Evolution of Wenger's concept of community of practice

Li, Linda; Grimshaw, Jeremy; Nielsen, Charlotte; Judd, Maria; Coyte, Peter C.; Graham, Ian D.

doi:10.1186/1748-5908-4-11

Cited by 442 publications

(464 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…In this context, Lave and Wenger's (1991) concept of community of practice has been valuable for our program. Cultivating such a group that shares a commitment to, and understandings of, practices they undertake, is recognised as an effective organisational approach to foster innovation and change (Li et al 2009). Also highly relevant for the mentoring program is Breu and Hemingway's observation that "…where organisation structure fails to satisfy individuals' needs for affiliation, they appear to use informal mechanisms to compensate for a perceived lack of social cohesion" (2002, p.151).…”

Section: Creating a Mentoring Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

Looking for Professor Right: mentee selection of mentors in a formal mentoring program

Bell

Treleaven

2010

High Educ

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Abstract:Finding a suitable mentor is crucial to the success of mentoring relationships. In the mentoring literature, however, there is conflicting evidence about the best ways to support the pairing process in organisational mentoring programs. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the pairing process in an academic mentoring program that has implications for building a mentoring culture in higher education. The program which began with a pilot and has continued for five years with one hundred and twenty one participants, was conducted with mentees selecting their own mentor from a pool of mentors who volunteered to be part of the program. In the pilot program, where mentors and mentees first met as one group, some mentees reported that the process of selecting and approaching a mentor was uncomfortable and intimidating. Nine of twenty-three potential mentees did not form mentoring relationships. Analysis of subsequent program evaluation data pointed to the importance of two factors in the pairing process: personal connections and facilitation of the selection process. This study at a research-intensive university demonstrates that when the pairing process is tailored to individual mentees, they are comfortable selecting a mentor and to then develop a successful mentoring relationship.

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Section: Creating a Mentoring Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

Looking for Professor Right: mentee selection of mentors in a formal mentoring program

Bell

Treleaven

2010

High Educ

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“…In their critique of Wenger's concept of CoP, Li et al [9] note the concept of community was coined a learning theory used to promote self-empowerment and professional development. By 2002, however, CoP evolved and is now used as a management tool to improve an organization's competitive advantage (Figure 1).…”

Section: Communities Of Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…CoP exist as [9]: 1. Informal groups -aimed to provide a forum for discussion among practitioners who are interested in a topic 2.…”

Section: Communities Of Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Evolution of CoP [9] In their characterization of a virtual CoP, Sharrat and Usoro [10] identified several criteria for the identification and assessment of CoP that include: value congruence, sense of community, career advancement, competence-based trust, benevolence-based trust, integrity-based trust, perceived usefulness, and ease of use (Table 1). Table 1.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Communities develop their practice through problem solving, seeking experience, requesting information, reusing assets, coordination and synergy, discussing developments, mapping knowledge, and identifying knowledge gaps [5]. Li et al [9] assert, CoP are "groups of people who share a concern or passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. "…”

Section: Communities Of Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Knowledge Transfer of Evidence-Based Instructional Practices in Faculty Communities of Practice

Jordan¹,

Pembridge²,

Blackowski³

et al.

2015 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings

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Communities of practice (CoP) have evolved from interactions between novices and experts to being applied as managerial tools for improving an organization's outcomes. Cultural differences, assumptions, and preferences affect the way members access and share knowledge within CoP. Communities of practice take several forms including informal groups developed by practitioners to provide a forum for discussion; supported groups sponsored by management aiming to build knowledge and skills for a given competency area; and structured groups developed and managed by an organization aiming to advance the organizations business strategy.With an increased focus on the diffusion of evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs, also referred to as research-based instructional practices (RPIPs)) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, the implications of knowledge transfer in CoP can increase the understanding of how to facilitate the spread and adoption of these instructional techniques. This paper utilizes Wenger's work on Cultivating Communities of Practice to define 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." Within post-secondary STEM education, this paper recognizes communities of practice as the formal construct of individual departments related to a specific content area, and micro-communities of practice as those reflecting collaboration of smaller cohorts of STEM faculty, in-person and virtually.This study addresses the following research questions: 1) How do engineering faculty involved in a community of practice engage in knowledge transfer? 2) How does knowledge transfer of specific evidence-based instructional practices occur in an engineering faculty community of practice?Conducted within a large research project aimed at exploring stages of pedagogical change, this work utilizes a qualitative methodology. Nine faculty in a first-year engineering department participated in hour-long semi-structured interviews exploring use of EBIPs and collaboration. Interviews were analyzed using thematic coding to explore the formation, interaction, and process of knowledge transfer in these communities.Findings indicate that faculty engagement lies along continua from unstructured to structured and from organizational to peer interaction. Knowledge transfer of EBIPs is commonly focused on four main modes: peer feedback, formal meetings and workshops, reviewing research and literature, and informal faculty conversations.

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An Examination of Key Factors That Influence Employee Learning in the Workplace

Schwartz¹

2019

The Wiley Handbook of Global Workplace Learning

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Evolution of Wenger's concept of community of practice

Cited by 442 publications

References 37 publications

Looking for Professor Right: mentee selection of mentors in a formal mentoring program

Looking for Professor Right: mentee selection of mentors in a formal mentoring program

Knowledge Transfer of Evidence-Based Instructional Practices in Faculty Communities of Practice

An Examination of Key Factors That Influence Employee Learning in the Workplace

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