My Practice Within The Community

I found Wenger's (2000) discussion on social learning systems, the complexities of these around competence and experience and the various modes of belonging to many systems (engagement, imagination and alignment), to be quite thought-provoking. It accompanied the realisation of the need we have to belong to these social learning systems. It has clarified how belonging formulates our personal identity, and our role in these systems can be directly related to our general confidence not only in these groups but also our place in wider society.
Communities of practice, are one of the structuring elements of social learning systems. In identifying my communities of practice, I am looking closely at the communities within my school context. 

SimpleMind Free Mindmap - School Communities of Practice 

For the purposes of this blog, I will focus on the one that I am the newest member to - The Inquiry Team Community of Practice.  

Three Elements

Joint Enterprise

"A group of people who share a passion for something they know how to do and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better." (Knox, 2009) The Inquiry CoP is bound together by sharing a passion for the Inquiry process. We are a team of six teachers, which comprises a representative from each learning community. We have a common goal of wanting to guide staff in implementing the 2017 school-wide inquiry focus (Creative and Innovative Ideas may Improve the Future) and develop engagement and confidence in this process. Each member brings differing experiences and ideas of the inquiry approach to the group which contributes to the understandings of the CoP as a whole.

Mutual Agreement

The Inquiry Team meet on a fortnightly basis. Wenger (2000) talks about mutual engagement, and CoPs growing out of a "convergent interplay of competence". He says that essentially these communities, through direct participation of members, offer the "opportunity to negotiate competence".  This negotiating is directly reflected in our meetings via the robust discussions we engage in to ensure we have a shared understanding of best practice moving forward.

Shared Repertoire

Inquiry has been the focus of three whole-school staff meetings. The aim is to provide professional development to establish a comprehensive understanding of the school-wide approach. A facilitator has been contracted to deliver the pedagogy. Our CoP liaises with her to ensure our identified priorities are reflected in the concept-based curriculum being developed and to assist with planning templates and exemplars. The resources we are creating and sharing include:

• a school-wide planning document.
• practical teacher resource materials (eg graphic organisers, student reflections) 

Defining my practice

Our community is a gathering of like minds, all invested in improving knowledge and outcomes not only for the wider school community but also wanting to broaden our own understandings of inquiry. Our experience is diverse so dependent on the discussion topic, each member fulfils different roles within the community.  At times I am learning from the knowledge generated in my community. As a new-comer, this will sometimes feel uncomfortable and lead to feelings of "not understanding the enterprise well enough to be able to contribute to it" (Wenger, 2000). Yet at other times I am sharing my own understandings, and creating further knowledge for others. Knox (2009) discusses how CoPs "create, expand and exchange knowledge to develop individual capabilities." 

I feel this is an important aspect to consider, as the increase in knowledge of each individual member will strengthen the groups' connectivity and competency as a whole. 

I have a strong sense of connectedness with this Community of Practice and think this will continue to strengthen over time as our mutuality deepens.

References

Knox, B. (2009, December 4). Cultivating Communities of Practice: Making Them Grow. [video file]. Retrieved from https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMPRZnRFkk

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