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A survey of current research on online communities of practice
Abstract
The author surveys current literature on communities of practice and their potential development using networked technology and remote collaboration, specifically with respect to World Wide Web (WWW) communication tools. The vast majority of the current literature in this new research area consists of case studies. Communities of practice have the following components that distinguish them from traditional organizations and learning situations: (1) different levels of expertise that are simultaneously present in the community of practice; (2) fluid peripheral to center movement that symbolizes the progression from being a novice to an expert; and (3) completely authentic tasks and communication. Supporting concepts include aspects of constructivism (i.e., ill-structured problems, facilitation, collaborative learning, and negotiated goals), community knowledge greater than individual knowledge, as well as an environment of safety and trust. Virtual communities are defined as designed communities using current networked technology, whereas communities of practice emerge within the designed community via the ways their participants use the designed community. Current networked technology has both advantages and disadvantages in emergent development of communities of practice. Because most collaboration is text-based, norms are reduced, enabling introverted participants to share their ideas on an equal footing with extroverts. However, the greatest problem with virtual communities is withdrawing, or attrition. This problem can be reduced somewhat through good facilitation techniques and adequate scaffolding, especially in the cases of online communication techniques and technical support. Finally, the author recommends further research questions and proposes a case study, whose purpose is to observe the effects of an emerging community of practice within the designed environment of a virtual community.
... Invisibility may also serve as a precursor to attrition when members discontinue participation in the VCoP. Johnson (2001) considered attrition the greatest threat to successful VCoP development and sustainment if not purposefully mitigated. ...
... Synchronous and asynchronous options, including email, video conferences, blogs, and discussion forums can support the demands of multiple personalities and accommodate a variety of virtual infrastructures. Ultimately, the type of virtual forum that is selected should be aligned with business practices of the orga-nization in which it is being employed and reflect the technical capacity of its users (Johnson, 2001;Kok, 2010). ...
... To promote usability and overcome technical challenges, scaffolding may be incorporated into virtual forums (Johnson, 2001;Jung & Suzuki, 2015). For example, Jung and Suzuki (2015) described three methods of scaffolding, including worked examples, grouping, and assessment, employed in a wikibased collaborative project to improve participation and outcome. ...
Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoP) may provide the afloat community of the USCG greater opportunities for learning and professional development. The affordances of virtual engagement, including increased access to learning and peer feedback may enhance interaction and opportunities for the development and refinement of professional expertise. Although the specific learning needs and constraints of this community, including geographic separation and dynamic deployment schedules, appear well-aligned with VCoP structure and objectives, it is critical that the knowledge-sharing culture of the USCG’s afloat community be thoroughly explored before pursuing any form of performance and learning intervention. This study revealed that the afloat community possesses potential for successful engagement in a VCoP. Members share knowledge frequently within the community and demonstrate experience, interest, and comfort with virtual learning. However, the afloat community’s potential for engagement in a VCoP may be challenged by members’ perceptions of trust and vulnerability with sharing information on mistakes and lessons learned. Recommendations for enhancing trust and promoting communal development and sustainment are presented.
... Various strategies and techniques are put forward and recommended by specialists. Online Community of Practice is one of the new advised and contemporary means that proved efficiency in developing professional teachers (Johnson, 2001;Brown and Duguid, 2002). ...
... On the other hand, the Online Community of Practice (OCoP) is a virtual context, climate or setting in which individuals and particularly teachers can engage and discuss issues and exchange various information to develop their skills and boost their professionalism (Johnson, 2001). It shares the same three principles as the CoP. ...
This paper involves an action research that aims at encouraging teachers to investigate the benefits of using the Online Communities of Practice to boost their professionalism and adopt them. Besides, this study seeks to provide a conceptualization of professional process in the field of teaching English as a foreign language. Also, it attempts to gain more insights into how Foreign Language teachers perceive professionalism. Empirical data are gained through an administered questionnaire to a randomly selected sample of thirty teachers from the Department of English at Batna-2 University, Algeria. This questionnaire examines teachers' awareness, attitudes, and readiness towards adopting online community of practice to develop professional skills. Ultimately, the obtained results show that teachers define professionalism differently. Moreover, the results encourage and recommend the integration of Online Community of Practice into foreign language teaching to assist teachers in perfecting their mission and update their professionalism.
... Researchers recommend that, in light of recent developments in online interactive learning technologies, knowledge should be constructed in a cooperative manner within activities that concentrate on product creation for adults [1]. Online communities of practice, in contrast to locationbased communities of practice, bring individuals together around a task or an idea, and the tools available online allow means to suppress the conduct that is considered to be the standard in conventional groups [2][3][4]. Keeping this fact in mind, teachers often make use of the opportunities presented by social networks in order to establish communities of practice and cooperative settings. Because BuddyPress is one of the most popular services among adults, identifying whether or not it is a Community of Practice (CoP) environment can provide direction on how to develop and implement online learning environments for mature students. ...
