According to wenger in communities of practice, groups of people who share a common concern, have common activities and a shared history. The history and defining features of a community of practice, as developed by wenger is explained as well as the more recent thought on landscapes of practice by the wenger. Because its constituent terms specify each other in this way, the term community of practice should be viewed as a unit. Jean lave and etienne wenger community of practice. Communities of practice have three distinct traits. A community of practice is defined as a social construct that places learning in the context of our lived experience of. The concept has turned out to provide a useful perspective on knowing and learning. Reification is the artifacts and procedures of previous practice. Evolution of wengers concept of community of practice. Cdc cop approach introduction to cops resource kit.
In a learning community there is interplay between reification and participation. However, the framework he developed in his seminal book communities of practice. Learning in school and from books can lack much of what is essential about learning for wenger. Members of a community of practice are practitioners. In this short conceptual book, anthropologist jean lave and i first introduced the concept of community of practice. Learning, meaning, and identity ebook written by etienne wenger. Learning, meaning and identity, practice is regarded as a way of doing and encompasses. Principles for cultivating communities of practice. Community a selfselected group of individuals who care enough about the topic to participate in regular interactions.
Wenger, mcdermott and snyder 2002 have identified seven key design principles for creating effective and selfsustaining communities of practice, related specifically to the management of the community, although the ultimate success of a community of practice will be determined by the activities of the members of the community themselves. However, wenger deviates from most psychological and social learning theories by introducing the concept of communities of practice. Introduction to communities of practice wengertrayner. Richard mcdermott is a leading expert of organization and community. In the 1998 book, the focus had shifted to personal growth and the. Snyder have written an exceptionally clear and honest book. Practice refers to the specific knowledge and skills that the community shares and develops, consisting of a set of frameworks, ideas, tools, information, styles, language, stories, and documents that the community members share.
Engagement, alignment, imagination, belonging, identity, communities notes. The authors build upon the theoretical work of lave and wenger 1991 and wenger 1998, and focus on the organizational cultivation of cops. Communities of practice by etienne wenger july 1998. The tight knit nature of relations is clear from wengers indicators wenger 1998.
A guide to managing knowledge, harvard business school press, cambridge, usa, 2002, 304 pages isbn 1578308. Nov 06, 20 dr etienne wenger presented learning in landscapes of practice. Social, cognitive and computational perspectives series by etienne wenger. In this book, the authors shifted their focus from individuals learning and identity development on to providing a tool for organizations to manage knowledge workers. I have read numerous books, knitted several jumpers, been on many walks, enjoyed face to face not virtual contact with friends. A community of practice cop is a group of people who share a craft or a profession. Learning, meaning and identity is overlooked in the academic and popular business press, where the focus is most typically on managing a community of practice, rather than.
The characteristics of communities of practice according to etienne wenger c 2007, three elements are crucial in distinguishing a community of practice from other groups and communities. This book provides an indepth qualitative data analysis about wengers research with communities of practice, or groups of people that form around collective, sustained tasks. Etienne wenger summarizes communities of practice cop as groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. Professional learning communities and communities of practice. Social, cognitive and computational perspectives new ed by wenger, etienne isbn. The book focuses on aliveness, a key characteristic of successful communities of practice, and how to encourage its development. To make sense of identity formation and learning in communities of practice, we need to consider three modes of belonging engagement. In this respect, a community of practice is different from a community of interest or a geographical community in that it involves a shared practice. According to wenger, cops use communal learning, expertise, and knowledge to achieve shared goals. In some groups we are core members, in others we are more at the margins. Communities of practice cops the term community of practice was coined by etienne wenger and jean lave in the early 1990s to describe a group of people who share a concern, a set of problems or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting. Communities of practice 9780521663632 etienne wenger. Use naae communities of practice to take meeting notes while the meeting is going on.
In 1998, the theorist etienne wenger extended the concept and applied it to other domains, such as organizations. In addition, wenger, mcdermott and snyder have recently launched the communities of practice consortium, which is an attempt to form a community of practice on communities of practice. Communities of practice lave and wenger learning theories. The primary unit of analysis of this process is neither the individual nor social institutions, but the informal communities of practice that people form as they pursue shared enterprises. Anyone who is responsible for moving a community forward towards its goals should consider reading it. In his book cultivating communities of practice, etienne wenger proposes seven principles for successfully cultivating communities of practice. Communities of practice cops are organized groups of people who have a common interest in a specific technical or business domain. Etienne wenger is a renowned expert and consultant on knowledge management and communities of practice in san juan, california. Buy building successful communities of practice by webber, emily isbn.
This book presents a theory of learning that starts with the assumption that engagement in social practice is the fundamental process by which we get to know what we know and by which we become who we are. The concept of learning through cops is presented and developed by etienne wenger in his book communities of practice. We are gearing up to support you in creating collaborative communities, but content on this site is still being organized and enhanced there is good stuff here, but some transitions are rough and some sections have little information we are stanford professionals interested in growing effective collaborative communities across stanford a community of practice cop is a. Practice does not exist in the abstract it exists because people are. Apr 19, 2011 jean lave and etienne wenger community of practice 1991. This a notion developed by jean lave and etienne wenger, and further elaborated by wenger in an influential book called communities of practice. Communities of practice by etienne wenger goodreads. Etienne wenger 1998 is widely cited for his work on the topic of communities of practice. Extended discussion of the concept of community of practice and how it might be approached within organizational development and education. The authors build upon the theoretical work of lave and wenger 1991 and. In cultivating communities of practice, etienne wenger, richard mcdermott, and william m. Journal of mathematics teacher education the terms of debate about knowledge m. The usefulness of wengers framework in understanding a.
