OE Global 2019

The concept of a Community of Practice (CoP) has been around for more than a quarter century, often used in educational settings, because “learning” is at the heart of these communities. However, this learning is different from a traditional classroom setting where the knowledge flows from an expert to learner and the expert defines the intended outcomes. Communities of practice focus on learning in a social context where mutual interest draws individuals to share and create new knowledge freely as they practice together. The outcome of this knowledge creation cannot be predicted a priori and in fact the process of learning together through practice and building community relationships is emphasized over specific outcomes or deliverables.

Educause’s definitive Communities of Practice Design Guide: A Step-by-Step Guide for Designing & Cultivating Communities of Practice in Higher Education (Cambridge, Kaplan, Suter, 2005) identified four key activities that support the identified purposes of a CoP:
• Develop Relationships and Build Trust
• Learn and Develop Practice
• Carry Out Tasks and Projects
• Create New Knowledge

Building effective communities of practice is about helping people to realize and practice their strengths in service of learning more about a topic. A community of practice should help people grow in their profession and in their leadership. Using the four activities identified in the design guide above, several communities of practice for open education will be analyzed for expressions of these activities and how they contribute to the effectiveness of the organization. Participants will also be given an opportunity to analyze and share the effectiveness of their own communities.