ABSTRACT
Chapter 9 addresses a fascinating and key aspect of human learning, informal learning in online communities of practice. Informal learning refers to experiential learning, that is, learning outside of the classroom. There is no teacher or curriculum; nor is there a degree, diploma or certificate as a result. Informal learning is the way that we learn throughout our lives. We learn by doing, by observing and by experiencing life. As professionals, we hone and advance our knowledge through experience and informal learning with peers and experts in our field. While an exact figure cannot be calculated, a common assertion is informal learning constitutes around 80% of the learning in organizations (Cross, 2007, p. 17). With the advent of the Internet, online communities have become a new, important and highly popular destination for informal learning and knowledge building, as well as for social communication. Chapter 9 builds on Chapters 6, 7 and 8 by examining the role and significance of online communities of practice. The chapter provides definitions and presents two real-world examples to depict how online communities of practice function and contribute to learning and knowledge building. Chapter 9 concludes by discussing features and indicators of online communities of practice and puts forward a Framework for Analysis to assist the design, implementation and assessment of OCoPs. It is illuminating that the terms “communication” and “community” derive from common Latin roots, communicare and communis, which mean “to share.” Sharing has enabled humans to survive and to thrive, and, as discussed in this book, has been the basis of civilizational advances. The ability to intentionally collaborate defines the fundamental nature of the human species (Hrdy, 2009). From the days of our earliest ancestors, the ability to communicate and to form community has been key to our survival. Communication is at the heart and soul of human development, individual and social. And in fundamental ways it is key to how we learn. Moreover, the concept of the community is replacing the image of the solitary genius as the sole, primary or even preferred source of creativity, science and innovation (Farrell, 2001). In studying the major artistic, social and scientific transformations of the past two centuries, Farrell notes that “artists, writers, composers, scientists, social reformers and other creative people report that a collaborative circle played an indispensable part in their development” (2001, p. 1). He cites a passage from the American writer Henry James, who suggests that without a community of peers, creative work is far more difficult:
The best things come . . . from the talents that are members of a group; every man works better when he has companions working in the same line, and yielding to the stimulus of suggestion, comparison, and emulation. Great things have of course been done by solitary workers, but they have usually been done with double the pains they would have cost if they had been produced in more genial circumstances. (James, 1909, p. 31, quoted in Farrell, 2001, p. 1)
Lave and Wenger (1991) coined the term “communities of practice” in the context of studying traditional apprenticeship. As Wenger later noted:
Apprenticeship is often thought of as a relationship between a master and a student. Yet we observed that learning took place mostly during interactions with journeymen and more advanced apprentices. Community of practice is the term we used to refer to this social structure. Once we had the concept, however, we started to see these communities in many other settings, where there was no official institution of apprenticeship. (Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002, p. 233)
The concept of communities of practice (CoP) has been adopted in education, training and management as well as related fields. The term refers to relatively tightly knit groups of professionals engaged in a common practice, who communicate, negotiate and share their best practice with one another directly. Sometimes these professionals work in the same organization. More typically CoPs exist outside of a particular workplace, but within a particular profession or area of skill. For example, high school biology teachers may participate in a CoP related to their specialization, even though they teach in different schools in different cities or countries. Heart surgeons may travel long distances to study one another’s work and learn new techniques from peers or experts in the field. CoPs may also be composed of hobbyists or interest groups. They may be antique car enthusiasts, foodies or self-help groups such as people who share news and information to learn more about their particular concern and deepen their knowledge on that topic. Most of us belong to various CoPs; we may be very active in some of these communities while we participate only occasionally in others.