... ey defended their position by citing the lack of direct contact between members of the CoP. Nonetheless, advanced modern technologies provide a plethora of synchronous or asynchronous facilities that may help overcome the lack of direct contact between people [3,67]. ...
A community of practice can be formed to adopt professional development programs for teachers, according to the researcher’s experience in Saudi Arabia. A community of practice is a group of people who share common interests, values, and goals. Thus, the absence of research encouraged this study. It is an investigation of how the theory of online CoP mediates between teachers with common interests and specialists. Teachers class teaches the value of realistic practice and real-life examples. Like other professional development programs such as workshops or training, we observe how this can help employees establish their own identity. This article highlights the value of establishing a community of practice among teachers or others with similar interests. This method increases teacher enthusiasm, creativity, and idea exchange by broadening professional dialogue.
... With advances in online interactive learning tools, researchers suggest constructing knowledge collaboratively within tasks that focus on product development for adults (Huang, 2002;Herrington et al., 2003;Park & Choi, 2009). Unlike traditional location-based CoPs, online CoPs bring individuals together around a task or idea, and online tools provide ways to suppress traditional group norm behavior (Squire & Johnson, 2000;Johnson, 2001). Bearing this in mind, educators tend to leverage the potential benefits of social networks to create collaborative environments and communities of practice. ...
... The adult learners provided knowledge building through the exchange of expertise in the group. This can be explained by one of the key concepts of the CoP and legitimate peripheral participation (Soden & Halliday, 2000), in which the CoP members are divided into novices and experts (Johnson, 2001). The learners switched from peripheral participation to full participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991), which can be seen from the exchange of experiences between novices in the Facebook group. ...
This study used the Communities of Practice (CoP) framework to analyze how social media helped build an online community in a collaborative process by carrying out exploratory research design. For eight weeks, data was collected from ten teachers enrolled in an educational technology graduate program. The data was collected by Facebook through likes and posts. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with all participants. While content analysis was performed on all qualitative data, descriptive and social network analysis were performed in the analysis of quantitative data obtained from Facebook. The participants were asked to develop an authentic video for young students to increase their awareness on using the internet safely. Social media was offered to participants to share their knowledge and designs during the collaborative construction of the artifact exercises. The results showed that the features of social media helped build a community of practice in terms of engagement, fostering a sense of responsibility and mutual assistance. The most popular features such as like buttons, comments, posts, shares and reactions for students were used in a variety of ways to build an online community of practice for adult learners. They made it easier to create a common product, take responsibility, spread the effort for the product video, eliminate of the shortcomings, achieve a common result, help each other, expertise, high engagement and collective understanding. Some practical implications for a better learning experience within an online practice community via social media have also been included.
... Such approaches also have the potential to improve student engagement and motivation through embedding educational theory within the human-centred design and implementation phases of online interprofessional education (Hayward et al, 2021). For example, constructivist approaches build upon existing knowledge of students and can be used to create opportunities for online collaboration through developing virtual interprofessional communities of practice (Johnson, 2001). As illustrated by the comparison of case studies 1 and 3 (Box 5), a practical application of this might include engagement with asynchronous interprofessional discussion boards or adopting a process of defining an interprofessional education problem, encouraging effective online participation of all students through online facilitation that scaffolds and builds upon the existing knowledge and resources of the virtual community, encouraging collaborative online working and negotiating next steps within the online community of practice (Johnson, 2001;Wetzlmair et al, 2021). ...
... For example, constructivist approaches build upon existing knowledge of students and can be used to create opportunities for online collaboration through developing virtual interprofessional communities of practice (Johnson, 2001). As illustrated by the comparison of case studies 1 and 3 (Box 5), a practical application of this might include engagement with asynchronous interprofessional discussion boards or adopting a process of defining an interprofessional education problem, encouraging effective online participation of all students through online facilitation that scaffolds and builds upon the existing knowledge and resources of the virtual community, encouraging collaborative online working and negotiating next steps within the online community of practice (Johnson, 2001;Wetzlmair et al, 2021). Integral to achieving an effective online community of practice is creating a psychologically safe online educational environment, which recognises the importance of mutual trust, participation and continued engagement with peers (Hayward et al, 2021). ...
