Arnold schwarzenegger this speech broke the internet and most inspiring speech it changed my life. Having grown up in the frenchspeaking parts of switzerland, wenger achieved a b. Apr 19, 2011 jean lave and etienne wenger community of practice 1991. Thus in cops, practice is a history of learning in a social context, while learning is the driver of practice, and a sense of community forms organically around it wenger, 1998.
The role of communities of practice in a digital age. Practice refers to the specific knowledge and skills that the community shares and develops, consisting of a set of frameworks, ideas, tools, information, styles, language, stories, and documents that the community members share. Mentoring best practices and a community of practice. Communities of practice the basic argument made by jean lave and etienne wenger is that communities of practice are everywhere and that we are generally involved in a number of them whether that is at work, school, home, or in our civic and leisure interests. Professional learning communities and communities of practice. We are gearing up to support you in creating collaborative communities, but content on this site is still being organized and enhanced there is good stuff here, but some transitions are rough and some sections have little information we are stanford professionals interested in growing effective collaborative communities across stanford a community of practice cop is a. The concept of learning through cops is presented and developed by etienne wenger in his book communities of practice. A community of practice is defined as a social construct that places learning in the context of our lived experience of. This book provides an indepth qualitative data analysis about wengers research with communities of practice, or groups of people that form around collective, sustained tasks. Cambridge university press, sep 28, 1999 psychology 318 pages.
Snyder show how worldclass organizations have leveraged communities of practice to drive strategy, generate new business opportunities, solve problems, transfer. Wenger then significantly expanded on the concept in his 1998 book communities of practice wenger 1998. Modes of belonging in communities of practice jenny. This is very much different from learning happens when people get information and do something with it. The term community of practice is of relatively recent coinage, even though the phenomenon it refers to is ageold. Aliveness is driven by the personal interactions of the participants. Communities of practice 9780521663632 etienne wenger. Snyder have written an exceptionally clear and honest book. The concept has turned out to provide a useful perspective on knowing and learning. In 2002 wenger, mcdermott, and snyder authored cultivating communities of practice. Mar 01, 2009 they eventually invented new ways to service the machines. Wenger, mcdermott and snyder 2002 have identified seven key design principles for creating effective and selfsustaining communities of practice, related specifically to the management of the community, although the ultimate success of a community of practice will be determined by the activities of the members of the community themselves. Communities of practice lave and wenger learning theories.
A growing number of people and organizations in various sectors are now focusing on communities of practice as a key to improving their performance. Interestingly, instead of the term community of practice orr used occupational community, which suggests a focus on the workers ability to meet the companys goals i. This is an important book for anyone interested in groupformation or identity coconstituted from within the self and as a member of different groups. It is in this context that i found wengers book valuable in understanding the poverty of the plc movement. Download communities of practice pdf books pdfbooks.
They collaborate regularly to share information, improve their skills, and actively work on. In addition, wenger, mcdermott and snyder have recently launched the communities of practice consortium, which is an attempt to form a community of practice on communities of practice. The usefulness of wengers framework in understanding a. A community of practice in an organization is composed of people with commitment, passion, and shared expertise that keep them together. The primary unit of analysis of this process is neither the individual nor social institutions, but the informal communities of practice that people form as they pursue shared enterprises. Journal of mathematics teacher education the terms of debate about knowledge m. Communities of practice cops the term community of practice was coined by etienne wenger and jean lave in the early 1990s to describe a group of people who share a concern, a set of problems or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting. The book focuses on aliveness, a key characteristic of successful communities of practice, and how to encourage its development. Nov 06, 20 dr etienne wenger presented learning in landscapes of practice. The handbook of community practice edition 2 by marie weil. It utilizes community and practice theories and encompasses community.
