7101

Today

• Communities of Practice
• 2 Readings for Assignment 2
• Continuing Professional Development Plans
• Last 2-3 sessions ??

Communities of Practice

What is a community of practice?

• Communities of practice are groups of people who share a passion or a concern for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly

People who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavor: a tribe learning to survive, a band of artists seeking new forms of expression, a group of engineers working on similar problems, a gathering of first time managers helping each other cope

The term originally comes from social learning theory (Lave & Wenger) and is applied across business, govt, organisational design & education.

Name a community of practice

• ? (what have you been involved with)
• ESOL/TESOL COPs

Three Important Characteristics

• The domain (what we are about)
• The community (interact & learn together - not necessarily practice together)
• The practice (practitioners who share practice - what is the practice we need to get better at)

Activities occurring in COP

• problem solving
• sharing information, experiences & resources
• strategising

COP Activity

• Read the cards
• Discuss
• Decide together if the statement is TRUE or FALSE

2 Readings

Herrington & Oliver (2002) Designing for reflection in online courses

Carroll,M (2009) From Mindless to mindful practice

OR a choice of your own (must relate to a professional learning model)

Assessment Criteria

• Readings discussed in depth
• Professional learning model identified
• Key points are clearly linked to own teaching practice
• Discussion demonstrates critical thinking and outlines next steps

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