Jane Hoelker Building Communities of Practice among teachers and learners

1. Sudan tesolTowards building a community of learnersahfad university for women, odurman locality, khartoum, sudanfebruary 26-27, 2015 Jane Hoelker Building Communities of Practice among teachers and learners Community College of Qatar Doha, Qatar jhoelker@gmail.com

2. Thank Sudan TESOL for the invitation to participate in the • 5th International Sudan TESOL Conference. • Dr. Aymen El Sheikh, • Professor Bakri Osman Saeed, • Dr. Asim Osman Mahgoub, • & Conference Committee. • Peace Corps English Teacher in Rwanda & Mali in early 1980s. • Really nice to return to Africa!

3. What is a Community of Practice? • Examples . . . Asia, Middle East, United Kingdom & South America • 1-CoP of multilingual students . . . Negotiate English as lingua franca to organize event . . UK • Virtual, distributed • 2-CoP of educators . . . Global presence . . . The Webheads in U.A.E. • 3-CoP of pre-service teachers engaged in teacher training in Turkey • 4-CoP of 60 EFL Teacher Trainers in Southern Brazil • 5-CoP used to manage teachermultimembership in PD organizations . . . Japan • 6-CoP moves reform forward in boys’ school . . . Qatar

4. Etienne Wenger, computer scientist , & Jean Lave, anthropologist • Communities of Practice & Situated Learning (1991) • http://www.wenger-trayer.com (new website) • Why do good grades in school—not translate into performance in workplace? • Met Institute for Research of Learning, California • Observe apprenticeships among traditional tailors in Africa • 1) What is successful learning? • 2) How is learning impacted by technology-enhanced techniques

5. Enormous variety computer devices & applications & software • Interactive video, CD-ROM, networks, hypermedia systems, work-group collaboration tools, speech recognition, image processing & animation, blogs, wikis, etc. • Shift in perception of what learning is • Social process • Not solely in head of individual learner • Approach learning in different way • Legitimate peripheral participation • process whereby learners participate in communities of practice (CoPs) with other learners and experts, gradually moving toward full participation in social, cultural practices of community

6. Problem • When setting where learning takes place separated from where perform --learner learns to “manage learning situation” • BUT often fails to learn how to perform skills in workplace, where has to perform • Performing abstract, theory exam “not =“ learning to perform through apprentice learning • Relationship learner + skills apprenticeship = more complete • Student teacher of English write perfect lesson plan = perfect lesson? • Chemistry Ss write perfect equation workbook = perfect lab experiment? • Friend read book about brain surgery = operate on you? • Surgeons travel to operate with colleague = higher expertise - anticipate

7. SLA research • Development L2 skills social context far more complex & dynamic (Donato, 1994) • Hard data or quantitative research solely . . . • Blurs cognitive processes • Blurs social plane • not same experiment results as researchers • where strange people strange things strangers briefest possible period of time (Bronfenbrenner, 1977, p 513) • Motive of researcher? • Educators -- not ignore motive of learner

8. What is a Community of Practice (CoP)? • Group people (master/journeyman/advanced apprentices or living curriculum and novice) • share concern, problems, passion topic & • deepen knowledge & expertise interacting ongoing basis (Wenger et al, 2002) • Bound value • Common sense of identity – very special • What are components of CoP? • Distil . . . • Domain = knowledge , defines issues & creates common identity • Community = people passionate domain • Shared practice = developing, effective in domain

9. What are different types of CoP? • Small, 3-4 thousands • Short-lived or long lived (artisans - violin makers over centuries) • Co-located or distributedover distance • Same workplace . . . Scientists around globe . . . Need globalization increases distributed more numerous • Homogeneous or heterogeneous • Same discipline or practice . . . Different functions, same customer . . . Within business . . . Across business units . . . Across organization boundaries • Spontaneous or intentional • active, mature community Unrecognized or institutionalized • brown bag lunches - case histories

10. Concepts identity & motive(Norton Pierce, 1995) • Person “cognitive” entity • Non-personal view knowledge, skills, tasks, activities & learning • Focus person – in world as member of socio-cultural community • Person defined by CoP & person defines CoP • Learning = becoming different person, possibilities • What happens person? • Longitudinal case study • 6-month ESL course recent immigrants - Ontario College, Newtown, Canada • 5 women: 2 Poland, 1 Vietnam, 1 Czechoslovakia, 1 Peru • Journal entries 1 year

