So what is a Community of Practise?
One definition says that "a community of practise is a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do, and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly" (Team BE, 2011).
So the key is people united with:- Passion
- A desire to Learn how to improve
- Regular Interaction
School staff
Syndicate team
Church
Women's ministries
Colleagues in local cluster schools focus on digital technologies
Mindlab
For this blog I will focus on our school staff as a community of practise that I will reflect on in more depth.
The three elements of my community :
Domain:
As a range of educators with a variety of teaching experience and special areas of interest. We have a common cause to raise student achievement in our school and improve our teaching pedagogy. We have a passion to see our students achieve their personal best in the short amount of time we have them (Intermediate School). This does not only included core curriculum areas, but general health and wellbeing as well.
Regular Interaction & Activities:
We meet weekly, generally these meetings include some professional development or reflection on our practise. We often have times of professional development by presented by staff in our school or experts in their fields. We are in a constant process of reflection and improvement, committed to be lifelong learners. Presently we are having support from NZCER to assist us with our personal teacher inquiries and how to align this with raising student achievement.
In addition we have been learning how to improve our teaching practise by reading and actively reflectinng on Fullen & Langworthy's (2014) A Rich Seam: New Pedagogies Find Deep Learning. This is then followed by Market Spaces where we can individually or collaboratively present a half an hour workshop to share our learning with our colleagues. We have found this kind of learning very exciting and effective.
What does our community look like:
A vibrant collection of people who are connected to each other in relationship and a deep desire to see progress. My role in this community is much the same for all staff, at times we are leaders, at other times active members.
I look forward to whats ahead for our community of the next few months as we continue to develop our strengths as individuals and as a team.
References:
Fullan, M., & Langworthy, M. (2014) A Rich Seam: New Pedagogies Find Deep Learning. London: Pearson.
Syndicate team
Church
Women's ministries
Colleagues in local cluster schools focus on digital technologies
Mindlab
For this blog I will focus on our school staff as a community of practise that I will reflect on in more depth.
The three elements of my community :
Domain:
As a range of educators with a variety of teaching experience and special areas of interest. We have a common cause to raise student achievement in our school and improve our teaching pedagogy. We have a passion to see our students achieve their personal best in the short amount of time we have them (Intermediate School). This does not only included core curriculum areas, but general health and wellbeing as well.
Regular Interaction & Activities:
We meet weekly, generally these meetings include some professional development or reflection on our practise. We often have times of professional development by presented by staff in our school or experts in their fields. We are in a constant process of reflection and improvement, committed to be lifelong learners. Presently we are having support from NZCER to assist us with our personal teacher inquiries and how to align this with raising student achievement.
In addition we have been learning how to improve our teaching practise by reading and actively reflectinng on Fullen & Langworthy's (2014) A Rich Seam: New Pedagogies Find Deep Learning. This is then followed by Market Spaces where we can individually or collaboratively present a half an hour workshop to share our learning with our colleagues. We have found this kind of learning very exciting and effective.
What does our community look like:
A vibrant collection of people who are connected to each other in relationship and a deep desire to see progress. My role in this community is much the same for all staff, at times we are leaders, at other times active members.
I look forward to whats ahead for our community of the next few months as we continue to develop our strengths as individuals and as a team.
References:
Fullan, M., & Langworthy, M. (2014) A Rich Seam: New Pedagogies Find Deep Learning. London: Pearson.
Team BE. (2011, December 28). What is community of practice? Retrieved May 15, 2017, from EB Wenger-Trayner: http://wenger-trayner.com/resources/what-is-a-community-of-practice/
Wenger, E.(2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization,7(2), 225-246.
Hi Zoey, I really enjoyed reading your reflection your community of practice. It was great to read your comments about the professional development opportunities you and your staff are engaging with during your staff meetings. I do believe this presents us with the opportunity to evaluate ourselves as learners and think and justify how we do things are teachers. A prime opportunity for reflection! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi, I liked in the post where you talk your process of reflection and improvement leading to being a life long learners. This is what we want from our students and you seem to have a very supportive environment at your school which allows you to engage in a range of profession development opportunities. I very much like that you are including the students overall health and wellbeing in your reflective practice.
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