Activity 3: Contribution of Teacher Inquiry Topics to my Communities of Practice

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi engari he toa takimano
My strength is not that of an individual but that of the collective


Communities of Practice (CoP) are a means though which all those involved can develop their knowledge competence through social interactions with like-minded individuals.  In this sense, learning is an organic and social phenomenon.  Those involved need to be invested in the issue/topic being inquired into and demonstrate engagement, alignment and imagination (Wenger, 2000), as well as being cognisant of - but willing to suspend the impact of - time constraints, and socio-cultural environment (ego and individual agendas) (Kerno, 2008).  See my previous blog post for more detail.

I have two collaborative learning related teacher inquiry topics.

Inquiry 1:

When working with students on high stakes research based assessments over a long period of time, how do we avoid crossing the line from collaboration and into collusion?  How do we avoid the student-teacher power imbalance?

This would be a CoP working at the micro level in the classroom (myself and a small number of students). 

It requires some context. 

Scholarship Physical Education is a year-long portfolio in which students research a topic of sociocultural and biophysical significance such as gender identity in sport.  They are required to research the issue, synthesise the information and weave through their personal engagement and understanding of the topic with a high degree of critical evaluation.  Anecdotally, some teachers act far more ethically in this respect than others (students from other schools have mentioned teachers writing large parts of the portfolio for them).

This would build on my learning from Digital 2 as the students and I consider collaboration, collusion, loss of autonomy, loss of agency, and extent of feedback.  Student voice from this assignment will be used as a starting point for further inquiry.  Those involved in the CoP all have a vested interest in this inquiry as all parties must sign off authenticity sheets when the portfolio is submitted. Consequently, the need exists for both the teacher ad students.

The key issue with this inquiry is individual student’s understanding of collaboration versus collusion.  One student’s collaboration may be another student’s collusion.  There is no clear demarcation.  This would need to be clearly established from the outset.

Inquiry 2:

As we move towards greater use of BYOD in the school, how do we ensure that those innovators and early adopters are being catered for at the same time as enabling the early and late majority to build their capacity?

As an inquiry, this topic had its genesis in the Leadership 2 assignment and was born out of the realisation we have been spending a lot of time and effort trying to build the capacity of the early and late majority.  The innovators and early adopters on staff have had little on offer to grow their capacity and challenge them to keep being innovative.

This would be a CoP that is not operating within the school at present.  The need exists, and the school is willing to invest the time to nurture it.  It would be a self-nominating Professional Learning Group for those who want to increase their knowledge and understanding of digital pedagogies, leadership, and share/critique/reflect on their experiences with like-minded individuals.  It will involve the innovators and early adopters with respect to e-learning as they are most likely to have the engagement, alignment, imagination, passion, and willingness to be self-reflective that would make this group work. 

The aim is to empower these individuals to share (which is often the issue) their knowledge and understanding thereby raising their own competence and that of other staff.

References:


Anon (2017). P3pharmacy.co.uk. Retrieved 27 November 2017, from http://www.p3pharmacy.co.uk/images/view/f

Kerno Jr, S. J. (2008).  Limitations of Communities of Practice: A Consideration of Unresolved Issues and Difficulties in the Approach. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 15(1), 69–78. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051808317998

Knox, B. (2009, December 4). Cultivating Communities of Practice: Making Them Grow. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMPRZnRFkk

Maori Proverbs with their English Translation - Whakatauki. (2017). Maori.cl. Retrieved 27 November 2017, from http://www.maori.cl/Proverbs.htm

Wenger, E. (2000). Communities of Practice and Social Learning Systems. Organization Articles, 7(2), 225–246.

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