This is the third in a series of articles exploring experiences of engaging with interprofessional education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article focuses on experiences of emergency remote teaching from the student perspective, considering the enablers and barriers to effective learning and taking into account the logistical, technological and theoretical considerations for facilitating an authentic learning experience in line with professional standards. A global perspective of interprofessional education during lockdown is provided through case studies, providing an opportunity to benchmark against examples of best practice to ensure online interprofessional education is successful in preparing students to work within a multiprofessional, multi-agency team to provide high-quality care through effective team working.
... Johnson (Johnson, 2001) defined virtual communities as "...groups that use networked technologies to communicate and collaborate." (ibid, p.56). ...
... Whether the preferred definition of a 'community of practice' is formal (proposed by Lave and Wenger (1991)), or less formal i.e. emerging naturally (Johnson (2001)), both can be also be seen as 'personal / professional learning networks' where knowledge is actively sought out by members of the community (Trust et al. (2016). What is important is the formation and continuation of these communities or networks through the act of blogging. ...
... The variation in application of CoPs has resulted in a body of theoretical work that largely has its origins in monoprofessional contexts (Lave & Wenger, 1991;Orr, 1990), for example the development of a tailor's identity or the problem-solving practices of photocopier technicians, and offers varying degrees of analysis on the varying conceptual cornerstones of CoPs. This can also be seen in nursing practice concerned with professional identity and expanding professional capacity (Andrew, Ferguson, Wilkie, Corcoran & Simpson, 2009;Garrow & Tawse, 2009;Short, Jackson, & Nugus, 2010), teaching and pedagogy (Evans & Powell, 2007;Kimble, Hildreth & Bourdon, 2008), organisational learning and knowledge management (Bresnen, Edelman, Newell, Scarbrough & Swan, 2003;Coakes & Clarke, 2006;Gilley & Kerno, 2010) and more latterly interpreted into new domains such as virtual spaces (see for example, Dube΄, Bourhis & Jacob, 2006;Johnson, 2001). What this literature does not address is how working across multiple and often disparate contexts leaves a unique set of problems in relation to knowledge management and the development of democratic learning spaces. ...
... It is an analysis conducted by dividing research variables into categories based on frequency and percentage (Nurdin, Pettalongi, Askar, & Hamka, 2021). A single table is the first step in analyzing data consisting of columns, a number of frequencies, and percentages for each category (Johnson, 2001). The collected data is processed according to the stages set, then tabulated and analyzed. ...
This study aims to determine the behavior of the preachers by using variables taken from previous research. This study uses a mixed method between quantitative and qualitative. Data were collected through a survey approach, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews. The sample of this study was selected using a random sampling technique selected in several districts with a total of 90 samples. Surveys are shared online. The object of this research is the young preachers who enter the millennial generation and are active in lecturing. Quantitative data from the survey results were processed using a descriptive statistical approach, while the interview results were processed using a qualitative approach. The results of this study indicate that the variables of seeking information, hedonic behavior, close friendships, expanding friendships, and the behavior when spreading Islamic symbols have contributed significantly to the social behavior and lecturing of young lecturers in Central Sulawesi. This research contributes to the development of future da'wah strategies.
... For university students, being part of communities of practice represented in and by these physical spaces is central to belonging (Nunn 2021). It is also noteworthy that online communities of practice are possible, and that the technology used for these presents both advantages and disadvantages (Johnson 2001). Even prior to the pandemic, the design and implementation of online academic communities had been investigated, with an emphasis on examining how they could be sustained (Kirschner and Lai 2007). ...
This study investigates how students experienced a sense of place and a sense of belonging in both in-person and virtual learning environments by analyzing student interview data. As educators and university students grapple with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we consider how students experience the presence and absence of sense of place and belonging, and how this could inform faculty and staff practices. We conclude by offering recommendations for university educators, with a particular focus on the benefits of building communities of practice.
... Through studies of corporate settings, Wenger (1998) developed a tripartite framework for analyzing how communities emerge through (1) participants' mutual engagement in shared practices; (2) participants' negotiation and pursuit of a joint enterprise giving their work purpose; and (3) a shared repertoire of linguistic, material, and other objects through which work is mediated. Many education scholars have employed the CoP concept to understand a range of issues, including the social organization of schools (Packer, 2001), classroom participation of multilingual students (Haneda, 2006;Morita, 2004), and learning opportunities in online spaces (Gunawardena et al., 2009;Johnson, 2001). ...
