Communities of Practice

MY COMMUNITIES AND HOW THEY INFLUENCE MY PRACTICE.

Wenger (2015) states that "communities of practice are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavour."

Within my school wide community, I am part of smaller communities that influence my teaching practice on a daily basis. As I work in a modern learning space, the immediate community that I am a part of each and every day is my teaching team. We work together on everything, from planning to teaching. There is my year level team, the junior school team and then the whole school community. There are communities that look after e-Learning, health and PE and behaviour management. So - there are many different communities within the school gates that influence who I am as a teacher and what my practice looks like. 

My immediate team is made up of three teachers (including myself) who work together daily in all areas of our classroom - from planning, to management, teaching and assessment. We are all experienced teachers, bringing new skills and tools to each others practice - but as it is our first year working together, there is a lot of learning and reflection happening, after each lesson taught or planning meeting. We meet weekly to discuss what the following week will look like in our classroom, discussing what might have worked well and what we could change for the future. Before becoming a part of this community, I was a single cell teacher - meaning the change forced me to change with it, flexibility, honesty and to feel comfortable with other adults observing my every move was part of the transition. 

Wenger said that "communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do better as they interact regularly"(2000). This is our team, we have a joint passion for our children and their individual learning needs, working together to decide how we can best cater for and attempt to meet these. 

There are three main characteristics, as identified by Wenger in 2015 - domain, community and practice. When thinking about these groups I identify with as communities of practice, the three can be applied.

Our commitment and dedication to positive outcomes for our students make us the community we are, giving us a shared domain of interests. We work and learn together through planning and professional development, sharing, listening and observing, linking us as a community, we provide others with resources, we create plans and reflect together. Sharing data and results, looking at what works and how we can improve - leading in better practice within our school walls and beyond for our students. 

The junior team (Year 0 - 3) meets weekly, the whole school community (teachers, support staff) also meets weekly to share and learn, different groups and management teams meet and plan together in face and through email or online tools to learn and shape what our individual roles will look like. It is these interactions that make the communities of practice just that, rather than groups working together for a common goal, we are learning and growing as we work. My teaching practice is influenced by these interactions, I am more reflective and have a bigger bank of resources to help our students grow. 

Resources:

Wenger, E. (2000) Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organisation, 7 (2), 225 - 246

Wenger - Trayner, E., & Wenger, B. (2015) Introduction to communities of practive: A brief overview of the concept and its uses. Retrieved from http://wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/