By etienne wenger, richard mcdermott, and william snyder, harvard business school press, 2002. White paper communities of practice, social capital and. But now the living room is virtual and globaland the challenges are multiplying. Practice does not exist in the abstract it exists because people are.
The term community of practice is of relatively recent coinage, even though the phenomenon it. A community of practice is a set of interacting people engaged in a common 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. What is a community of practice and how do i use this resource. Wenger is teaming up with richard mcdermontt and willian snyder, which probably helped. A group of internal auditors in the public sector from different countries in. A survey of current research on online communities of practice. Communities of practice in his nowclassic 1998 book, communities of practice. Wenger views the claims processing unit as a community of practice. 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. Wenger then significantly expanded on the concept in his 1998 book communities of practice wenger 1998. Apr 19, 2011 jean lave and etienne wenger community of practice 1991.
Two educational researchers conducted a series of interviews with the theorist etienne wengertrayner. 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. Cambridge university press, uk, etienne wenger introduces a vignette of a day in the life of a medical insurance claims processor in the usa p. Communities of practice the organizational frontier etienne c. A community of practice is not merely a community of interestpeople who like certain kinds of movies, for instance. The community of practice sometimes incorrectly referred to as communities of practices consists of members who interact with each other for their pursuit of a common practice. Communities of practice cop are groups of people who share a passion, a concern or a set of problems regarding a particular topic, and who interact regularly in.
For instance, the us army has longstanding communities of practice working to solve complex technological challenges,3 and shell has used communities. Communities of practice have been around for as long as human beings have learned together. Domain or mutual engagement, where an identity is defined and shared by a community based on the common goals or interests of its members. Ccooommmmuuunnniiitttiieeesss ooofff ppprrraaacccttiiccee.
Wenger 1998 identified three critical elements of communities of practice. The first book was a little dry and academic and intended to be, but this book is your typical business book, which makes it easy to read. Members of a community of practice are practitioners. Wenger describes communities of practice as an evolutionary process for learning in groups in which. Although communities of practice continually evolve, it is possible to observe five stages of community development. Cultivating communities of practice is one of the most important books to be published in the km field in the last few years. 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 on an ongoing basis wenger et al. The fundamental idea behind these concepts is much the same observing, sharing information and techniques, and learning by doing. Communities of practice in healthcare, communities of practice are created to facilitate learning and the sharing of knowledge, or to improve practice ranmuthugala et al, 2011. Communities of practice have also become an important focus within organizational development. Not everything called a community is a community of practice. They typically start as loose networks that hold the potential of becoming more connected and thus a more important part of the. Communities of practice are centered on task orientation and discourse communities.
This cited by count includes citations to the following articles in scholar. Participants in communities of practice speak the same. Communities of practice are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared. This document is about using communities of practice as a tool to create organizational, social, and cultural change. Communities of practice and communities of interest. If online interactions alone allow people to do this in meaningful ways and by now there is enough evidence that it is possible, then the result is an online community of practice.
Practice refers to the work people do, but also to the ideas behind it the shared understandings and the activities. Communities of practice as a social theory of learning. Cultivating communities of practice what elements to. It describes a learning theory with a strong relationship to the social construction of knowledge. Communities of practice are an established methodology across diverse corporate and governmental sectors. In this article we outline the theory and practice of such communities, and examine some of issues and questions for informal educators and those concerned. It is doing in a historical and social context that gives structure and meaning to what we do.
Communities of practice guide professional development. Cultivating communities of practice a quick startup guide by etienne wenger cultivating communities of practice a quick startup guide by etienne wenger communities of practice are a familiar experience, but people need to understand how they fit in their work. Theorie biografie van etienne wenger etienne wenger is geboren in 1952 in zwitserland. This learning that takes place is not necessarily intentional. The grit in the oyster does an appreciation of threshold concepts in an adult literacies teaching qualification result in pearls of practice. Etienne wenger phase 1 birth communities of practice emerge in an organic fashion and cannot in.
This is very much different from learning happens when people get information and do something with it. Evolution of wengers concept of community of practice. Communities of practice exist within all organizations. Learning in school and from books can lack much of what is essential about learning for wenger. Learning mathematics in local communities of practice. Beverly wengertrayner independent verified email at. The community of practice sometimes incorrectly referred to as communities of practices consists of members who interact with.