Jean Lave is a social anthropologist whose studies in the 1970s and 1980s of apprentice tailors in West Africa and everyday routines such as grocery shopping contributed to the development of situated learning theory, which posits that learning is embedded within socially, culturally, and contextually specific activity. With Etienne Wenger, she conceptualizes situated learning as legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice. Learning is fundamentally change, they argue, that emerges through nuanced interactions between newcomers and old timers as the former moves toward full participation in a community’s defining practices. Practices, people, and communities mutually constitute one another and generate conflicts and contradictions that must be negotiated. Learning is thus political for Lave, as are learning theories in the ways they frame social relations and structure the world. Lave challenges dominant psychological views of learning as mental processes of acquisition and transfer, noting how schooling practices reproduce these views as common sense. Lines of research drawing upon Lave’s work include studies of cognitive apprenticeship, communities of practice, and critical examinations of transfer and schooling. More recently, scholars have embraced her ethical-political project by using a situated view to foreground culture in educational practice and center justice and equity in the study of learning within historically marginalized communities.
... Τα μέλη μιας ομάδας μπορούν να δημιουργήσουν μια Κοινότητα Πρακτικής με το να εμπλέκονται και να ασχολούνται ουσιαστικά μεταξύ τους, με το να λογοδοτούν αμοιβαία μεταξύ τους και με το να μοιράζονται κοινές πρακτικές (Thang et al., 2011). Οι Κοινότητες Πρακτικής αποδίδουν υψηλότερη σημασία στην συλλογική γνώση συγκριτικά με την ατομική και χαρακτηρίζονται από περιβάλλοντα ασφάλειας και εμπιστοσύνης (Johnson, 2001). Επιπρόσθετα, η συνεργασία ενδιαφερομένων από διαφορετικές Κοινότητες Πρακτικής για την διαμόρφωση, ανάλυση και επίλυση ενός συγκεκριμένου προβλήματος κοινού ενδιαφέροντος δημιουργούν τις Κοινότητες Ενδιαφέροντος (Communities of Interest), οι οποίες λειτουργούν ως «κοινότητες κοινοτήτων» (Brown & Duguid, 1991, Fischer, 2001. ...
The present article investigates the case of the Greek Ubuntu Community and analyzes its characteristics, based on the Five-Stage Model of Online Learning (Online Communities of Practice) by Gilly Salmon. In the above case study, the macroscopic developmental stages of an authentic Community of Practice as well as its interactions for construction of knowledge and for online learning are highlighted. In addition, the role of various online tools and social media in the above learning context is explored. Systematic analysis of the transitional stages of the examined Community, highlights the main characteristics of its structure and function, that effectively contribute to online learning, which, in turn, are able to support the development of other Online Communities of Practice, by utilizing modern technology and its mass dissemination.
... Trust and justice have been found to be an important foundation for the success of a VCoP [9][10][11][12]. Trust is an antecedent to knowledge sharing in VCoPs across three dimensions: integrity, competency, and benevolence [13]. ...
Background
Communities of Practice are formed by people who interact regularly to engage in collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavor. Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoP) are online communities that use the internet to connect people who share a common concern or passion. VCoPs provide a platform to share and enhance knowledge. The Policy Circle is a VCoP that connects mid-career professionals from across Canada who are committed to improving healthcare policy and practice. We wanted to understand the perceived value of the VCoP.
Methods
We used qualitative and quantitative survey research to explore past and current Policy Circle members’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviours related to the program. Our research was guided by the Value Creation Framework proposed by Wenger and colleagues. Three surveys were created in collaboration with stakeholders. Data were analyzed within cohort and in aggregate across cohorts. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically, and quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (means of ranked and scaled responses).
Results
Survey participation was high among members (Cohort 1: 67%, Cohort 2: 64%). Participants came from a variety of disciplines including medicine, health policy, allied health, and nursing, with most members having a direct role in health services research or practice. The program was successful in helping participants make connections (mean = 2.43 on a scale from 1 to 5: 1 = yes, significantly, 5 = not at all); variances in both qualitative and quantitative data indicated that levels of enthusiasm within the program varied among individuals. Members appreciated the access to resources; quarterly meetings (n = 11/11), and a curated reading list (n = 8/11) were the most valued resources. Participants reported the development of a sense of belonging (mean = 2.29) and facilitated knowledge exchange (mean = 2.43). At the time of this study, participants felt the program had minor impact on their work (mean = 3.5), however a majority of participants (50%) from Cohort 2 planned to acknowledge the program in their professional or academic endeavours. Through reflective responses, participants expressed a desire for continued and deeper professional network development.
Conclusions
The Policy Circle was successful in facilitating knowledge exchange by creating a community that promoted trust, a sense of belonging and a supportive environment. Members were satisfied with the program; to promote further value, the Policy Circle should implement strategies that will continue member participation and networking after the program is finished.
