Wenger (2006) defines communities of practice (CoP) as groups whose members “share a passion for something they do and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better” 1. Facilitators at CTLT have found ways to adapt this definition to the context of teaching and learning in higher education.
There are currently 14 active communities of practice at UBC, engaging faculty, staff, graduate students, and members of the wider community. Longstanding communities include Course Design, Portfolio, Problem-Based Learning, and Peer Review of Teaching. New communities were formed in spring 2012 around Instructional Design, Library Outreach and Engagement, and TA Training. Fall 2012 saw the launch or re-launch of Sustainability Across the Curriculum, New/Junior Faculty, Teaching and Learning for the Heart and Mind, Interdisciplinary, and Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) communities of practice. Finally, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is being launched in spring 2013.
Support Provided
The CTLT CoP Developer consults with faculty or staff interested in starting communities of practice to help them understand the community of practice model and make decisions about how to launch CoP-type models in their context. She then provides assistance to individuals who decide to launch a CoP (e.g., assistance might be provided in promoting, facilitating, organizing, structuring, and/or managing the CoP).
In addition, the CoP Developer provides support to the network of CoP facilitators – those individuals who actively facilitate communities of practice on campus and those who are interested in potentially starting communities of practice. A survey was distributed to this network in January 2012 to assess the professional development interests and desires of the members. Based on responses to that survey, the CoP Developer organized and facilitated sessions to support this group in their professional development. Session topics included: event marketing & overcoming challenges (April 2012), sharing updates and resource development (September 2012), and resource and critical incident sharing (January 2013).
Contact Us
Interested in learning more about communities of practice? Want to explore if a CoP will fit your needs? Send us a message.
Reference
- Wenger, E. (2006). Communities of practice: A brief introduction. Retrieved from http://www.ewenger.com/theory/
- Driftwood teepee lean-to construction found on Morro Strand by Mike Baird, license CC-BY-2.0.
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