Workplace Learning, Policy and Practice: Connecting Community, Practice and Teachers’ Identities

  • Michael Phillips
Chapter
First Online:
Part of the Digital Education and Learning book series (DEAL)

Abstract

This chapter focuses on situated learning theories, specifically a critique of Wenger’s (Communities of practice. Learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998) notion of ‘communities of practice’. The review of literature associated with communities of practice highlights the complexity of this framework but concludes, through a review of other workplace learning literature, that communities of practice is a suitable lens through which the context of in-service teachers’ TPACK can be explored.

Keywords

Lesson Plan Knowledge Development Workplace Learning Joint Enterprise Mutual Engagement 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. Andrew, N., Tolson, D., & Ferguson, D. (2008). Building on Wenger: Communities of practice in nursing. Nurse Education Today, 28(2), 246–252. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WNX-4P2JCRX-1/2/17c3b2814217d888ac6aef06be2a23ca
  2. Argyris, C., & Schön, D. (1974). Theory in practice: Increasing professional effectiveness. San Fansisco: Jossey Bass.Google Scholar
  3. Argyris, C., & Schön, D. (1978). Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective. Reading: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
  4. Barton, D., & Tusting, K. (Eds.). (2005). Beyond communities of practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  5. Baumann, Z. (2000). Liquid modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
  6. Beckett, D., & Hager, P. (2002). Life, work and learning: Practice in postmodernity (Vol. 14). London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  7. Bereiter, C. (2002). Education and mind in the knowledge age. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
  8. Billett, S. (1996). Situated learning: Bridging sociocultural and cognitive theorising. Learning and Instruction, 6(3), 263–280. doi: 10.1016/0959-4752(96)00006-0.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Billett, S. (2001). Knowing in practice: Re-conceptualising vocational expertise. Learning and Instruction, 11, 431–452.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Branch, R. M., Jones, S. A., & Orey, M. (Eds.). (2010). Educational media and technology yearbook (Vol. 35). Boston: Springer Science+ Business Media.Google Scholar
  11. Brouwer, P., Brekelmans, M., Nieuwenhuis, L., & Simons, R. J. (2012). Communities of practice in the school workplace. Journal of Educational Administration, 50(3), 346-364. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09578231211223347
  12. Brown, J., & Duguid, P. (2001). Knowledge and organization: A social-practice perspective. Organization Science, 12(2), 198–213. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3086055
  13. Brown, J., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Butler, D., Lauscher, H., Jarvis-Selinger, S., & Beckingham, B. (2004). Collaboration and self-regulation in teachers’ professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education and Special Education, 20(5), 435–455. doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2004.04.003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Cobb, P., McClain, K., de Silva Lamberg, T., & Dean, C. (2003). Situating teachers’ instructional practices in the institutional setting of the school and district. Educational Researcher, 32(6), 13–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. Cook Sather, A. (2006). Newly betwixt and between: Revising liminality in the context of a teacher preparation program. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 37(2), 110–127. Retrieved from http://chishr09lsap.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com:9003/monash2?sid=metalib%3APQ_MS&id=doi%3A&genre=&isbn=&issn=01617761&date=2006&volume=37&issue=2&spage=110&epage=127&aulast=Cook-Sather&aufirst=&auinit=&title=Anthropology and Education Quarterly&atitle=Newly Betwixt and Between%3A Revising Liminality in the Context of a Teacher Preparation Program&sici=&__service_type=&pid=%3Cmetalib_doc_number%3E000232199%3C%2Fmetalib_doc_number%3E%3Cmetalib_base_url%3Ehttp%3A%2F%2Fchishr09lsap Google Scholar
  17. Contu, A., & Willmott, H. (2003). Re-Embedding Situatedness: The importance of Power Relations in Learning Theory. Organization Science, 14(3), 283–296.Google Scholar
  18. Cox, A. (2005). What are communities of practice? A comparative review of four seminal works. Journal of Information Science, 31(6), 527–540. doi: 10.1177/0165551505057016.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Cox, S. (2008). A conceptual analysis of technological pedagogical content knowledge. Ph.D., Brigham Young University, Provo.Google Scholar
  20. Cox, S., & Graham, C. R. (2009). Diagramming TPACK in practice: Using an elaborated model of the TPACK framework to analyze and depict teacher knowledge. TechTrends, 53(5), 60–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Cremers, P., & Valkenburg, R. (2008). Teaching and learning about communities of practice in higher education. In C. Kimble, P. Hildreth, & I. Bourdon (Eds.), Communities of practice: Creating learning environments for educators (Vol. 1, pp. 333–354). Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.Google Scholar
  22. Cuban, L. (2004). The blackboard and the bottom line. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