... For example, recent research in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) has focused on building and evaluating systems that can improve learners' social and collaborative learning process (Sparks et al., 2019;Tubman et al., 2019). Other research has offered strategies to improve students' social connectedness during learning processes through improvements on what the instructors could do (e.g., share personal stories, use humor and emoticons), what the students could do (e.g., contribute to discussion boards), and how the course design should be changed (e.g., limit class size, structure collaborative learning activities) (Aragon, 2003;Irwin & Berge, 2006;Johnson, 2001). These studies often hold the assumption that collaborative and social learning are different means to an end of helping online learners feel socially connected (Kreijns et al., 2003). ...
In this chapter, we explore inclusive learning analytics to predict reading comprehension outcomes in the context of middle school remedial reading classrooms for 235 students from 12 school districts in the United States. The design of the system used in this study followed the Universal Design for Learning Guidelines which have expressed the goal of supporting all learners, a common goal with inclusive learning analytics. We construct a predictive model for reading comprehension, introducing a novel method to apply the same sentiment analysis method to interpret both emotional self-reports and discussion comments, contributing new insights about the relationship between emotion and cognition during learning. The novel method of analysis was inspired by the inclusive design principles of Universal Design for Learning by treating the two data sources as multiple means of expression. The relationship the model suggests is that struggling students with positive emotional reactions coupled with neutral communication about reading materials are more likely to provide correct answers. The psychological phenomena of positive internal experience coupled with downregulated expression have previously been described as “smiling on the inside,” and are considered socially desirable when outperforming peers. We explore the model in terms of bias across a range of groups legally protected from discrimination. With the limitations of the measures and the model in mind, we provide recommendations on how to support students in this psychological state of “smiling on the inside”.KeywordsInclusive learning analyticsUniversal design for learningReading comprehensionMiddle school
... Duncan-Howell [47] found that online CoPs were prone to off-topic conversations, poor navigation, and the personal agendas of self-promoters and influencers. Johnson [48] argued that asynchronous discussions could become inadequate and superficial when they lack coaching and scaffolding. Peeters and Pretorius [49] argued that member participation varies when sharing tacit knowledge in asynchronous environments. ...
Instructional design and technology (IDT) professionals participate in communities of practice (CoPs) on Facebook to seek pedagogical and educational technology advice for solving instructional design (ID) problems. Much of the IDT literature has focused on formal educational environments and not on nonformal settings outside the classroom and beyond formal education. Further analysis of tacit or practical knowledge exchanged among community members is required to understand the purpose, functions, and organizational knowledge capital in online CoPs. To fill this gap, this study uses natural language processing (NLP) to analyze the practical knowledge of 6,066 anonymized users’ posts from four large public IDT CoPs on Facebook from September 2017 to September 2020 after cleaning the dataset. User posts were publicly available and required no password authentication for access, including Instructional Designer (4,717), Designers for Learning (228), Adobe Captivate Users (599), and Articulate Storyline (522). The proposed methodology aims to extract practical knowledge of individual online CoPs in three parts. First, the characteristics of written communication among members are extracted by calculating word and sentence lengths, word frequencies, and contiguous words. Second, the characteristics of members’ exchange of practical knowledge are obtained through sentiment identification, entity recognition, and relationships between pedagogical and educational technology entities. Third, the functions of individual online CoPs are developed through topic modeling with latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) and BERTopic. The findings suggest similarities and differences among IDT CoPs, different resource distribution conventions, and members exchanging pedagogical and educational technology advice. The study highlights the need for pedagogical foundations to support instructional and technical decisions, mechanisms for self-assessment of practical knowledge concerning IDT competencies, community protocols for addressing misconceptions about learning, onboarding materials for new members, and new topic structures to classify practical knowledge. NLP tasks are implemented using Python libraries to support the future development of awareness tools.
... A CoP is a group of professionals who share values, concerns, and knowledge so that they can learn from and support one another to cultivate expertise and practice (Wenger, 1998;Hur & Brush, 2009). CoPs often consist of professionals with various levels of expertise (Johnson, 2001) where novice learners grow into experts through participation in the community. A CoP maintains dynamic social structure where participants actively participate, interact with one another, and socially construct shared knowledge. ...
... Here we encourage students to relocate from the passive periphery of the virtual classroom learning community into the centre. Focused on addressing the authentic curricular issues identified by the students, this discussion opens the learning, reflecting, and rebuilding process very quickly (Johnson 2001;Wegerif 1998). ...
