Transcript Communities of Learning

Communities of Learning
Jann Rustin
Noanie Sullivan
Linzee LiaBraaten
Presentation Outline
 Community
 Online Communities
 Learning Communities
 Theoretical Foundations
 Types of Learning Communities & Examples
 CoP Structural Model
 Dimensions
 Negotiation of Meaning
 5 Stages of Community Development
 Common & Recommended Features
 Four Challenges of Building CoPs
 Conclusion
Community
Communities can refer to people who share common:
 Interests
 Personal
 Professional
 Social
 economic
 political
 Policies
 History
 Ownership & Participation
 Location
“In their simplest sense,
communities are
collections of
individuals who are
bound together for
some reason, and
these reasons define
the boundaries of the
communities.”
-Richard A. Schwier
Online Community Characteristics
purpose
Build flexible, extensible gathering places
Create meaningful and evolving member profiles
Design for a range of roles
Develop a strong leadership program
Encourage appropriate etiquette
Promote cyclic events
Integrate the rituals of community life
Facilitate member run subgroups
Define and articulate the
Amy Jo Kim
Learning Communities
 Three types of learning
communities:
Knowledge-based
Task-based
Practice-based
Task-based
Communities
Practice-based
Communities
Knowledge-based
Communities
Learning Communities
Social Learning Theory
A Foundation for Learning Communities
Situated Cognition:
Learning Communities, terrestrial or online, rest on the idea that
cognition is situated, context-dependent, and distributed, going beyond
the boundaries of a person to include environment, artifacts, social
interactions, and culture.
Community
practice
learning as
Identity
practice
learning as
belonging
becoming
Meaning
practice
learning
as
Practice
practice
learning as
doing
Learning
Fig. 1 Components of a social theory of learning
-Etienne Wenger
experiencing
Task-based Learning Communities
Community Dimensions
Task-based Learning Communities:
Membership Structures
Membership is well-defined and members know one another
Group Identity is temporary
Membership may or may not be voluntary
Task Structures
Well specified topic, task, or problem with learning goals
Participation is often defined with specific roles and responsibilities
Participation Structures
Use of a timeline often with phases and a specified deadline;
Specific Learning Community ends with the production of the product
which reflects the learning
Cultural Mechanisms
Practices and procedures passed from one community to the next, but
the connections are discontinuous with the task structure or leadership
providing the linking cultural mechanisms.
Passport to Knowledge
A task-based learning community
Membership Structure
Email address
Grade Level
Subject(s) taught
Main interest in using Passport to the
Rainforest
Number of students
Planning to team teach?
Demographics questions
We invite you to "hang" your student work on our
"virtual bulletin board" so that all the students and
teachers in our virtual classroom can view the work
being done by your great pupils.
Passport to Knowledge
A task-based learning community
Task Structure
The Live From The Rainforest
Teacher’s Guide contains more than
two dozen lesson plans developed by
teachers for teachers.
Explore/Procedure
Vocabulary
Materials
Engage
Explore
Passport to Knowledge
A task-based learning community
Participation Structure
Mentors &
Advocates
PTK
Timeline for multiple media
learning adventures is
flexible.
PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE offers an ongoing series of LIVE
FROM... specials appearing on participating public television
stations and NASA-TV.
Passport to Knowledge
A task-based learning community
Cultural Mechanisms
Evaluation of NSF IMD Grant
ASSESSMENT INFORMATION
Changes in Students' Attitudes towards Science and Scientific Careers
Teachers were asked to consider the impact on students of a specific PtK module
Report
Knowledge-based Learning Communities
Community Dimensions
Knowledge-Based Communities
Membership Structures
Members may or may not know each other personally;
Base membership on credentials as knowledge builders;
Share common interest in development of the community;
Knowledge Products
Evolve the knowledge base through current use and for future
users;
Participate in peer review of the knowledge products
Participation Structures
Generally have a long term commitment to construct and
reconstruct knowledge base;
Ties to other knowledge building communities who work in
related areas
Cultural Mechanism
Generates a language for characterizing group work
Follows and evolves a set of procedures for evidence and
interpretation
Knowledge Loom
A knowledge-based learning community
•Membership Structures
•Knowledge Products
•Participation Structures
•Cultural Mechanisms
Practice-based Learning Communities
Community Dimensions
Practice-Based Learning Community
Membership Structures
Joined and were acknowledged by the community as members;
Have a community identity that is defined in terms of their evolving
expertise, and by the division of labor in the practice of the community;
Share access to experts and expertise through participation structures,
e.g., mentoring
Outcomes of Work
Have a common interest in carrying out the best possible practice;
Evolve the practice of the community through reliance on development
of discourse, tools and artifacts of work, action routines, anecdotes
about practice, and other cultural mechanisms
Participation Structures
Represent a generation or iteration of practice in a multi-generational
community;
Are primarily engaged in production or practical work, in the course of
which learning opportunities arise. The CoP is committed to jointly
develop better practices in the field (George Por)
Cultural Mechanisms
Interact with adjacent Practice Communities, e.g., across companies in
an industry, or across departments in a company.
