communities of practice

(noun)

Approach to professional development by engaging in shared inquiry and learning with people who have a common goal.

Related Terms

Examples of communities of practice in the following topics:

  • Informal Groups

    • A community of practice (CoP) is, according to cognitive anthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, a group of people who share a craft and/or a profession.
    • A project team differs from a community of practice in several significant ways (McDermott, 1999):
    • A community of practice often develops organically, and it may have as many objectives as it does members.
    • A community of practice can exist as long as the members believe that they have something to contribute to or gain from it.
    • Compare a community of practice to other forms of informal groups

  • References

    • Learning communities illustrate principles of good practice.
    • A guide to managing knowledge: Cultivating communities of practice.
    • Executive Workshop on Value Creation with Communities of Practice (2002).
    • Communities of practice and organizational performance.
    • Communities of practice: Learning as a social system.

  • Social Constructivism and Instructional Models

    • Lave and Wenger (1991) assert that a society's practical knowledge is situated in relations among practitioners, their practice, and the social organization and political economy of communities of practice.
    • For this reason, learning should involve such knowledge and practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Gredler, 1997).

  • What Does One Of These Have To Do With The Others?

    • In 1988 when Japanese competition was threatening to put the Chrysler Corporation out of business, no one suspected that the resurgence of the company would depend in part on the creation of an innovative knowledge system based on communities of practice.
    • Communities of practice based in the business community have work completion as their goal (In education circles, the term often used is learning communities, and these communities have learning as their goal).
    • Companies at the forefront of the knowledge economy are succeeding on the basis of communities of practice, or whatever they call them.
    • Communities of practice (or educational learning communities) are not confined by institutional affiliation.
    • (Situation One taken from A Guide to Managing Knowledge: Cultivating Communities of Practice by Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott and William M.

  • What Does One Of These Have To Do With The Other?

    • Each of these three situations involves the interactions of individuals in the context of a learning community or community of practice.
    • Searching for better practices both inside and outside of the community
    • Students and business employees find greater involvement in learning communities or communities of practice.
    • Learning communities or communities of practice like all human institutions also have a downside.
    • Another possible negative aspect of the community of practice or a learning community is the degree of participation from the individual community members.

  • Team Communication

    • Effective communication is often a key to the successful performance of team tasks.
    • A major part of teamwork is communication.
    • Team members share information in a variety of ways, including face-t0-face meetings and other forms of verbal communication, as well as in writing—through e-mail, texts, and memos.
    • Teams develop practices for how members will communicate with each other and with the group as a whole.
    • Norms typically emerge about preferred modes, frequency, and timing of communication.

  • Informal Communications

    • Informal communication is established around the societal affiliation of members of an organization and is spread through the 'grapevine'.
    • The American political scientist and communication theorist Harold Lasswell popularized the concept of the communication channel in his 1948 paper, The Communication of Ideas.
    • Informal communication does not follow authority lines as in the case of formal communication.
    • The use of this type of communication is common among managers as well as subdivision employees.
    • Surprisingly, 75% of all organizations' practices, policies, and procedures are shared through grapevine communication.

  • Informal Communication

    • While formal communication follows practices shaped by hierarchy, technology systems, and official policy, informal communication faces fewer restrictions.
    • The maintenance of personal networks and social relationships through information communication is understood to be a key factor in how people get work done.
    • Informal communication, on the other hand, can occur in any direction and take place between individuals of different status and roles.
    • When it takes the form of a "rumor mill" spreading misinformation, informal communication is harmful and difficult to shut down because its sources cannot be identified by management.
    • Less accountability is expected from informal communications, which can cause people to be careless in their choice of words, indiscreet, or disclosing sensitive information.

  • Best Practices in Speech

  • Learning to Speak

    • Sending effective communication requires skill and an understanding of the audience.
    • The ability to communicate effectively in speech and in writing is one of the most valuable professional skills.
    • Fortunately, these can be learned and honed through practice.
    • The absence of non-verbal cues, such as tone of voice or body language, means that written communication can be more easily misinterpreted and even cause offense.
    • Explain the difficulty of sending communications, with a particular focus on improving and enhancing's one's ability to communicate accurately and concisely