The last class session of the academic term represents an excellent opportunity to solicit meaningful feedback from students who have just completed the course. To capitalize on the students’ first-hand knowledge of their own experiences with our course and maximize the impact of the last class for our Canadian graduate-level genetics course, we have used and optimized a workshop first described by Bleicher (2011) as a means of obtaining real-time, in-person course evaluations, and driving course evolution. Presented as an empowering opportunity for student activism, students are asked to contribute collaboratively to improving future iterations of the course. This approach stimulates thoughtful discussions, generates honest and useful feedback, and requires only nominal preparative work on the part of the instructor, whose primary role during the workshop is as a facilitator. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve assessed student perceptions of two virtual models for the Last Class Workshop—one using Google Docs, a free web-based word processor, and another using Miro, a collaborative whiteboard platform—to identify whether or not the Last Class Workshop can be effectively translated for a synchronous online learning environment. Student responses to the virtual workshops have been highly positive, and participants overwhelmingly preferred the Miro adaptation. We suggest that this is an effective way to access the expert knowledge of our students to develop innovative adaptations, updates, and evolutionary change at the end of a course, and conclude with a proposal for maintaining this virtual tool after in-person learning resumes.
... Learning in CoPs is collaborative. It is based on collaborative knowledge of the community, which is greater than any individual knowledge (Johnson 2001) and was also often mentioned by CoP members as an important advantage of the CoP. Learning in CoPs is based on the concept of sharing. ...
Bringing together the latest research among various communities of practice (disciplinary and place based, as well as thematically organised), this volume reflects upon the knowledge, experience and practice gained through taking a unique community of practice approach to fostering gender equality in the sectors of research and innovation, and higher education in Europe and beyond. Based on research funded by the European Union, it considers how inter-organisational collaboration can foster change for gender equality through sharing of experiences of Gender Equality Plan implementation and examining the role of measures such as change-monitoring systems. As such, it will appeal to social scientists with interests in organisational change, the sociology of work and gender equality.
... Learning in CoPs is collaborative. It is based on collaborative knowledge of the community, which is greater than any individual knowledge (Johnson 2001) and was also often mentioned by CoP members as an important advantage of the CoP. Learning in CoPs is based on the concept of sharing. ...
... In these studies, quantitative and qualitative evidence were used together. The metaphors and written opinions of the participants were interpreted (Johnson, 2001). Researchers suggest that metaphor analysis can be used for three main purposes: "Improving the process, explaining the process/ progress and explaining the result" (Güneş & Fırat, 2016). ...
The COVID-19 Pandemic process has brought with it a climate of uncertainty. This uncertain environment also contains a lot of uncertainty about classroom management for preservice teachers. The main purpose of this study was to reveal the metaphorical perceptions and views of preservice teachers about the source of the uncertainties they encounter in online courses conducted via Google Classroom. In this case study, the metaphors and opinions produced by the preservice teachers were evaluated. The results of content analysis revealed that the metaphorical perceptions of preservice teachers are grouped under two different themes. These themes are; “Students’ Individual Uncertainties” and “Environmental Uncertainties in Learning”. They use the metaphors of “dead end” and “confusion” to describe the environmental uncertainties they encounter in the classroom. It can be concluded that the metaphorical perceptions and views of the preservice teachers about the uncertainties they encounter in the online arrangements in Google Classroom overlap with each other.
... Successful programmes often involve freeing teachers from the classroom for extended periods, the employment of full-time professional developers, and for some programmes considerable travel and accommodation costs in drawing teachers together in one place. Recent developments in virtual discussion communities (sometimes termed "online" or "web-based"), appear to have the potential to offer an easier and less expensive way of achieving high quality professional development for teachers (Johnson, 2001;Barnett, 2002). Teachers do not have to be released from classes or travel to other places. ...
Research over a long period has suggested that professional development and learning for
teachers often produces disappointing results. Recent theory suggests that teacher
professional learning presented within a situated learning and community of practice
framework is likely to be more effective than the more traditional forms of in-service
professional development and learning. Further, recent technological developments since the
mid 1990s have created increasingly sophisticated means of bringing widely distributed
learners together, within flexible timeframe, online (virtual) discussion communities. This
study set out to develop a workable approach to teacher professional development and
learning (IPDL), using situated learning and community of practice learning theory and the
opportunities afforded by Web 2 virtual learning environments. The literatures of learning
theory, teacher professional development and communities of practice were reviewed and
best practice principles identified. These principles were then used to design a virtual
community of practice (VCoP) approach to teacher professional development and learning.
The approach was then implemented as the underpinning framework for three virtual
professional development modules for secondary school Geography and Social Studies
teachers.
