working with newcomer students.

Social Media Driven Management Education

Business schools are under growing pressure to engage in significant programmatic reforms in light of the business community's call for web-savvy, problem-solving graduates. Even AACSB has gotten into the reformation act by recommending the adoption of a comprehensive collaboration learning strategy. To meet these and related challenges, many schools of business are turning to social media to provide learning opportunities at a time and place that is convenient to the student. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the growing possibilities for using social media to enhance learning outcomes and to outline strategies for implementing this revolutionary process throughout the management education community of practice.

Meeting the challenges of the new business universe through virtual collaborative learning

The world of virtual collaborative learning is now becoming the new norm throughout higher education in general, and at schools of business in particular. Under growing pressure from the business universe, business educators are in the process of radically altering the content and delivery of management education. Today, the business community is looking for web-savvy, problem-solving graduates who can immediately contribute upon joining the firm. To meet these and related financial issues, many schools of business are increasingly turning to the web as a vehicle for enhancing student learning opportunities and outcomes. Faculty engagement in this new learning zeitgeist is essential. The purpose of this paper is to highlight how virtual collaborative learning can be used to prepare students to meet the challenges of an uncertain job market and to outline strategies for implementing this revolutionary learning process throughout the management education community of practice.

It ain't just what you do and the way that you do it: why discourse matters in higher education communities of practice

A number of Australian universities have established and sponsored interdisciplinary communities of practice (CoPs) to develop teaching and learning. CoPs are popularly defined as groups of people who share a passion for something and, together, learn how to do it better. Without further specification, this definition is of limited use in understanding intentionally established CoPs in higher education settings. The term CoP is used and applied in a range of ways in higher education and has been accompanied by some scholarly debate about the meaning and relevance of CoPs to academe. The prevalent response to such debate has been to propose typologies. While typology can be useful, epistemology and discourse are also significant in understanding and developing higher education CoPs. In this paper I focus on discourse surrounding CoPs as a conceptual and developmental factor which has been insufficiently considered in the literature on higher education CoPs. I draw on findings from interviews with 33 CoP members and facilitators in three Australian universities. My findings indicate that discourse surrounding CoPs is significant in shaping notions of participatory value. Connecting with the literature, my findings also reveal a ‘big D’ Discourse of collegiality whereby CoPs offer social support and knowledge sharing to build capacity, as well as spaces in which a collegial academic identity can thrive. This coincides in complex and unpredictable ways with a Discourse of managerialism. I conclude that discourse should supplement typology and epistemology in adaptively shaping understandings of contemporary higher education CoPs and their future development.

(un)Doing the Next Generation Science Standards: climate change education actor-networks in Oklahoma

This exploratory research investigated how science education communities of practice in Oklahoma engage in translations of climate change education (CCE). Applications of actor-network theory to educational policymaking facilitate this analysis of the spaces of prescription and spaces of negotiation that characterize CCE in Oklahoma. Informed by key informant interviews with science education stakeholders and a survey of secondary science teachers, the results reported the perceived barriers to science education reform faced by educators in Oklahoma. Revisions of the state Priority Academic Science Standards (PASS) based on the nationally developed Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) emerged as a possible node of action in the advancement of climate science education in public schools. However, entanglements with historical contestations over evolution characterize the negotiation of standards revisions and suggest that climate change concepts may indeed be erased or muted. This research contributes to the emerging body of educational studies and policy research focused on the potential of the NGSS to increase CCE efforts in public schools.

I just do not have time for new ideas: resistance, resonance and micro-mobilisation in a teaching community of practice

There is growing interest in the role Communities of Practice (CoPs) play in continuing professional development of academics. However, very little research has explored how CoP theory is applied in practice in academic settings. Using the concepts of resonance and micro-mobilisation from social movement theory, we explore academic engagement (and disengagement) in the online aspects of a CoP in a large, multi-campus, multi-disciplinary university business school. Our findings demonstrate that while some found this environment useful and minor patterns of micro-mobilisation emerged, there were challenges in developing resonance using online technologies. Difficulties in finding technologies fit for purpose, concerns about confidentiality online and time jealousy were key issues that need further exploration.

Conceptual Model of Successful Educational online Community of Practice for Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The community of practice is an internet application that nourishes knowledge management and innovation. Implementing the community of practice in education can enhance the learning process and make it an enjoyable, exiting and lifelong experience. In this paper, the researchers intend to create a conceptual model for the successful implementation of community of practice in Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through evaluate the literature review about the educational community of practice. Then, a prototype is developed followed by a survey to collect feed-backs about the experiment. Using the Chi-Square statistical method of qualitative analysis associated with the Design Science Methodology of research, the research is fulfilled. The results illustrated the conceptual model of the effective implementation of the community of practice in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, that define the seven factors to be considered which are network density, culture perceptions, distributed production, knowledge complexity and richness, government enforcement, IT specialist role, and senior members role.