Communities of Practice

This weeks in my Foundations of Learning Theory Class we focused on Communities of Practice or CoP's. You may find yourself asking, as I did, what in the world are CoP's? Etienne Wenger defines CoP's as a congregation of people who come together to partake in collective learning in a shared domain or human endeavor. Communities of Practice differ from clubs or other groups because they aren't just a gathering of people with a common interest but a group of people who come together to hone their skills and learn from one another.

Members of CoP's are all practitioners of a craft or domain of knowledge, while its perfectly fine for members to differ in expertise, they should all have a grasp on the area of focus. The benefit of this collective learning is that members can share knowledge with one another which can lead to greater competency for all.

An example of a CoP is a group of local wood workers who come together twice a month to share their latest projects, the members always document their work with pictures so during their meetings they can show their process. During these meetings the wood workers share best practices and tips with one another. Since the members share their process so that others can learn from and provide feedback this makes this group a CoP rather than just a wood working club.

What CoP's are you a member of? Share below in the comments.