Investigating value creation in a community of practice with social network analysis in a hybrid online graduate education program

This study reports an analysis of 10?years in the life of the Internet-based Master in Educational Technology program (iMET) at Sacramento State University. iMET is a hybrid educational technology master’s program delivered 20% face to face and 80% online. The program has achieved a high degree of success, with a course completion rate of 93% and a graduation rate of 84%. iMET is based on Lave and Wenger’s seminal community of practice (CoP) model, which is identified by faculty and students as key to the program’s success. This study applied a value creation framework (VCF) created by Wenger, Trayner, and de Laat for assessing value creation in a CoP. The article presents detailed information concerning the framework and how it was applied. It then outlines how a social network analysis led to findings that value was created in the iMET CoP and how the value created led to a sustained CoP currently entering its 13th year.     

Framing pre-service English language teachers’ identity formation within the theory of alignment as mode of belonging in community of practice

This study investigates the identity formation of pre-service English language teachers in a multilingual setting, through examining their narratives and interviews under the lens of Wenger’s (1998) alignment as a mode of belonging in a community of practice (CoP). It was found that the alignment manifested by the participants lacks negotiability and shared ownership of meaning, which inhibits them from moving towards full participation in the CoP. What eventually results in this form of alignment is a language teacher identity rife with notions and practices anchored on monolingualism, native-speaker norms, and subtractive multilingualism.     

实践共同体理论对学校教育变革的启示

在莱芙和温格提出了"实践共同体"理论之后,不少教育工作者尝试将这一理论引入教育领域,在课堂上构建实践共同体。但基于日常社会生活的学习与学校教育不可避免地存在着差异,在学校教育中生硬地套用实践共同体理论有损教学的有效性。因此,有必要先厘清概念,分析实践共同体理论的长处与不足,阐明实践共同体与学校教育的异同,以真正深入探讨如何将学校和社会联结起来,一起构建真正意义上的实践共同体,使学生早日实现相关共同体的合法边缘参与,获得广泛的学习经验,向着成为共同体中的核心成员的方向成长。     

Creating and maintaining online communities of practice in Malaysian Smart Schools: challenging realities

Wenger describes an educational community of practice (CoP) as a group of professionals who share a passionate concern for practice‐based issues and who voluntarily choose to deepen their knowledge, understanding and skills through collaborative and critical dialogue. Peer collaboration of this kind, which involves social interaction, reflection and a critical engagement with practice issues, has been widely suggested to be effective for teacher learning and professional development. The online continuing professional development for teachers (e‐CPDelT) Vision 2020 model outlined here aims to bring about innovation in practice through an online or virtual CoP (VCoP). Twenty Malaysian teachers in five Smart Schools were invited to take part in a Higher Education (HE) project, funded by one of the main universities in Malaysia. By participating collaboratively in this CoP, it was anticipated that the teachers would form an active online CoP that would lead in turn to innovation in teaching and learning practices in the schools. An action research approach was used in tracing the developmental process of the three subject‐based CoPs (namely, Mathematics, Science and English) and identifying challenges faced by the higher education institution (HEI) project team in fostering the active participation and commitment of the teachers. Preliminary data generated from mentor forum discussion, focus groups and blogs suggested that low levels of participation in VCoP activities were a result of low levels of trust and social affiliation, performance anxiety, time pressure and failure to see the relevance of online interaction as directly related to their individual needs as practitioners. Approaches to remediating these challenges and promoting more authentic teacher engagement are outlined.     

Collaborative creativity in instrumental group music learning as a site for enhancing pupil wellbeing

This study explores the nature of the elements that co-influence collaborative creativity in instrumental group music learning and the intrinsic potential for enhancing pupil wellbeing as evidenced in a particular secondary-school (extra-curricular) group instrumental programme Percussion 1. Wenger’s Community of Practice (CoP) and Engestrom’s Activity Theory (AT) provide an in-depth analytical framework for the analysis of 14 rehearsals, 13 semi-structured interviews and 41 teachers’ and pupils’ reflective diary entries. Findings support the intrinsic potential for enhancing pupil wellbeing by empowering them through supportive statements and decision-making, and engaging them through the embodiment of music learning.     