  23. Darling-Hammond, L., Wei, R. C., & Andree, A. (2010). How high-achieving countries develop great teachers. Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education Research Brief, 1–8.Google Scholar
  24. Elkjaer, B. (2003). Organisational learning with a pragmatic slant. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 22(5), 481–494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Engestrom, Y. (1999). Activity theory and individual and social transformation. In Y. Engestrom, R. Miettinen, & R.-L. Punamaki (Eds.), Perspectives on activity theory (pp. 19–38). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Engestrom, Y. (2001). Expansive learning at work: Towards an activity-theoretical reconceptualisation. Journal of Education and Work, 14(1), 133–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Eraut, M. (2000). Non-formal learning and tacit knowledge in professional work. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 70, 113–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Fernando, A. (2008). From student to teacher: Using the theory of communities of practice to understand and improve the process of pre-service teacher transition. Monash University, Australia.Google Scholar
  29. Fowler, C. J. H., & Mayes, J. T. (1999). Learning relationships: From theory to design. Association for Learning Technology Journal, 7(3), 6–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Fuller, A. (2007). Critiquing theories of learning and communities of practice. In J. Hughes, N. Jewson, & L. Unwin (Eds.), Communities of practice: Critical perspectives (pp. 17–29). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  31. Fuller, A., & Unwin, L. (2003). Learning as apprentices in the contemporary UK workplace: Creating and managing expansive and restrictive participation. Journal of Education and Work, 16(4), 407–426.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. Fuller, A., & Unwin, L. (2004). Expansive learning environments: Integrating organisational and personal development. In H. Rainbrid, A. Fuller, & A. Munro (Eds.), Workplace learning in context (pp. 126–144). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
  33. Glazer, E. M., Hannafin, M. J., & Song, L. (2005). Promoting technology integration through collaborative apprenticeship. Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(4), 57–67. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/30221209
  35. Grossman, P., Wineburg, S., & Woolworth, S. (2001). Toward a theory of teacher community. The Teachers College Record, 103(6), 942–1012.Google Scholar
  36. Hager, P. (2005). Current theories of workplace learning: A critical assessment. In N. Basica, A. Cumming, A. Datnow, K. Leithwood, & D. Livingstone (Eds.), International handbook of educational policy (pp. 829–846). London: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  37. Handley, K., Sturdy, A., Fincham, R., & Clark, T. (2006). Within and beyond communities of practice: Making sense of learning through participation, identity and practice. Journal of Management Studies, 43(3), 641–653. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00605.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  38. Hanks, W. (1991). Foreward. In J. Lave & E. Wenger (Eds.), Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation (pp. 11–24). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  39. Hartnell-Young, E. (2006). Teachers’ roles and professional learning in communities of practice supported by technology in schools. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 14(3), 461–480.Google Scholar
  40. Henderson, M. (2007). Investigating the role of community in sustaining teacher participation in blended professional development. Ph.D., James Cook University, Townsville.Google Scholar
  41. Henderson, M. (2015). The (mis) use of community of practice: Delusion, confusion, and instrumentalism in educational technology research. In S. Bulfin, N. F. Johnson, & C. Bigum (Eds.), Critical perspectives on technology and education (pp. 127–140). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
  42. Hennessy, S., Ruthven, K., & Brindley, S. (2005). Teacher perspectives on integrating ICT into subject teaching: Commitment, constraints, caution, and change. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 37(2), 155–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Herrington, J., & Oliver, R. (1995). Critical characteristics of situated learning: Implications for the instructional design of multimedia. In J. Pearce & A. Ellis (Eds.), Learning with technology (pp. 235–262). Parkville: University of Melbourne.Google Scholar
  44. Hodkinson, H., & Hodkinson, P. (2004). Rethinking the concept of community of practice in relation to schoolteachers’ workplace learning. International Journal of Training and Development, 8(1), 21–31.Google Scholar
  45. Holmes, J., & Meyerhoff, M. (1999). The Community of Practice: Theories and methodologies in language and gender research. Language in Society, 28(2), 173–183.Google Scholar
  46. Hughes, J. (2007). Lost in transition: Communities of practice. The journey from academic model to practitioner tool. In J. Hughes, N. Jewson, & L. Unwin (Eds.), Communities of practice: Critical perspectives (pp. 30–40). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  47. Kinsella, E. A. (2007). Technical rationality in Schön’s reflective practice: Dichotomous or non-dualistic epistemological position. Nursing Philosophy, 8(2), 102–113. doi: 10.1111/j.1466-769X.2007.00304.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  48. Klein, J. H., & Connell, N. A. D. (2008). The identification and cultivation of appropriate communities of practice in higher education. In C. Kimble, P. Hildreth, & I. Bourdon (Eds.), Communities of practice: Creating learning environments for educators (Vol. 1, pp. 65–81). Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.Google Scholar