11. What is relationship of language learner to target language? • Sometimes speak it, sometimes don’t • A language learner is complex • Immigrant to new land - Mother of children - Wife to husband • Employee, usually underemployed due to language use limitations • Embarrassed not able express self like adult like in native tongue • Ambitious for family - Aware of power relations as interact native Canadians in English • Marginalized day-to-day interactions • (1) Argue landlord not to cancel rent lease • (2) Co-worker (15 years old) fast food restaurant do fair share cleaning up when closing eatery for night

12. As learn negotiate needs & wants • acquire rights & resources due them • reconstruct selves • Language is a place where . . . • sense of self deconstructed, reconstructed, organized, reorganized—site of struggle • Positive note—sense of self open to educational intervention • CoP scaffold, can acquire expertise in social interactions

13. Adult Vietnamese learners English (Young & Miller, 2004) • 4 writing conferences • changes patterns co-participation Peripheral, fuller participation • Dynamic dramatically transformed • instructor= co-learner • understood process language learning better

14. Examples . . . Asia, Middle East, United Kingdom & South America • 1-CoP of multilingual students . . . Negotiate lingua franca to organize event . . . UK • Virtual, distributed • 2-CoP of educators . . . Global presence . . . The Webheads in U.A.E. • 3-CoP of pre-service teachers engaged in teacher training in Turkey • 4-CoP of 60 EFL Teacher Trainers in Southern Brazil • 5-CoP used to manage multimembership . . . Japan • 6-CoP moves reform forward in . . . Qatar

15. 1-Multilingual students negotiate English as Lingua Franca, University of Hertfordshire,--UK • Scholars search lingua franca core to teach Ss • In context of globalization many varieties • Need to learn, implement in day-to-day exchange negotiation strategies • Recorded interactionsmultilingual Ss (5) plan university event • Used own varieties of English • Shared practices, not so much shared grammar Suresh Canagarajah, William J. and Catherine Craig Kirby, Professor in Language Learning Departments of Applied Linguistics and English, Pennsylvania State University, USA, (asc16@psu.edu)

16. 2-CoP of educators . . . Webheads in Action,--GLOBAL • Virtual, distributed • Worldwide communication network • Cannot rely on face-to-face meetings • Ongoing teacher development about IT and English teaching and learning • TESOL International Electronic Village Online • Met E. Wenger Spain 2007 • Wenger Keynote speaker WiAOC 2007 virtual conference of the Webheads • New geography impacting knowledge & identity • Technology influences community across time & space • Webheads-more than distributed—multi-spaced Vance Stevens, Al Ain University, U.A.E., (vancestev@gmail.com)

17. Virtual, distributed 2-CoP of educators . . . Webheads in Action,--GLOBAL • Difference between Groups and Networks (Downes, 2006a) • http://learning2gether.net • http://adVancEducation.blogspot.com • http://vancesdiveblogs.blogspot.com

18. 3-Teacher training—TURKEY • Virtual, distributed CoP • Pre-service English Ts interact common PD goals • Social learning via virtual communication • Notion virtual communities - significant implications GolgeSeferoglu, Associate Professor, Department of Foreign Languages, Middle East Technical University, Ankar, Turkey

19. 4-Teacher training—BRAZIL Virtual, distributed CoP • ENFOPLI, CoP 60 EFL • T educators, teacher undergraduate, graduate, private, public universities • 5 annual event reports, 1,700 emails discussion group examined in Perin’s Ph.D. thesis • Evidences: domain, practice, community JussaraPerin, Modern Foreign Languages Institute Universidad Estasdual de Maringa, Parana, Brazil

20. 5-CoP used to manage multimemberships—JAPAN • 4 participants members multiple CoPs (Ph.D. thesis, Temple University, Japan) • T communities their school, Ts’ associations, Study groups • TESOL identities • Local communities not established close relationships w/global TESOL • Attend in-service T training workshops conducted Western TESOL backgrounds • Choose not to use, even cannot use novel, TESOL pedagogy - developed different learning/teaching context from own • Had to form language user communities • View classroom CoP = T expert Ss apprentices • Takako Nishino, Ed.D., Kanda University of International Studies, Specially Appointed Associate Professor, Japan, (zippyn@gmail.com - Main), (nishino-t@kanda.kuis.ac.jp)

21. 6-CoP push reform process forward model school, Doha, Qatar (Interview Dr. John McKeown, Consultant w/Mosaica) • 77 charter schools around world • 16,000 Ss • Innovative curriculum • We cannot learn without belonging & we cannot belong w/o learning practice norms, values . . . because practices go to core of person’s identity (Wenger, 1998) • Create what we need in our context— notconform to some “ideal” standard

22. Traditional schools in Qatar • T lectures • Ss no books, no paper, no pens • Ss interrupt w/questions after 10 mins • No lesson plan • 4 major practices • 1-Feedback: multiple sources, immediate, opinions meet evidence, receive & act on feedback, clarify message—Can you repeat what you think I said?

