Activity 1: Define my Community of Practice

Rather late getting underway – but here I am on holiday, stressing over my first blog for this assessment. This is my observation on my community of practice.

Community of Practice

I teach at a catholic college and for me it is here my community of practice starts. The special character of an integrated school is very evident.

The special character reflects a definite charism which constitutes who we are and what we stand for. It is within this system I feel a sense of belonging and as a catholic school we have a strong sense of being comfortable in an environment that promotes strong virtuous values. Wenger-Trayner,(April 2015) champion the notion; identity and recognition of who and where we fit in is a key element in a community of practice.

Our senior management team encourage a supportive collegial environment where risk-taking and input to promote future focused learning is a given. In fact it is regarded as important; hence, I believe our school has the greatest number of teachers from any one school in New Zealand currently working on this Mindlab course.

Collegial working relationships and support is fundamental and I have found that having this support across all sectors of the school community grows a stronger relational link within the greater sector of all who make up this community of practice. From my experience I have utilised various colleagues’ expertise to gauge vital relevance in my own practice. There have been times when I have needed a sounding board. This critical reflective practice has enabled me to clarify my thoughts and crystalize my pedagogy to make improvements. The commendations along with the recommendations all help steer me in the right direction.

Another sector of my community of practice is my department. This is where teaching requirements for our specific subject are analysed and restructured to fit student outcomes and curriculum requirements. Our term goals, delivery and evaluative measures are determined and the next steps are structured. Our meetings around our term goals are personable and friendly and each staff member of our syndicate has the opportunity to lead with a prayer or reflection and resume a leadership role, on the other hand we may choose to seek and follow. It is good having this flexibility.  Staff feel valued and accepted as part of this department.

Pivotal to the success of what Wenger (2000) espouses as social learning; is identifying and recognising all members in co-existence with connectedness and expansion that promotes a healthy sense of belonging. This in turn activates greater engagement, imagination and alignment. These three elements are key to heightening working relationships.

I believe it is also important to embrace cultural differences too. Kaupapa Maori, for example enables a flourishing effect of teaching and learning when a culturally relevant approach is reflected. This could be appropriated for use with other valued cultures to of course.

In my community of practice I believe our working relationships are positive due to the active involvement of my colleagues. It is pleasing too, that together we share fresh ideas and realise the importance of sharing practice.

The three modes of belonging according to Wenger (2000) identity, knowledge and social learning are fairly well catered for in my school.

Having said that, there is always room for continuous improvement to make shifts in our thinking to improve practice.

Wenger, E. (2000).Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization, 7(2), 225-246

Wenger-Trayner, (April 2015). Communities of Practice: A Brief Introduction.