The study used a grounded theory and action learning action research methodology, which
enabled the researcher and the research participants to evaluate and fine tune the approach
throughout the study. A mixed method research design resulted in the collection of rich
quantitative and qualitative data during each module. Naturalistic data were drawn from the
online module record and from semi-structured focus group discussions. More structured and
reflective data were collected through a final post-module evaluative questionnaire. The data
collected were analysed using a range of techniques, including narrative analysis, structural
analysis, semantic analysis, and domain analysis. The results of these analyses are presented
from three contrasting perspectives: a structural analysis narrative of each module (Chapter
5), a content and personal case study narrative of selected participants (Chapter 6), and a
qualitative and quantitative analysis of a final post module reflective survey (Chapter 7)
... In addition, Carpenter (2016) highlights that professional development activities involving collaboration, such as CoPs, have transformative potential. Johnson (2001) states that online CoPs extend traditional nations of CoPs into virtual mode. According to Trust and Horrocks (2017), commonly used tools for online CoPs are discussion forums, listservs, blogs, wikis and social networking sites. ...
Mobile instant messengers such as WhatsApp have become an essential part of everyday life and can be a transformative tool for teacher professional development. Several studies have addressed the use of WhatsApp in a community of practices. However, there is a lack of study on examining teachers’ interaction in WhatsApp community of practices, particularly using social network analysis (SNA). This study aimed to investigate teachers’ interactions with emphasis on frequency and pattern of interactions in eight groups of WhatsApp community of practices, which were voluntarily formed. The participants of this study were 76 secondary school mathematics teachers in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Data were collected during the two months of the program and were analyzed using descriptive quantitative analysis and SNA. This study reveals that there were great differences in teachers’ interaction across the groups. Participants were predominantly involved in discussions during evenings, either weekdays or weekends. In addition, this study indicates that the most active participants in each group, who played a critical role, sent the highest number of messages and interacted with most of the other members of their groups. The participants also started a new session of discussion after a short or long activity. The findings of this study could be the basis for sustainable professional development using mobile instant messenger technology in the context of the community of practices.
... The term 'Cooperative Learning' (CL) refers to those educational methods in which couples or small groups interact so as to achieve a common goal [21]. The ultimate goal of this collaboration is to maximize pupils' personal knowledge by smoothly interacting with the other members of the group who are working for the common benefit [22]. At the same time, teachers who take advantage of targeted collaborative techniques seek to eliminate unintelligible, social and educational prejudices that favor school competition [23,24]. ...
... Collaborative learning aims at maximizing students' personal knowledge by making it easy for students to interact with the other team members with whom they are cooperating in pursuit of a common goal [15]. In such a context, critical thinking can gradually emerge. ...
... In the associative experiment under research, the analysis of word-stimulus associations was conducted on the basis of online questionnaires with people of different countries. The respondents were proposed to give first several (2-6) words / word combinations associated with the concept Language Policy that come to mind (Johnson, 2001;Ufimtseva, 2014). ...
The article deals with the issues of revealing the semantic structure of the concept Language Policy based on the online experiment. Most participants of the experiment represent Ukraine and European countries such as France and Germany, Poland and a few respondents from the USA and Turkey. The analysis of the similarities and differences of the concept Language Policy established via an associative experiment done with the help of respondents from different countries helps to outline their national specific features, which contribute to a deeper understanding of both foreign and native languages and cultures through the analyses of the semantic structure of the concept in question. It is emphasized that Language Policy has become a widespread phenomenon in modern Ukrainian and European societies from the social point of view. The study of a linguistic situation in a society can be considered to be an important means of forming the ability to conduct intercultural dialogues. As for the methods and linguistic tools they can vary depending on the applicable target. The article identifies common and different aspects in of the field structures of the concept Language Policy done in multilingual sociolinguistic surroundings.
... This escalating effect of forum engagement is perhaps moderated by time and effort to be involved and cautiously interact with others in the thread. As other studies have alluded to, online forums are akin to groups that go through different stages of forming, storming, norming and performing (Dietz-Uhler et al., 2005;Fayard & DeSanctis, 2005;Johnson, 2001;Nisbet, 2004). As such, re-orientation is triggered by greater involvement in online forums and the susceptibility to influence. ...
... Communities of practice is another key component of the Social Learning theory (Bandura, 1976) where there is collective knowledge building and sharing towards the common goal of increasing individual and collective knowledge in a particular sphere (Johnson, 2001;Lave & Wenger, 1991;Wick, 2000). CoPs originated from a study by Wenger (2009) who believed that learning did not occur individually but was rooted in "social and historical contexts" (Fransworth, Kleanthous & Wenger, 2016, p. 2). ...