23. 2-professional standards: expect results, track changes, mix novice & experienced faculty, energy of new w/experience of wise • Inspired veterans learn new tricks • Support Ts, esp novice Tsfix problem • “Not knowing” not bad T, but-- • Improved Ss attitude gave status to T

24. 3-same job not = CoP • Members must interact & learn together attitude changes • Research only 11% make changes • 120 Ts, only need 12 • 4-establish trust • First mtg share meal • Observation, supervisor=resource • Ask T what could work on next time, what’s doable

25. Curriculum coordinator • Testimony--Textbook policy • Recommendation--Take baby steps & celebrate that step! • Math coordinator • Testimony—new practice, photos, wiki websites, tracing paper, smiley faces, plastic bags filled w/pencils, Qatar Academy library • Recommendation—Debriefing important, tease out at the moment • Science coordinator • Testimony—Ss language level in Arabic, English, Vocabulary walls, content-specific vocab, delegate science order March not September, T confidence, started volunteer , colleagues ticked off standard checklist posted wall common room, • Recommendation—Have specific times to share what learned • Veteran teacher & T portfolio reception area

26. Indicators of progress -- Parents’ Night Meeting • Initially concerned children reported “liking school”—must mean curriculum is too easy • Ts explained that students placed at center of learning process • Parents relaxed • See children being more thoughtful . . . • spending allowance • spend all now or save bigger purchase later—planning for future

27. African periphery challenges process-oriented approaches (Muchiri et al, 1995) • Context w/limited material & facilities • Product-oriented approaches better • Process-oriented approaches require • time, resources, material don’t have • prepare tasks inductive, discovery approaches • Ts seldom follow method precisely • Differ class to class, teacher to teacher • Cultural, institutional, logistical demands • Intention specific method • Change match classroom events, situation • Abandon search for “final” solution

28. What’s happening within cultures? (Canagarah, 2001) • As educators importing materials & methods developed West (centre) to periphery cultures • Materials look interesting • Prescribed by syllabus • Have to consider identity & investment (motivation) • Methods not bland, pragmatic functions teach language • Develop, grow, evolve out of groups • Value systems-cultural, political, economic • Reflect social relations, ways of thinking & learning strategies

29. Conclusion • . . . Through Communities of Practice • Effective language educators • respect Ss’ context • Effective language learners • negotiate social identity • ownership learning • perform excellence • increasingly technological & scientific world

30. Bibliography Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist. 32, p 513-530. • Donato, R. (1994). Collective scaffolding in second language learning. In Lantolf, J.P. and Appel, G. (Eds.). Vygotskian approaches to second language research.Ablex Publishing, Westport, CT, p 35. • Downes S. (2006b, Sept. 21). Sudden Thoughts and Second Thoughts. Stephen’s Web., Retrieved October 9, 2009, from http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=35839. • Hoelker, J. et al.. (2009). Global and local perspectives: Evolving communities of practice in EFL. TESOL International English as a Foreign Language Interest Section Newsletter, 9(1). • Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. London: Cambridge University Press. • McKeown, J. (2008, April). Dual identities to shared community: Promoting bilingual and bicultural best practice. Paper presented at the Qatar TESOL International Conference, Doha, Qatar. • Muchiri, M.N., et al. (1995). Importing composition: Teaching and researching academic writing beyond North America. College Composition and Communication, 46(2), 175-198. • Pierce, B.N. (1995). Social identity, investment, and language learning. TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), 9-31. • Stevens, V. (2004). Webheads communities: Writing tasks interleaved with synchoronous online communication and web page development. In Leaver, B. and Willis, J. (Eds.). Task-based instruction in foreign language education: Practices and programes. Georgetown University Press, pp. 204-217. • Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. New York: Oxford University Press. • Wenger, E., McDermott, R. & Snyder, W.M. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice. Boston, Harvard Business School Press. • Young, R. F. & Miller, E. (2004). Learning as changing participation: Discourse roles in ESL writing conferences. The Modern Language Journal, 88 (4), 519-535.

31. Blogs by Vance Stevens • http://learning2gether.net • http://adVanceEducaton.blogspot.com • http://vancesdiveblogs.blogspot.com