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Communities of Practice ( CoP )

Communities of Practice ( CoP ). SPDG Day Presentation July 18, 2011 Cynthia Glimpse Technical Assistance Coordination Center. People, Passion, & Products. Professional Learning Community (PLC) vs. Community of Practice ( CoP ). Professional Learning Community (PLC).

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Communities of Practice ( CoP )

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  1. Communities of Practice (CoP) SPDG Day Presentation July 18, 2011 Cynthia Glimpse Technical Assistance Coordination Center

  2. People, Passion, & Products

  3. Professional Learning Community (PLC) vs.Community of Practice (CoP)

  4. Professional Learning Community (PLC) A Professional Learning Community (PLC) is a place where you can share and exchange information on particular topics or areas of interest. In most instances, PLCs are formed around groups with similar work functions (educators, engineers, nurses, etc.).

  5. What is a Community of Practice? A Community of Practice (CoP) extends the sharing and exchanging of information. It is a way of working together around an area of interest or topic.

  6. Community of Practice (cont’d) It is a strategy for: • sharing, operating and engaging with • a group of diverse stakeholders • on a regular basis to • enhance the group’s collective knowledge about their topic or area of interest.

  7. Community of Practice (cont’d) In most cases, but not all, CoPs are formed around stakeholders with a shared interest and varying work functions (i.e., educators, administrators, technical assistance providers, parents, etc.).

  8. Value of Community of Practice Strategy Stakeholder groups do not just cut and paste “best practices” from the past to the current situation, members: • think creatively about the current situation, • reflect on their experience, • generate insights, • use those insights in the present to solve problems. • draw on their experience and perspective to come up with a solution to that problem.

  9. The Value of CoPshttp://www.ewenger.com/theory/start-up_guide_PDF.pdf

  10. CoPs and Relationship among Stakeholders CoPs frequently link people with common interests who do not have regular day-to-day contact, the linking is through conference calls, e-mails, websites, etc. However, face-to-face meetings help to build trust and a greater sense of connection between community members.

  11. Starting a CoP • Organizational support • Time to do the work • A group of people interested in doing the work • Resources to stay connected: In person or via technology (phone, internet) • Disseminate work - to your group & beyond.

  12. Examples within the Technical Assistance & Dissemination (TA&D) Network

  13. The TA&D Network and CoPshttp://tadnet.org/communities

  14. TAcommunities http://tacommunities.org

  15. Communities of Practicehttp://tadnet.ning.com/group/communitiesofpractice

  16. Critical Success Factors in Building Community Management Challenge • Focus on topics important to community members. • Find a well-respected community member to coordinate the community. • Make sure people have time & encouragement to participate. • Build on the core (existing) values of the organization.

  17. Critical Success Factors in Building Community (cont’d) Community Challenge • Get key thought leaders involved. • Build personal relationships among community members. • Develop an active, passionate core group. • Create forums for thinking together as well as systems for sharing information.

  18. Critical Success Factors in Building Community (cont’d) Technical Challenge Make it easy to contribute and access the communities knowledge and practices – meet people where they are most comfortable. Personal Challenge Create real dialogue about cutting edge issues – what issue do we need to resolve now.

  19. Conclusion Knowing is a human act, the heart of sharing is finding common interests, making real connections, caring for each others’ thinking, and building a community that trusts each other enough to ask for help and share ideas. Richard McDermott

  20. Additional Resources Center for Disease Control • Visit http://www.cdc.gov/phin/communities to learn more about the community approach and access the Communities Resource Kit. IDEA Partnership • Visit http://www.ideapartnership.org/ and learn more about the various communities of practice convened and facilitated by the IDEA Partnership The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Educational Organization (UNESCO) • Visit http://www.ibe.unesco.org/en/communities.html to learn more about the International Bureau of Education (IBE) that has a community of practice (CoP) in Curriculum Development.

  21. Contact Information Cynthia Glimpse, TACC, cglimpse@aed.org Terry Jackson, OSEP, terry.jackson@ed.gov

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