Communities of Practice

In reading about Lave and Wenger's idea of 'Communities of Practice', I found myself reflecting on my own participation in communities of practice and my role in facilitating communities of practice for my students. Though I hadn't realized, prior to reading these articles, that I was a member of communities of practice, I very much am. We all are. As a student and an emerging teacher, I rely on these communities daily. Through the support, ideas, and help from my peers, colleagues, and mentors, I have been able to develop and practice my skills and style as a teacher. Through collaboration, I am able to both learn from others and share my ideas. As I have been establishing a more public presence in my communities of practice, I have been able to expand my network, opening myself up to more ideas, perspectives, and thoughts. I remember my advisor telling our seminar class that when she started teaching, there was no professional development set in place by the school, no new teacher mentors, no sharing lesson plans or activities in the break room. She described the school as a house for many individual classrooms, with individual teachers, and individual classes of students. I remember listening to that and thinking about how thankful I am to have so much support around me through my own learning and development. These communities of practice will allow my learning to continue, well after I finish my classes and graduate. Learning is constant and through communities of practice, we are able to foster our learning.
This idea brings me to my reflection about my students and their communities of practice. In Wenger's "Communities of Practice, A Brief Introduction," he says, "From this perspective, the school is not the privileged locus of learning. It is not a self-contained, closed world in which students acquire knowledge to be applied outside, but a part of a broader learning system. The class is not the primary learning event. It is life itself that is the main learning event. Schools, classrooms, and training sessions still have a role to play in this vision, but they have to be in the service of the learning that happens in the world." I love this. I think of school as a place where we can foster learning. We can answer questions and inspire interest in the world and all that there is to be learned. Students have their own communities of practice. As a teacher, I hope to encourage their participation in these communities and help them develop the skills to have positive and effective interactions and experiences in their communities of practice.