  49. Koliba, C., & Gajda, R. (2009). “Communities of practice” as an analytical construct: Implications for theory and practice. International Journal of Public Administration, 32(2), 97–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  50. Kopcha, T. J. (2010). A systems-based approach to technology integration using mentoring and communities of practice. Educational Technology Research & Development, 58(2), 175–190. doi: 10.1007/s11423-008-9095-4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  51. Korthagen, F. A. J. (2010). Situated learning theory and the pedagogy of teacher education: Towards an integrative view of teacher behavior and teacher learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(1), 98–106. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VD8-4WDFC8W-1/2/2304b9aa76f3a7a0e36fbff420ce052d
  52. Lave, J. (1988). Cognition in practice: Mind, mathematics and culture in everyday life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  53. Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning. Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  54. MacBeath, J. (2003). Measuring school capacity and monitoring. Paper presented at the 16th international Congress for school effectiveness and improvement, Sydney.Google Scholar
  55. Marsick, V., & Watkins, K. (1990). Informal and incidental learning in the workplace. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
  56. McNamara, O., Jones, M., & Murray, J. (2014). Framing Workplace Learning: Springer.Google Scholar
  57. Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2008, March). Introducing technological pedagogical content knowledge. In annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (pp. 1–16).Google Scholar
  58. Phillips, M. (2012). The role of community in teachers’ knowledge development. In ACEC2012: Its Time Conference, October (Vol. 2) 452-463Google Scholar
  59. Porras-Hernández, L. H., & Salinas-Amescua, B. (2013). Strengthening TPACK: A broader notion of context and the use of teacher’s narratives to reveal knowledge construction. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 48(2), 223–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  60. Printy, S. M. (2008). Leadership for teacher learning: A community of practice perspective. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44(2), 187–226. doi: 10.1177/0013161x07312958.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  61. Resnick, L. (1987). Learning in school and out. Educational Researcher, 16(9), 13–20.Google Scholar
  62. Rogers, J. (2000). Communities of practice: A framework for fostering coherence in virtual learning communities. Educational Technology & Society, 3(3), 384–392.Google Scholar
  63. Schoenfield, A. H. (1999). Looking toward the 21st century: Challenges of educational theory and practice. Educational Researcher, 28(7), 4–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  64. Schön, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
  65. Schön, D. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. San Fransisco: Jossey Bass.Google Scholar
  66. Sfard, A. (1998). On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just one. Educational Researcher, 27(2), 4–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  67. Shulman, L. S., & Sykes, G. (1986). A National Board of Teaching?: In Search of a Bold Standard. Task Force on Teaching as a Profession, Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy.Google Scholar
  68. Shulman, L. S. (1993). Teaching as community property. Change, 25(6), 6–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  69. Skerrett, A. (2010). There’s going to be community. There’s going to be knowledge: Designs for learning in a standardised age. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(3), 648–655.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  70. Somekh, B. (2007). Pedagogy and learning with ICT: Researching the art of innovation. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  71. Squires, S & Van De Vanter, M. (2012) Communities of Practice. In A Companion to Organizational Anthropology. D. Douglas Caulkins and Ann T. Jordan, eds. pp. 289–310. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Google Scholar
  72. Watkins, K., & Marsick, V. (1992). Towards a theory of informal and incidental learning in organizations. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 11(4), 287–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  73. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice. Learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  74. Wenger, E., McDermott, R. A., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Harvard Business Press.Google Scholar
  75. Westheimer, J. (1999). Communities and consequences: An inquiry into ideology and practice in teachers’ professional work. Educational Administration Quarterly, 35(1), 71-105.Google Scholar
  76. Winch, C. (1998). The philosophy of human learning. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Michael Phillips
    • 1
  1. 1.Faculty of EducationMonash UniversityClaytonAustralia

Personalised recommendations