Jan, 2000 wenger claims that communities of practice are learning communities. Learning, meaning and identity, practice is regarded as a way of doing and encompasses. Learning, meaning, and identity ebook written by etienne wenger. Etienne wenger 1998 is widely cited for his work on the topic of communities of practice. Cdc cop approach introduction to cops resource kit. Wenger views the claims processing unit as a community of practice. As a part of learning in cops, practitioners regularly think together about reallife problems or hot topics. In his book cultivating communities of practice, etienne wenger proposes seven principles for successfully cultivating communities of practice. The authors build upon the theoretical work of lave and wenger 1991 and wenger 1998, and focus on the organizational cultivation of cops. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read communities of practice. Communities of practice are groups 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. Engagement, alignment, imagination, belonging, identity, communities notes.
Practice does not exist in the abstract it exists because people are. Learning, meaning and identity is overlooked in the academic and popular business press, where the focus is most typically on managing a community of practice, rather than. A community of practice cop is a group of people who share a craft or a profession. Reification is the artifacts and procedures of previous practice. Jean lave, etienne wenger and communities of practice. Social media, open knowledge and communities of practice. This conceptual book lays out a social theory of learning centered on the concept of communities of practice. This a notion developed by jean lave and etienne wenger, and further elaborated by wenger in an influential book called communities of practice. However, wenger deviates from most psychological and social learning theories by introducing the concept of communities of practice. According to wenger in communities of practice, groups of people who share a common concern, have common activities and a shared history. A community of practice is not merely a community of interestpeople who like certain kinds of movies, for instance. A guide to managing knowledge, harvard business school press, cambridge, usa, 2002, 304 pages isbn 1578308.
Ccooommmmuuunnniiitttiieeesss ooofff ppprrraaacccttiiccee. Communities of practice cops, which have been described by wenger. Introduction to communities of practice, wengertrayner. Principles for cultivating communities of practice. Learning, meaning, and identity deals with a topic that is ofcrucial importance to a range ofcontemporary. This book presents a theory of learning that starts with the assumption that engagement in social practice is the fundamental process by which we get to know what we know and by which we become who we are. Communities of practice this book presents a theory of learning that starts with the assumption that engagement in social practice is the fundamental process by which we get to know what we know and by which we become who we are. Communities of practice have three distinct traits. However, the framework he developed in his seminal book communities of practice. Evolution of wengers concept of community of practice.
Or, post a discussion and mark it as a question and avoid even booking a physical meeting. Put simply, cops refer to groups of people who genuinely care about the same reallife problems or hot topics, and who on that basis interact regularly to learn together and from each other wenger et al. A community of practice is a set of interacting people engaged in a common practice. The idea of communities of practice cops has been around for 25 years, and it has found its way into peoples professional and everyday language wenger, 2010. As new practitioners discuss their problems with their fellows, or learn from their colleagues how to integrate the practice with the rest of their business workflow. Communities of practice learning, meaning and identity. This learning that takes place is not necessarily intentional. Aug 04, 2017 social media, open knowledge and communities of practice. The history and defining features of a community of practice, as developed by wenger is explained as well as the more recent thought on landscapes of practice by the wenger. In a learning community there is interplay between reification and participation. This book presents a theory of learning that starts with the assumption that engagement in social practice is the fundam. Extended discussion of the concept of community of practice and how it might be approached within organizational development and education. Being alive as human beings means that we are constantly engaged in the pursuit of enterprises of all kinds, from ensuring our physical survival to seeking the most lofty pleasures. Social, cognitive and computational perspectives new ed by wenger, etienne isbn.
Use naae communities of practice to take meeting notes while the meeting is going on. While they obviously are deeply committed to communities of practice and exuberant in embracing the concept particularly in the realm of knowledge management they also have observed enough of these communities to see how they can fail to crystallize, can go bad or can survive but. In this short conceptual book, anthropologist jean lave and i first introduced the concept of community of practice. Members of a community of practice are practitioners. Cultivating communities of practice is the second book from wenger which is only about communities of practice cop. Communities of practice by etienne wenger goodreads. Communities of practice in landscapes of practice igor. I have read numerous books, knitted several jumpers, been on many walks, enjoyed face to face not virtual contact with friends. Etienne wenger summarizes communities of practice cop as 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. Snyder argue that while communities form naturally, organizations need to become more proactive and systematic about developing and integrating them into their strategy. This is discussed in chapter 8 of etienne wenger s book communities of practice. According to wenger, cops use communal learning, expertise, and knowledge to achieve shared goals. The first book was a little dry and academic and intended to be, but this book is your typical business book, which makes it easy to read. Practice refers to the work people do, but also to the ideas behind it the shared understandings and the activities.
