Instructional Design Toolbox
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COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

Overview
Etienne Wenger summarizes Communities of Practice (CoP) as “group of people who share a concern a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.

Origins & Major Contributors 
The term CoP was first used in 1991 by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger who discussed the notion of legitimate peripheral participation. In 1998, the theorist Etienne Wenger extended the concept and applied it to other domains, such as organizations. In 2000, Wenger developed a simple formula to explain a CoP: Competence + Experience + Engagement = a Community of Practice.

Characteristics
According to Wenger, CoPs should have the following three crucial elements:
  • Domain
The shared interest that provides the incentive and passion for the group to come together. Because CoPs are autonomous, the scope of the domain is agreed upon by the CoP members, thus ensuring that the group focuses on what is important to the community.
  • Community
The group of people who come together with a common interest, who share their perspectives and knowledge with one another. The community fosters a sense of belonging and collaboration.
  • Practice
The agreed upon ways of formalizing and implementing the collectively developed knowledge and solutions that further the community’s mission. This includes developing and implementing new technology or best practices, innovation and problem solving, conducting research, and developing standards.

Case Study
In the study by the University of Florida, virtual CoPs were found to be more effective than other programs in maintaining ongoing engagement among graduates and with faculty. It was reported by Colle and Holmes (2002) that the graduated audiologists from the University of Florida benefit from the university's online CoP approach. Faculty co-learners reported: "Not only do students attend the course meeting at their site, they have a corresponding virtual meeting room. The cyberspace meeting place supports both chat and message posting activities" (p.27).

References
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning as a social system. Systems Thinker. Retrieved March 18, 2006 from:http://www.co-i-l.com/coil/knowledge-garden/cop/lss.shtml

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

Colle, J., & Holmes, A. (2002). Communities of practice: The leading edge in professional skills development. Audiology Today, 14, 4, p. 26-27.