Social learning systems and communities of practice. This book has been cited by the following publications. Communities of practice guide what are communities of practice cops. A guide to managing knowledge, harvard business school press, cambridge, usa, 2002, 304 pages isbn 1578308. Officially coined by jean lave and etienne wenger in 1991, communities of practice are firmly rooted in american pragmatism e. A key premise of his theoretical work is that communities of practice can arise in any domain of human endeavour, for instance, the practice of creating new forms of artistic expression, or the practices involved in. Communities of practice lave and wenger learning theories. This list is generated based on data provided by crossref. Cultivating communities of practice what elements to develop. According to etienne and beverly wengertrayner,1 academics who have helped. Jan, 2000 communities of practice by etienne wenger, 9780521663632, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. 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. Communities of practice is a term originally developed by lave and wenger 1991. Jean lave, etienne wenger and communities of practice.
Communities of practice have been around as long as human beings have learned together. General interest communities of practice by etienne wenger. 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. 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. To give a social account of learning, the theory explores in a systematic way the intersection of issues of community, social practice, meaning, and identity. 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. The term community of practice is of relatively recent coinage, even though the phenomenon it refers to is ageold. These range from the peer groups of drilling specialists within british petroleum 5 to poverty specialists at the world bank to the insurance claims processors documented in etienne wengers recent book, communities of. Wenger 1998 provides a theoretical basis for communities of practice. At home, at work, at school, in our hobbies, we all belong to communities of practice, a number of them usually. Jean lave and etienne wenger community of practice 1991.
These relationships, division of knowledge labour or transactive. Social, cognitive and computational perspectives 1st edition. Communities of practice by etienne wenger, 9780521663632. Social, cognitive and computational perspectives series by etienne wenger. Dec 28, 2011 the key to a community of practice is the ability of participants to recognize the practitioner in each other and that basis, to act as learning partners. Ariel not her real name arrives in the morning to face a day of processing insurance claim forms, finding. And we travel through numerous communities over the course of our lives. Pdf communities of practice as a social theory of learning. Communities of practice cop are groups of volunteer participants that have an ongoing interaction around a shared concern 1.
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. Learning, meaning and identity find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Wenger is a consultant on knowledge management and communities of practice and the author of communities of practice. Communities of practice and their value to organizations 1 two communities of practice and their structural elements 23 three seven principles for cultivating communities of practice 49 four the early stages of development planning and launching communities of practice 65 wenger ixiv fm 4th 111401 5. Introduction to communities of practice wengertrayner. In his groundbreaking 1998 book, communities of practice. The concept has turned out to provide a useful perspective on knowing and learning. Communities of practice cops, which have been described by wenger and others as a type of informal learning organization, have received increasing attention in the health care sector. A community of practice cop is a group of people who share a craft or a profession. Etienne wenger was a teacher who joined the institute for research on learning, palo alto having gained a. The idea that learning involves a deepening process of participation in a community of practice has gained significant ground in recent years. Mar 01, 2009 communities of practice cops, which have been described by wenger and others as a type of informal learning organization, have received increasing attention in the health care sector. Cultivating communities of practice is the second book from wenger which is only about communities of practice cop.
For instance, the us army has longstanding communities of practice working to solve complex technological challenges,3 and shell has used communities of practice to facilitate multidisciplinary learning. Social learning systems and communities of practice, 179198, 2010. Teachers have gathered for decades in living room kaffeeklatsches to share their best ideas for improving education. Learning, meaning, and identity cambridge university press, 1998. Communities of practice are defined in academic and consulting literature as selfselected, active practitioners in a field with shared commitment and expertise, committed to interaction and learning. Conduct workshops to educate management and potential members about. What is a community of practice and how do i use this. Learning, meaning, and identity, focusing on workplace learning, wenger expanded upon this idea of cop, articulating how social resources shape. In this context, a community of practice is a group of individuals.
A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. According to wenger in communities of practice, groups of people who share a common concern, have common activities and a shared history. The concept of communities of practice lave and wenger 1991, wenger 1998 has become influential in education, management, and social sciences in recent years. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. The key to a community of practice is the ability of participants to recognize the practitioner in each other and that basis, to act as learning partners. Ariel not her real name arrives in the morning to face a. We discuss the learning theory of communities of practice, clarify terms, address various critiques in the literature, and reflect on the. Communities of practice and social learning systems. Snyder is a founding partner of social capital group. The concept of practice connotes doing, but not just doing in and of itself. A community of practice was a term first coined by etienne wenger, an education practitioner. Three components are required in order to be a cop.
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