As I think about Wenger’s (2012) definition of Community of Practice (CoP), I am reminded about my two young sons (i.e., 8 and 10) and their girl cousin (i.e., 9 years old). For the past few months in COVID19 restriction, my sons have enjoyed weekends playing an online cooperative game that I could not, and still cannot, begin to understand its allure. My niece demonstrated very little interest in the game until her older cousin (i.e., the 10-year-old) gave her a tutorial in how to optimize her experience. My eight-year-old joined in to show her something different. Now, my niece also enjoys the game and looks forward to their Saturday play.

Though not my favorite example, my little loved ones’ CoP demonstrates a “group of people who share a concern or passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly” (Wenger, 20212, p. 1). In a more recent publication on CoP, Zimmerman et al. (2020) wrote, “Honing new ideas, constructs, and strategies within communities of practice generate opportunities to enhance high quality professional learning for members of the community” (p. 63). As an advocate of community and communal learning, I recognize the potential of shared abilities, attitudes, and knowledge. The reciprocal nature of collective learning allows group participants to learn from each other.

The Value of Community of Practice

However, with regard to CoP, I assert that the most compelling quality is praxis or practicality. Working in a group of practice is nothing new, but its significance is regularly undervalued among traditional educational settings. Referring back to Wenger’s definition, I highlight the phrase “share a concern or passion”. Students are often propelled to learn things that they find value in and things they will likely practice in their real lives—hence certain subject’s practicality. For example, as a classroom teacher, I can clearly remember students asking, “When will I ever use algebra?” I had to think hard to isolate a response that solidified the subject’s significance for all students. Sure, there is a solid value in the subject for future mathematicians, architects, and engineers. However, for sixth graders, clear trajectories of their future careers are not always the case. On the other hand, when teaching percentages, it was easy to simulate a store in the classroom, have students purchase sale items, and calculate the discounts. This concept was meaningful to them because they could clearly see how they would use percentages in daily lives. Moreover, the students shopped in groups, so even beyond the practicality of the subject, learning from their peers”advanced their understanding.

References

Wenger, E. (2012). Communities of practice: A brief introduction. Retrieved from https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/11736/A%20brief%20introduction%20to%20CoP.pdf

Zimmerman,B. S., Kruse, S. D., Niesz, T., Kist, W., Kidder-Brown, M. K., Nikbakht, E. (2020). “Facebook me”: The potential of student teachers’ online communities of practice in learning to teach. International Journal of Education & Literacy Studies, 8(2), 62-70.