Community of Practice: Oh My!

This week in OLC ID 3: Professional Foundations: Collaborating, Researching and Networking course, our focus was on Community of Practice (CoP). Educause in Community of Practice Design Guide states, "A community of practice is a group of people who share a common concern, a set of problems, or interest in a topic and who come together to fulfil both individual and group goals."  Personally, this topic intrigued me more than I would imagine I guess due to my love of collaborative learning. I recognize that there is place for in but know that it is effective in helping learners cognitively, creatively, and constructively.

This chart from  Nirmala Selvaraju presentation about CoP for Non Profits gives insight to how to develop CoP.

Inquiry Phase: It is important to strategically work with others to develop the framework of a CoP and have a purposeful organized strategy with stakeholders. Gaining management buy-in is also key.
Design Phase: This phase would take into consideration the structure, tools required, and key personnel to help maintain the CoP.
Prototype Phase: As with the design of any new system it is imperative to have plan, purpose and testing phase. Here it is recommended that a beta test be done to make sure that it is working and reaching the target.
Launch Phase: Once satisfied with the prototype phase and implementation of changes identified during the prototype phase, expanding the reach to more members and holding a celebratory launch will get members engaged and excited about the CoP. 
Grow & Sustain Phase: This phase is important once the initial launch and the excitement has worn if it is key to keep the community engaged with exciting and relevant topics. Topics that promote further learning, discussion and collaboration of members. Remaining true to the goals and purpose is paramount for success.

This week I also gain a great deal of insight from Naim Kapucu article on Classrooms as Communities of Practice:Designing and Facilitating Learning in a Networked Environment which explored using CoP in the classroom to promote learning. He reminds us:

Learning (teaching from another perspective) through interaction with peers has been an important tool in higher education (Kapucu et al., 2010). Bringing individuals together and forming communities of practice is an important tenet of learning, and learning patterns within a community are particularly important because most of the learning occurs due to human practice and interaction with others. Communities of practice acts as a catalyst for students to internalize the knowledge they are exposed to and allows them to reach different interpretations of the same knowledge.

My goal is to strategically develop a sustainable CoP for the Technology Services Team at my institution that I lead to allow our world wide team to learn, grow, collaborate, and connect together. I'm excited about what to come.

Watch for more Graceful Musing as #RaleneSpeaks