BWenger talks about education (Wenger, Chapter 12) he refers to many “trades –offs” with in a community of practice. These “trade-off” exists between the components that make up a community of practice, components like: Participation-Reification, Designed-Emergent Learning, Identification-Negotiability and Local-Global Communities. When is comes to understanding their relationship to one another other, it is important not to see them as two extremes with in a community of practice, but as a required balance between each other. Professor Plumb gave an example in class where he compared this balance to a slider control on a stereo, where members with in a community can adjust each component.
The link between the designed and the emergent, in reference to education, is the link between teaching and learning. (Wenger, Chapter 12) The designed refers to teaching in a structured sense with specific goals in mind and the emergent aspect is what the learner is actually interested in learning. There needs to be a balance between these two aspects in a learning environment. Too much structure in teaching can cause one to become disinterested in a community of practice. While an emergent environment can play to the interests of the individual keeping them engaged. The relationship that I would like to discuss is that of the Designed-Emergent relationship and how it connects to our sense of belonging within a community of practice.
When do you feel like you are a part of a group or even this class? Is it by showing up to class? Is it by asking questions in class? Is it by interacting with the teacher after class? Is it by positive feedback from other students? When does one feel apart of a community of practice? New situations can make people feel unsure of their place in a new community of practice. It is often hard to know who or what to identify with. When I first thought of identities with in the context of a community of practice, I thought that I had the identity first and I brought it to the community, but what I actually had was a curiosity.
Wenger talks about emergent learners and how they could be on the peripheral of a community of practice and then move in. This is found in many classrooms. When we fist start a new class, we can have people who are engaged and eager to learn from the time the first class starts. While for others, it may take time to feel accepted and comfortable in class, therefore taking a longer time to feel a sense of identity or belonging.
We gain our identities from a community of practice when we can identify with the information that is being shared. If we do not understand the material that we are learning then we are not engaged, therefore we will not identity with the community of practice. I felt this way when I first became a mom. I had little confidence in some things and relied on my mom to show me how to do most things. My lack of confidence, made me reluctant to think of myself as a mother. One thing that I could not do very well was burping my baby. My mom shared her burping technique with me and encouraged me to keep trying. As I became more confident in burping my baby, I also became more confident in being a mother. Soon, I began to identify myself with being a mom; I also began to enthusiastically show my burping technique to everyone.
The above example, though simple, shows how I was nervous about doing a new task and wanted to stay on the outside or peripheral of that community but trough exchanging information with my mom I was able to emerge with good burping skills. There were many things, which I needed help with as a new mom. My teacher, my mom, had a goal in mind of what she wanted to teach me but she did not set out with a task oriented curriculum where we would do diaper changing drills and Olympic timed bottle feedings. She waited patiently, for me to ask for help on things that I thought was important. Through this emergent style of learning, I was able to learn new things about being a mom, when I was ready to learn them. When knowledge is delivered with in a meaningful context, knowledge transfer is much easier and more likely to stay with the individual.
As I learned in reading Wenger, what is often the case is that your identity establishes itself from what you are learning within the group. We can begin to identify with a group or community of practice quicker if that group can play to our own emerging interests or curiosities. This coupled with positive reinforcement leads to a learner that is engaged and quickly identify with the community of practice.
Wenger, E (1998). Communities of Practice Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge University Press.
Thank you Sherry for your great blog and for sharing your experience with your baby.
ReplyDeleteyou discussed the feeling of belonging , to be part of the group is to be secure. That security allows for growthand forms identity. you also described how you learnedto mother your baby. you went to an expert for advise- your mother. As we know that mothers porvide trested knowldge on the practical and emotional needs of our babies. we have confidence in them becuase they have raised us successfully, you describe your interaction between you, your mother and your baby- her grandchild.you discribe a wroking and workable circle. In addition, I like when you talk of hwo you gained your self-identity from your mother. Now, you as a mother use those same techniques to provide your baby with the source learning envieronment to gain self-identity. learning is a circle.
I would say that people in a community have an integral role in shaping our identity, support us by sharing different opinions and experience.
The community is so important for everyone, especially through belonging to that community. I feel that I’m part of the community when I have a chance to discuss new ideas and connect to others.
Also,I feel part of the community when I am respected by the community. This motivates me to do something beneficial. In addition, obtaining new family and community skills can contribute in building the confidence in myself.
Nicely done, Sherry. Working in communities of practice can help us to be more confidents and to have a feeling of belonging. I think the sense of belong is different in each of us depends our personalities, perspectives, and environment around us. I also agree that we gain our identities from being in a community of practices as long as we share, involve, and participate; we learn many things from each other.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like in your blog is when you talk about burping your child. It is really difficult to do something without experience but what is good that we have people around to help us. What we need to do something good is confidence, determination and Insistence. Feeding back plays a vital role in our identities and feeling belong so if someone like a teacher wants to feed students back, he or she should try to give the positive side and then try to see that the weakness need more focus.
Sherry, the questions you raise are key to the self-discoveries that we are all making on our learning paths. There have certainly been times when I am unsure if I belong to a community of practice or not. The idea that one's perspective on acceptance and have an impact on whether they are actually accepted or not is an interesting one. Take the example of the last kid picked on the sports team. Are they part of the community of practice that is the classroom, the school yard, or either of the teams? I believe that to be truly immersed within a community of practice is to feel that sense of community and collaboration.
ReplyDeleteYour blog reflects the importance of balance between the natural duality of Wenger's 'trade-offs'. We must always be aware that there are two sides to every coin, each as significant. In magnetics, two opposing poles can either attract or repel. The duality within Wenger's 'trade-offs' has equal potential. I hope to experience more attraction than repulsion within Wenger's 'trade-offs'. This attraction lends itself to collaboration and further co-operation in our learning processes.