Activity Four - Community of Practice

The term, 'communities of practice' is a completely new one to me. While reading Wenger-Trayner's introduction, a lightbulb went on in my head. 

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According to Wenger-Trayner,  "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" (p.1).

It thought back to all the communities of practice that I have been involved in over the years. In particular, one that stands out is the community I was part of as a beginning teacher. We were a community of both experienced and inexperienced teachers. The majority of us shared similar beliefs and values about teaching and learning. We had robust discussions and I like to think we all learned from each other. It was these first years as part of this community that made me the teacher I am today. 

I now realise that it is this type of community that I have searched for since leaving this school 3 years ago and perhaps why starting a new school can be challenging.

Who are the stakeholders of my professional community? In what ways do they influence my practice?

My new role this year as an accelerant teacher in a new school was initially very isolating. It is my first year out of the classroom and for the first time in 10 years, I felt as though I did not belong to a community of practice. One common factor that unites teachers is the collective camaraderie that comes with surviving the ins and outs of the classroom. I no longer have that in common with many of my colleagues. Initially I felt like I had lost my identity. Luckily I am not the only accelerant teacher. 

Community 1: Accelerant Teachers

This is a small group of the teachers and management who work with learners who need extra support to reach National Standard. We also take groups of GAT learners. 

Influence of Community One

This group has a good balance of old timers and newcomers (Lave). We are always having informal discussions about the learners we are trying to teach and how we can move these learners forward. We have formal meeting times where we discuss problems of practice and collectively offer solutions to these problems. This community has a huge influence on my practice. I have learnt a lot from each member. We have been very successful in accelerating our learners' progress this year and I believe this is due to how we have worked together collectively. 

Community 2: Fellow Mind Labbers

This is a group of fellow teachers who are taking part in the MindLab Certificate from both primary and secondary sectors. While this started off as a network (Wenger-Trayner) through the Google+ community, a small group of us have begun to meet and help each other with our assessments.

Influence of Community Two
The influence of this community has been invaluable particularly as the course moved to an online platform. We interchange between master and apprentice (Lave) as those of us who know more about digital technologies help those who don't. Those in the community with more teaching experience offer valuable input and advice.