Good CoPs and bad CoPs: facilitating reform in first-year assessment via a Community of Practice

The idea and implementation of learning communities are gaining favour in higher education institutions. In particular, there are a number of successful examples to emerge of the application of the Community of Practice (CoP) framework proposed by Wenger [(1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press] for fostering a learning environment for academics around their teaching practice. In this paper, we describe and reflect on the efficacy of a CoP process that was implemented within our university. The purpose of this CoP was to provide a space for academics to focus on assessment practices for first-year courses and identify opportunities for professional development in this area. For a variety of reasons detailed in the paper, the efficacy of this CoP was limited, and we conclude that in the current higher education environment in Australia, success with CoP approaches to improve learning and teaching outcomes may prove limited.     

A bit of both science and economics: a non-traditional STEM identity narrative

Black males, as one non-dominant population, remain underrepresented and less successful in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Researchers focused on non-dominant populations are advised against generalizations and to examine cultural intersections (i.e. race, ethnicity, gender, and more) and also to explore cases of success, in addition to cases of under-achievement and underrepresentation. This study has focused on one African American male, Randy, who expressed high-achieving STEM career goals in computer science and engineering. Furthermore, recognizing that culture and identity development underlie STEM engagement and persistence, this long-term case study focused on how Randy developed a STEM identity during the course of the study and the implications of that process for his STEM career exploration. Étienne Wenger’s (1999) communities-of-practice (CoP) was employed as a theoretical framework and, in doing so, (1) the informal STEM program in which Randy participated was characterized as a STEM-for-social-justice CoP and (2) Randy participated in ways that consistently utilized an “economics” lens from beyond the boundaries of the CoP. In doing so, Randy functioned as a broker within the CoP and developed a non-traditional STEM identity-in-practice which integrated STEM, “economics”, and community engagement. Randy’s STEM identity-in-practice is discussed in terms of the contextual factors that support scientific identity development (Hazari et al. in J Res Sci Teach 47:978–1003, 2010), the importance of recognizing and supporting the development of holistic and non-traditional STEM identities, especially for diverse populations in STEM, and the implications of this new understanding of Randy’s STEM identity for his long-term STEM career exploration.     

Assessing the impact of a program designed to develop sustainability leadership amongst staff members in higher education institutes: a case study from a community of practice perspective

This study focuses on the impact of a sustainability leadership development program (SLDP) designed to develop staff members as leaders who encourage sustainability practices within institutions of higher education (IHE). Using the framework of community of practice (CoP), we explored the program’s contribution by interviewing 16 staff members who had attended the program. At the individual level, we found that the SLDP provided participants with opportunities to learn from and with other members of the CoP and to engage them in debate about the various meanings of ‘sustainability’, increasing their environmental awareness and their environmental involvement within the IHE’s community. At the institutional level, the SLDP disseminated the college’s socio-environmental mission statement, increased its administration’s commitment and involvement, served as a platform for addressing local socio-environmental problems and initiated an Education-for-Sustainability (EfS) activists’ network. However, the participants indicated that the SLDP had limited impact on the environmentalism of other staff members and that the on-going mentoring and support from the college administration was insufficient. This study highlights the importance of such EfS professional programs to the development of both staff members and entire institutions as sustainability leaders. It also suggests ways to increase staff involvement in institutional EfS discourse.     