Professional learning communities and communities of. To make sense of identity formation and learning in communities of practice, we need to consider three modes of belonging engagement. Building a successful community of practice dr richard miller, millerklein associates ltd a community of practice cop is a group of individuals within an organisation who band together to share their knowledge and expertise, to learn from each other and to build their capabilities. Richard mcdermott is a leading expert of organization and community. Thus a community of practice is defined as a group that coheres through sustained mutual engagement on an indigenous enterprise, and creating a common repertoire. Cultivating communities of practice etienne wenger. In the 1998 book, the focus had shifted to personal growth and the. Anyone who is responsible for moving a community forward towards its goals should consider reading it. Social, cognitive and computational perspectives series by etienne wenger.
The term community of practice cop was first coined in 1991 by jean lave and etienne wenger. The second edition of the handbook of community practice is expanded and updated with a major global focus and serves as a comprehensive guidebook of community practice grounded in social justice and human rights. Although developing a community of practice may be part of mentoring best practice, it can be challenging to get one started. The tight knit nature of relations is clear from wengers indicators wenger 1998. In some groups we are core members, in others we are more at the margins. Wenger claims a community of practice emerges when an organization sets forth a structure to accomplish its goal. Starting with an analysis five case studies of traditional apprenticeship systems, we observed how in each case a whole community served as a living curriculum for the newcomer. Etienne charles wenger born 1952 is an educational theorist and practitioner, best known for his formulation with jean lave of the theory of situated cognition and his more recent work in the field of communities of practice. Communities of practice by etienne wenger july 1998. Cultivating communities of practice is one of the most important books to be published in the km field in the last few years.
In the book, he reports on an ethnographic study he did of a claims processing unit of an insurance company. Learning in school and from books can lack much of what is essential about learning for wenger. In cultivating communities of practice, etienne wenger, richard mcdermott, and william m. In this book, the authors shifted their focus from individuals learning and identity development on to providing a tool for organizations to manage knowledge workers. In educational research, the theory of communities of practice has been used for investigating such varied topics as the. Read communities of practice learning, meaning, and identity by etienne wenger available from rakuten kobo. This conceptual book lays out a social theory of learning centered on the concept of. Communities of practice as a social theory of learning. Because its constituent terms specify each other in this way, the term community of practice should be viewed as a unit. In part i, when i use the term community or the term practice by itself, it is just an abbreviation to make the text less cumbersome.
Presents a broad conceptual framework for thinking about learning as a process of social participation. Communities of practice cops are organized groups of people who have a common interest in a specific technical or business domain. Mar 01, 2017 how do you support a community of practice. Etienne wenger is a renowned expert and consultant on knowledge management and communities of practice in san juan, california. The authors build upon the theoretical work of lave and wenger 1991 and. An organizations communities of practice will last for as long as the employees are still interested to interact and learn from each other.
In 1998, the theorist etienne wenger extended the concept and applied it to other domains, such as organizations. Introduction to communities of practice wengertrayner. Social, cognitive and computational perspectives 9780521663632. In this respect, a community of practice is different from a community of interest or a geographical community in that it involves a shared practice. Other people can chime in with their own notes, and youve got a shared record of what happened. Are professional learning communities true learning communities as described by wenger. The characteristics of communities of practice according to etienne wenger c 2007, three elements are crucial in distinguishing a community of practice from other groups and communities. Buy building successful communities of practice by webber, emily isbn. Wengers book is stimulating, insightful, and challenging. Community a selfselected group of individuals who care enough about the topic to participate in regular interactions.