Learning Together: Social Learning and Communities of Practice

1. Learning Together: Social Learning and Communities of Practice Kristy Brandabur Teresa Seto March 2013

2. Social Learning Theory • Social learning theory is a combination of behavioral and cognitivist theories. • People learn by observing and interacting with others. • Social settings provide information on knowledge, skills, strategies, beliefs, and attitudes. • Socialization, self-directed learning, locus of control, mentoring. (Merriam et al, 2007)

3. Communities of Practice “Communities of practice are 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.” - Wenger, 2007

4. Characteristics of Community of Practice • Domain • Commitment to shared domain of interest • Community • Commitment to help each other, share information, and build relationships • Practice • Commitment to develop shared resources

5. Application to Medicine • Allows physicians to manage patient electronically. • Virtual discussion of treatment plan for patient in real time. • Collaboration of physician, therapists, and other medical personnel. • Collaboration helps surface experts in a specific area. • Sociocultural collaboration. (Reiser& Dempsey, 2012)

6. Use of Technology to Facilitate Learning • Collaboration and technology • Email • Threaded discussions • Chat rooms • Instant messaging • Synchronous conference tools • Webinar • Wiki

7. Critique of The Networked Student • Design • Simple • Distracting • Presentation Style • Audio narration • Role of teachers in digital age • Guide • Role model • Build and organize network connections

8. Group Consensus of Connectivism • Learning theory of the 21st century • Learning is more about building connections and being able to locate information, rather than acquisition and storage of knowledge • With a unified view of working, learning, and innovating, it should be possible to reconceive of and redesign organizations to improve all three. (Brown & Duguid, 1997)

9. Upcoming Social Learning Event • http://s2624.t.en25.com/e/es.aspx?s=2624&e=84829&elq=6f4dc53cbf0c499aa4fc803414a0c83e • The above website provides contact information for a virtual conference on Social Learning on March 27, 2013.

10. References • Brown Seely, John, Duguid, Paul. Organizational Learning and Communities-of-Practice: Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning, and Innovation Organization Science 1991 2:40-57. Retrieved from http://orgsci.journal.informs.org/content/2/1/40.full.pdf+html on 12 March 2013. • Merriam, S.B, Caffarella, R.S, Baumgartner, L.M. (2007). Learning in Adulthood. A comprehensive guide. 3rd ed. pgs. 287-291. • Reiser, R. A., Dempsey, J.V. (2012). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology. 3rd ed. pgs. 160-167. • Wenger, E. (2007). Communities of practice: A brief introduction. Communities of Practice. Retrieved from http://www.ewenger.com/theory/ on 11 March 2013.