Adult learners and professional development: peer‐to‐peer learning in a networked community

This paper analyses how adult learners on a professional development course learn and develop through online dialogue. The research uses Wenger’s community of practice framework, and assesses whether the concept of ‘legitimate peripheral participation’ is useful in relation to this specific case study in which the students are practitioners and parents of individuals with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). The study focuses on peer‐to‐peer learning and analyses a sample of asynchronous online discussions from three separate online tutorial groups. The first part of the study combines quantitative analysis of distribution patterns, with qualitative discourse analysis that measures central concepts associated with communities of practice. The second part of the study addresses whether the concept of ‘legitimate peripheral participation’ is useful in this context. The contribution of one key individual in each group is analysed in order to provide a narrative about how that person communicates with the others, shares values and repertoires with them and gradually becomes a central member of the community. The data supports the notion that these forms of interaction and approaches to learning can favour the construction of knowledge and help to develop reflective skills and a sense of ‘togetherness’ in the group through sharing stories with one another, developing identity through the discussions and through this enabling the development of community. The findings indicate that the learners are provided with opportunities to consider the strengths and weaknesses of ideas from multiple perspectives and that key students play a role in enabling other students to move from a position of legitimate peripheral participation to becoming full members of the community.     

The Physical Educator as Evaluator

There has been a limited interest in examining physical education teacher educators’ role and practices in embedding professional responsibility and commitment to continued professional learning for both teacher educators and pre-service teachers in a physical education teacher education (PETE) program (MacPhail, 2011) Directed by a landscape of community of practice (CoP) as professional development (Parker, Patton &; Tannehill, 2012), this article shares four case studies that demonstrate the extent to which PETE learning can be mapped onto the landscape. In essence, a CoP is sustained over time, involves shared member goals, involves frequent discourse, is active and social, and is characterized by problems being solved by the members. The ideas in this article in tandem with Wenger's (1998) CoP process can encourage teacher educators to consider whether opportunities undertaken in a PETE program, and with colleagues external to the PETE program, encourage an authentic CoP.     

Identity formation of teacher–mentors: An analysis of contrasting experiences using a Wengerian matrix framework

In order to understand the process of identity formation in a community of practice, Wenger (2002) proposes a matrix framework whereby three qualities (connectedness, expansiveness and effectiveness) are matched against three modes of belonging (engagement, imagination and alignment). In this paper we use this framework to analyse the experiences of two teacher–mentors and interpret how their identities are formed during the process of mentoring student–teachers. Factors that contribute significantly to the development of their identity include the school culture, the ‘personalities’ of the other community members, and the influence of other relevant communities of practice.     

‘Education makes you have more say in the way your life goes’: Indian women and arranged marriages in the United Kingdom

This paper explores Indian women’s views on arranged marriages in the United Kingdom. It is based on research carried out with 32 Indian women studying at a university in the South East of England, UK. The article draws on Wenger’s social theory of learning to explore how Indian women’s participation in communities of practice in higher education contributes to their participation in arranged marriages. The concept of ‘social capital’ is used to discuss how women are able to negotiate their participation in arranged marriages, It is used to examine the knowledge and identity resources that women develop through their participation in higher education, which provides them with the means from which to develop the necessary ‘bridging ties’ leading to their active participation in the wider South Asian community.     

“The Monkey King Meets the Spiderman”: Narrative Inquiry into Chinese Students’ Academic Socialization Experiences in a U.S. University

This narrative study explores four Chinese students’ academic socialization experiences in one research-intensive public university in the US. By drawing upon Wenger’s (1998) communities of practice and Gee’s (2000) theorizing on identity as the synthesized theoretical framework, this research uncovers four Chinese students’ academic socialization stories nestled in the shifting cross-cultural landscape. Meanwhile, this study reveals that the Chinese students’ academic socialization intersects a matrix of factors, which can be categorized into “personal landscape” and “professional landscape.” Last, this narrative case study concluded that the Chinese students’ academic socialization involves the continuous negotiations of their multiple identities embedded in the cross-cultural contexts.     

The perceptions of acceptance by new academics to a Higher Education Institution

The aim of this study was to gain a perspective of new members of staff who attempt to gain entry into an existing community of practice, to ascertain how this process occurs, and to explore new ways of inducting teams into established communities of practice. This research is situated, while demonstrating uniqueness, against a critique of Lave and Wenger’s Community of Practice theory, to analyse its applicability to the current Higher Education world. A qualitative, phenomenological study was conducted in a UK Higher Education Institution Faculty. Semi-structured interviews with eight members of academic staff, consisting of nursing and non-nursing lecturers who were all within two years of joining the institution, provided the data for this research. Data were examined using Miles and Huberman’s qualitative data-analysis model.This research argues that the community of practice notion does not fully correlate in this context with participant experiences. Results demonstrated that participants were exposed to varying levels of incivility, with differing levels of acceptance to the community of practice. There was a dissonance between participants attempting to enter the nursing and non-nursing community of practice. Conclusions made demonstrate how gaining entry to the nursing community of practice posed hostility compared with the non-nursing community of practice. The difficulties may have implications for all levels of the academic institution, although this would need to be tested against a larger sample for general applicability.     