Tapped In
A practice-based learning community
•Membership Structures
•Outcomes of Work
•Participation Structures
•Cultural Mechanisms
Education with New Technologies
A practice-based learning community
•Membership Structures
•Outcomes of Work
•Participation Structures
•Cultural Mechanisms
PBS TeacherLine
A practice-based community
•Membership Structures
•Outcomes of Work
•Participation Structures
•Cultural Mechanisms
PBS TeacherLine
A practice-based community
Cultural Mechanisms in a Practice-based
Community
Interact with adjacent Practice Communities, e.g.,
across an industry, or across departments.
PBS TeacherLine
A practice-based community
Membership
Structures in
a Practicebased
Community
Joined and were acknowledged by the
community as members;
Have a community identity that is defined
in terms of their evolving expertise, and by
the division of labor in the practice of the
community;
Share access to experts and expertise
through participation structures, e.g.,
mentoring
Discussion
Board Posting
on Textmapping
for enhanced
reading
comprehension
CoP Structural Model
Shared Practice
Domain
•A
of tools, ideas,
ofset
Knowledge
language, stories, documents
•Actions
participation
•Definesand
a set
of issues
•Development
of identified
knowledge:
•Topics of focus
shared
maintained
•Sets
a and
common
ground
Community
Shared Practice
of People
•A set of tools, ideas,
•Fosters interaction/relationships
language, stories, documents
•Members who care about the
•Actions and participation
domain
•Development of knowledge:
•Encourages sharing of ideas &
shared and maintained
learning
Shared
Shared Practice
Practice
•A
•Aset
setof
oftools,
tools,ideas,
ideas,
language,
stories,
language, stories,documents
documents
•Actions
and
participation
•Actions and participation
•Development
•Developmentof
ofknowledge:
knowledge:
shared
sharedand
andmaintained
maintained
Community & Practice
Dimensions of the Relationship
Mutual Engagement
Joint Enterprise
Shared Repertoire
-Engaged diversity
-Doing things together
-Relationships
-Social complexity
-Community maintenance
-Negotiated enterprise
-Mutual accountability
-Interpretations
-Rhythms
-Local response
-Styles
-Artifacts
-Stories
-Tools
-Historical Events
-Discourses
-Concepts
Joint Enterprise
Mutual Engagement
Shared Repertoire
Etienne Wenger
Negotiated Meaning & Shared Histories
Joint Enterprise
Mutual Engagement
Shared Repertoire
Crossing Boundaries
State & National
District
High School
Joint Enterprise
Mutual Engagement
Shared Repertoire
Stages of Community Development
The jagged line represents the level of energy and visibility that the community
typically generates over time.
Level of
Energy
&
Visibility
Stewardship
Coalescing
Maturing
Transformation
Potential
Time
Developmental
Tensions
Discover/
Imagine
Incubator/Deliver
Immediate Value
Focus/Expand
Ownership/
Openness
Let Go/
Live On
(Wenger, McDermott, Snyder, p.69)
Common & Recommended Features
For Communities of Practice
 Common on-line facilities and capabilities include:









Home page
Conversation space
Facility for floating questions
Directory of membership
Shared workspace
Document repository
 Capabilities should ideally be:
Search engine
 Easy to learn
Management tools
 Easily integrated
Spawning capability
 Not too expensive
Four Challenges of Building CoPs
Management
1.
2.
3.
4.
Focus on
important topics.
Find a wellrespected
community
member to
coordinate.
Encourage
participation.
Build on the core
values.
Community
5.
6.
7.
8.
Get key thought
leaders involved.
Build relationships
within.
Develop an active
passionate core
group.
Create forums for
thinking and for
sharing
information
Technical
9.
Easy access to
community
resources.
Personal
10. Create real
dialogue about
cutting edge
issues
Conclusion
Relationship to WWSF Project
Project Vision
Our vision is to enhance the
experience of teachers and
students through the integration of
technology.
Project Mission/Goals
To achieve our vision, we will
conduct research to determine the
best practices of technology in
high school, with special attention
to communities of practice and
after-school programs.