Week Three: Blog Posting #6 Communities of Practice

Communities of Practice as defined on wikipedia is the process of social learning that occurs and the shared sociocultural practices that emerge and evolve when people who have common goals interact as they strive towards those goals. The reality is that these communities have always existed across many different contexts and included many different purposes, goals and participants. As human beings our natural desire is to be communal and therefore we seek out groups that have mutual ideas and come together to meet goals and work together.

Communities of practice are generally formed by people who collectively engage in common activities with reflection on and articulation of the practices used to be successful. According to E. Wenger (2007) there are 3 elements that are crucial in communities of practice. The domain suggests that the group has an identity defined by a shared interest and membership implies a commitment to the interest. The community suggests that the members engage in shared activities, information and discussions. The members build their relationships to support a culture of learning from each other. The practice is defined by the development of a shared repertoire of resources that create the practice or the way things are done within the group.
The implications for the benefit of communities of practice have begun to seep into the educational system referred to as Professional Learning Communities (PLC). These PLCs have begun to get traction as a way to maximize educators time, knowledge and expertise to enhance the practice of educators. The professional learning community model, like the communities of practice are successful when they articulate the focus and include members that engage in a shared learning environment that overtime becomes deeply embedded in the culture of the school.

The use of web 2.0 tools as a function of these communities has yet to be embraced in a meaningful way that supports schools in working collaboratively and holding each other accountable for the outcomes. This is the next challenge.


Wenger, Etienne (c 2007) 'Communities of practice. A brief introduction'. Communities of practice [http://www.ewenger.com/theory/. Accessed September 18, 2009].

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice. Accessed September 18, 2009.