Reframing Practice: Teacher Learning Through Interactions in a Collaborative Group

Using a case study design and ethnographic methods, this research investigated the interactions of a group of high school mathematics teachers who collaborated daily on issues related to curricular and pedagogical reforms. The members of the collaboration team implemented these reforms with the goal of supporting all students’ learning of 1st-year college preparatory mathematics. This study used conceptual tools from frame analysis (E. Goffman, 1974) alongside an analysis of teacher participation patterns to understand teacher learning within a community of practice (E. Wenger, 1998). This analysis documented development within the teacher community through teachers increasing orientation to classroom-based interventions for struggling students alongside more collegial participation patterns, contributing an empirical example of teacher learning within a community of practice.     

Adoption of open educational resources (OER) textbook for an introductory information systems course

Open educational resources (OER) can make educational resources widely available to all students and educators for free; however, OER are still untried in many academic programmes in higher education. This article reports a case of adoption of an open access textbook for an introductory information systems course and discusses the process and suggestions of adoption of an OER textbook based upon the authors’ own experience. The study indicates that the process of adoption of an open access textbook demands more intellectual work on the instructors’ side in comparison with the adoption of a new commercial textbook. The study suggests that discipline-based communities of practice (CoP) can ease the workload problem in the process of adopting OER textbooks. The findings are important in encouraging the OER community to shift from project-based OER textbook development to discipline-based CoP for effective OER textbook adoption.     

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

ABSTRACT

The 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.     

‘Sitting alone in the staffroom contemplating my future’: communities of practice,legitimate peripheral participation and student teachers’ experiences of problematic school placements as guests

A recent Review of Teacher Education in Scotland reports that 23% of respondents (n = 2381) encountered variable or very poor school placement experiences. This paper uses Lave and Wenger’s ideas concerning Communities of Practice (1998) and Legitimate Peripheral Participation (1991) as analytical tools with which to understand the nature and impact of student teachers’ problematic experiences of school placement. A total of 14 Professional Graduate Diploma in Education students on a one-year Secondary English course were followed through the practice elements of their Initial Teacher Education programme and data were constructed from learning logs and semi-structured interviews. Analysis provided a nuanced account of the student teachers’ difficulties in attaining member status as Legitimate Peripheral Participants in communities of practising teachers, with the concepts ‘joint enterprise’, ‘mutual engagement’ and ‘shared repertoire’ being found to be useful in explaining these difficulties. Limitations in the theoretical framework were also discovered and these are highlighted and developed in the paper.     

Fostering a community of practice through a professional development program to improve elementary teachers' views of nature of science and teaching practice

This study explored the development of a community of learners through a professional development program to improve teachers' views of nature of science (NOS) and teaching practice. The Views of Nature of Science questionnaire and interviews were used to assess teachers' conceptions of NOS three times over the course of the study. Notes and videotapes taken during workshops and classroom observations were used to track influence of the community of learners on classroom practice. The community of practice (CoP) was fostered through an intensive summer workshop, monthly school site workshops, and classroom support to aid teachers in incorporating new techniques and reflecting upon their learning and practice. We found that teachers became aware of their changes in views about NOS once they struggled with the concepts in their own teaching and discussed their struggles within the professional development community. The CoP on its own was not sufficient to change teacher's practice or knowledge, but it created a well‐supported environment that facilitated teacher change when paired with NOS modeling and explicit reflection. Cases of three teachers are used to illustrate changes in views and teaching practice common to the teachers in this study. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 1090–1113, 2009