Wenger views the claims processing unit as a community of practice. A growing number of people and organizations in various sectors are now focusing on communities of practice as a key to improving their performance. As new practitioners discuss their problems with their fellows, or learn from their colleagues how to integrate the practice with the rest of their business workflow. Arnold schwarzenegger this speech broke the internet and most inspiring speech it changed my life. They collaborate regularly to share information, improve their skills, and actively work on. Introduction to communities of practice, wengertrayner. Cultivating communities of practice etienne wenger. Social, cognitive and computational perspectives 9780521663632.
In educational research, the theory of communities of practice has been used for investigating such varied topics as the. The role of communities of practice in a digital age. Jean lave, etienne wenger and communities of practice. The term community of practice cop was first coined in 1991 by jean lave and etienne wenger. Snyder show how worldclass organizations have leveraged communities of practice to drive strategy, generate new business opportunities, solve problems, transfer. Starting with an analysis five case studies of traditional apprenticeship systems, we observed how in each case a whole community served as a living curriculum for the newcomer. Communities of practice learning, meaning and identity.
Thus a community of practice is defined as a group that coheres through sustained mutual engagement on an indigenous enterprise, and creating a common repertoire. In the book, he reports on an ethnographic study he did of a claims processing unit of an insurance company. Download communities of practice pdf books pdfbooks. In part i, when i use the term community or the term practice by itself, it is just an abbreviation to make the text less cumbersome. Jan, 2000 wenger claims that communities of practice are learning communities. Communities of practice in landscapes of practice igor. Wenger claims a community of practice emerges when an organization sets forth a structure to accomplish its goal. Communities of practice the basic argument made by jean lave and etienne wenger is that communities of practice are everywhere and that we are generally involved in a number of them whether that is at work, school, home, or in our civic and leisure interests. This book presents a theory of learning that starts with the assumption that engagement in social practice is the fundam. Social media, open knowledge and communities of practice. Although developing a community of practice may be part of mentoring best practice, it can be challenging to get one started. Learning, meaning, and identity deals with a topic that is ofcrucial importance to a range ofcontemporary. Modes of belonging in communities of practice jenny. Aliveness is driven by the personal interactions of the participants.
Other people can chime in with their own notes, and youve got a shared record of what happened. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read communities of practice. Mar 01, 2017 how do you support a community of practice. This is discussed in chapter 8 of etienne wenger s book communities of practice. Snyder argue that while communities form naturally, organizations need to become more proactive and systematic about developing and integrating them into their strategy. This conceptual book lays out a social theory of learning centered on the concept of communities of practice. Read communities of practice learning, meaning, and identity by etienne wenger available from rakuten kobo. Presents a broad conceptual framework for thinking about learning as a process of social participation. It utilizes community and practice theories and encompasses community. Cultivating communities of practice is the second book from wenger which is only about communities of practice cop. Aug 04, 2017 social media, open knowledge and communities of practice. Leanagile principles and practice promote crossfunctional teams and programs that facilitate value delivery in the enterprise. Or, post a discussion and mark it as a question and avoid even booking a physical meeting.
The idea of communities of practice cops has been around for 25 years, and it has found its way into peoples professional and everyday language wenger, 2010. In 2002 wenger, mcdermott, and snyder authored cultivating communities of practice. This is very much different from learning happens when people get information and do something with it. Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis. Cambridge university press, sep 28, 1999 psychology 318 pages. This is an important book for anyone interested in groupformation or identity coconstituted from within the self and as a member of different groups. The term community of practice is of relatively recent coinage, even though the phenomenon it refers to is ageold. Building a successful community of practice dr richard miller, millerklein associates ltd a community of practice cop is a group of individuals within an organisation who band together to share their knowledge and expertise, to learn from each other and to build their capabilities. While they obviously are deeply committed to communities of practice and exuberant in embracing the concept particularly in the realm of knowledge management they also have observed enough of these communities to see how they can fail to crystallize, can go bad or can survive but.
A community of practice in an organization is composed of people with commitment, passion, and shared expertise that keep them together. Mar 01, 2009 they eventually invented new ways to service the machines. Thus in cops, practice is a history of learning in a social context, while learning is the driver of practice, and a sense of community forms organically around it wenger, 1998. A community of practice is not merely a community of interestpeople who like certain kinds of movies, for instance. The handbook of community practice edition 2 by marie weil. As a part of learning in cops, practitioners regularly think together about reallife problems or hot topics. An organizations communities of practice will last for as long as the employees are still interested to interact and learn from each other.
Communities of practice as a social theory of learning. Interestingly, instead of the term community of practice orr used occupational community, which suggests a focus on the workers ability to meet the companys goals i. Etienne charles wenger born 1952 is an educational theorist and practitioner, best known for his formulation with jean lave of the theory of situated cognition and his more recent work in the field of communities of practice. Wenger then significantly expanded on the concept in his 1998 book communities of practice wenger 1998. The second edition of the handbook of community practice is expanded and updated with a major global focus and serves as a comprehensive guidebook of community practice grounded in social justice and human rights. Mentoring best practices and a community of practice. It is in this context that i found wengers book valuable in understanding the poverty of the plc movement. A community of practice is a set of interacting people engaged in a common practice. Put simply, cops refer to groups of people who genuinely care about the same reallife problems or hot topics, and who on that basis interact regularly to learn together and from each other wenger et al.
Practice refers to the work people do, but also to the ideas behind it the shared understandings and the activities. Having grown up in the frenchspeaking parts of switzerland, wenger achieved a b. This conceptual book lays out a social theory of learning centered on the concept of. Communities of practice cops, which have been described by wenger. Cultivating communities of practice is one of the most important books to be published in the km field in the last few years.
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