8611unit9-211018032217.pdf

8611unit9-211018032217.pdf

• 1.
  C O MM U N I T I E S O F P R A C T I C E A N D K N O W L E D G E Unit 9
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  What is meantby Community?  Community is a social structure comprising a group of people:  Living in the same locale OR  Belonging to same religion/sect OR  Sharing same sociopolitical interests OR  Having same academic/ professional field …culture; language; economic; hobies;… The social construction of identity shapes each person's view and interpretation of the world.
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  COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE Lave and Wenger (1991) introduced the concept of community of practice which describes a learning theory with a strong relationship to the social construction of knowledge.  A community of practice is not simply a club of friends or an association of connections between people. It has an identity defined by a shared domain of interest.  In pursuing their interest in their domain, members engage in joint activities and discussions, help each other, and share information.  A community of practice is not merely a community of interest–people who like certain kinds of movies, for instance. Members of a community of practice are practitioners. They develop a shared repertoire of resources: experiences, stories, tools, ways of addressing recurring problems—in short a shared practice.
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  FORMS OF KNOWLEDGE InCommunity of Practice CONTENT KNOWEDGE PRACTICAL KNOWEDGE PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE Actual Perceived Critical Reflective
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  PERCEIVED KNOWLEDGE When informationpasses through our knowledge filter, one of three things happens:  We decide that the information is not meaningful to us and the perception stops there,  We do not immediately recognize the information, but believe it may be meaningful to us so we have some incentive to gain more information  The information is meaningful to us and therefore passes through the next filter, the valuing filter.  If a person always feels well informed, he or she may engage in early closure, not seek out additional information, and perhaps reach a faulty conclusion.
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  CRITICAL AND REFLECTIVEKNOWLEDGE  Critical knowledge answers how and why the knowledge exists in the current form and what is yet missing or not included.  Reflective knowledge has an important role in high-level knowledge which requires justifiably taking one’s sources to be reliable. Reflective knowledge turns out to be a meta-competence.  That is, a faculty or disposition to aptly evaluate the circumstances. If one is to have reflective knowledge, one must have “an understanding of its place in a wider whole that include one’s beliefs and knowledge of it and how these come about” (Sosa, 2007).
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  How the communityof practice helps? YOU Junior Colleagues Global Experts Local Experts Senior Colleagues
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  Community of Knowledge The community of knowledge is a group of people who gather online and engage in the acquisition and exchange of knowledge around a particular topic, either with explicit goals of building new knowledge, or less formally through shared interests and practice.  In the current century we can easily go beyond the geographical limits  Most of these groups network and share knowledge in conferences, seminars, webinars, and social media networks etc. and then continue to share knowledge and knowledge creation practices
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  More Definitions…  "Agroup of individuals informally bound to one another through exposure to a common class of problems, common pursuit of solutions, and thereby themselves embodying a store of knowledge" (Stewart 2001 in Botha et al 2008).  Wenger, McDermott & Snyder (2002) define it as: “Group 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”.
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  Principles of BuildingCommunity of Knowledge and Practice Design for evolution:  As community of knowledge and practice are dynamic in nature; design should reflect adaptability. Open a dialogue between inside and outside perspectives:  Good community design requires the perspective of an insider, one that is familiar with the types of activities within. However, the perspective of an outsider may help members see the possibilities within their own mechanisms, or in adopting other tools or procedures. Invite different levels of participation:  In any community, there exist different levels of participation. While those on the peripheral may not participate in the same ways as those in the core, the peripheral members will still gain insights and knowledge through this type of participation. All members, regardless of participation levels, should be valued.
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  Develop both publicand private community spaces:  Members of communities interact with each other in both public and private functions. Thus, the public and private dimension of a community is interrelated. “The key to designing community spaces is to orchestrate activities in both public and private spaces that use the strength of the individual relationships to enrich events and use events to strengthen individual relationships. Focus on value:  As communities are voluntary, value is a key. For members and prospective members, communities must offer value or there will may not be the incentive for participation. While value may not always be explicitly apparent, value should grow over time as the community evolves.
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  Combine familiarity andexcitement:  Familiarity, like the comforts of a hometown, is important for communities of knowledge and practice. However, excitement is also as important, but in other ways. As communities mature, they settle into familiar ways of meeting and conduct. Yet, communities also need challenge and spontaneity to provide a break from everyday occurrences. Creating a rhythm for the community:  Like individuals’ lives having a rhythm, “vibrant” communities also have a rhythm. “At the heart of a community is a web of enduring relationships among members, but the tempo of their interactions is greatly influenced by the rhythm of community events”. While all alive communities have a particular rhythm or tempo, it’s important to find the right rhythm at each stage of a community’s development.
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  Stages of CommunityDevelopment  The stages of building communities of knowledge and practice are identified by Wenger, McDermott & Snyder (2002) as follows: 1) Formation (potential and unity):  Here, initial networks are discovered, common ground is formed and relationships are formed. The initial call (informally) is usually centered round the generation of value. 2) Integration (maturing and stewardship):  At this stage, there is a focus upon particular topics and the admission of new members. Tools and methods are developed that are unique to the community. New ideas are continually welcomed as the community evolves. 3) Transformation  At this stage, the community may fade away or officially close. This may also mean that the community has become redundant, or that this stage brings about the beginning of a new community. Other possibilities include merging with other communities or becoming institutionalized as a formal unit.
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  Sharing your knowledge 1.Insets – During summer term many institutions arrange teachers insets for sharing the practical knowledge 2. Conferences- Provide platform for presenting and sharing research based findings 3. Seminars – Provide platform for analytical papers and essays 4. Online Blogs- free writing and reflections to share online 5. Webinars- short video messages and reviews 6. Publications- Magazines, Journals, and Books.
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  Thanks ANY QUESTION?