This paper starts with an introduction to the topic of professional development and
contextualizes it by citing literature from international, regional and national landscapes on issues with
the implementation of professional development. With this validation of the need to research the
topic, the literature review segues. There is a discussion of the concepts of Social Learning in the form
of Collaborative Professional Learning, Professional Learning Communities and Communities of
Practices. Then, the methodology is discussed and the findings presented. Discussions link the
findings to the extant literature and conclusions are drawn.
Professional development has been the perennial preoccupation of most countries globally.
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) 2001 resulted in emphasis on teaching proficiency, practices
and teaching (Faraci, 2008). In fact. Bove et al. (2016) highlighted the need to invest in teacher
professional development in their study in Denmark, Italy and Poland. In Pakistan, Shah et al. (2015)
implemented Continuous Professional Development with 3,158 primary schools and found that
teachers’ performances increased after the CPD was implemented. Furthermore, Lindberg (2011)
purported that, in Sweden, teacher professional development is orchestrated by the “government with
financing, organization and content” also under the government’s purview (p. 66). She indicated that
TPD controlled by the state ensures that “teachers are loyal to the curriculum rather than to the
traditions of the profession” (p. 66). Lindberg continued that TPD was characterized by top-down
decision-making with a lack of ownership and autonomy for the types of professional development
that take place. She also argued that TPD is a one shot attempt at training teachers with little follow through. Similarly, Darling-Hammond and Richardson (2009) cited Stein, Smith and Silver (1999) who
coined this one off TPD, “drive by” workshop model.
... We finish off by discussing research studies that examine student attributes that are important for academic success such as making connections and sustaining them with peers and the instructor, maintaining positive feelings to promote motivation and persistence and taking control over their course activities. Johnson, (2001), traced the roots of online communities to constructivism. Thoms & Eryilmaz (2014), citing Hagstrom & Wertsch (2004) states that constructivism stems from the interactions and experiences of the learner. ...
The study presents a research carried out at the School of Continuing and Distance Education at the University of Ghana during the second semester of the 2015-2016 academic year. The research was carried out over a period of sixteen weeks from August to November 2015 for a course DEEL 612 taught at the graduate level. The study involved 11 graduate students who were studying for a Master's Degree delivered in a blended mode. An in-depth telephone interview of the eleven students conducted by a trained and experienced interviewer was carried out. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Results show that, respondents studying online enjoyed equality in the ability to share thoughts and ideas. They found studying online with the use of the Sakai LMS to be useful, flexible and convenient. Respondents in the study affirmed that, Sakai LMS enhanced interactivity with peers and the instructor in ways that supported trusted relationship building. This helped learning to take place, made it of fun and innovative.
... The professional-centred characteristic reflects adult learners' push towards a better professional future, either in terms of improving job satisfaction (Guan & Frenkel, 2018;Kang & Yang, 2016;Lounsbury et al., 2007) or in obtaining new skills (Abu Bakar et al., 2017) through engaging in OCOPs. It was found that adults learn very well in settings in which they can apply their past knowledge and experience (Johnson, 2001). Moreover, Dimitrescu et al. (2015) emphasised that adult learning is often a pathway to upgrade one's career or change one's lifecycle. ...
Adult learning is a lifelong process whereby knowledge is formed through the transformation of adults' experience. Research on online adult learning has been on the rise in recent years, thanks to the innovative opportunities provided to adults by digital technologies. Online communities of practice (OCOPs) a one of such opportunities, which offer the potential to bring geographically dispersed adult learners together through a common interest. Despite an increased growth in the use of OCOPs by adults in various professional sectors, there is still a lack of understanding of the characteristics of online adult learning in OCOPs, and the facilitators and hinder-ers influencing engagement in these communities. This paper presents a comprehensive synthesis of research literature on online adult learning in OCOPs to understand its characteristics and what may facilitate or hinder adults' engagement in these communities. A review has been conducted using a systematic, rigorous and standard procedure, aiming to summarise and synthesise existing research on the topic and to provide analytical criticism. In total, thirty-seven studies were included in this review. Findings revealed that members of OCOPs are independent , experience-centred, problem-centred, self-motivated, goal-oriented, and lifelong learners with the purpose to achieve professional outcomes. 1664 | ABEDINI et al.
... Collaborative learning aims at maximizing students' personal knowledge by making it easy for students to interact with the other members of the team with whom they are cooperating in pursuit of a common goal (Johnson, 2001). In such a context, critical thinking can gradually emerge. ...
Computer-assisted collaborative learning is known to challenge and motivate students with Learning Disabilities. The present paper therefore intends to briefly present the benefits of computer-supportive collaborative learning activities as well as demonstrate specific practices and paradigms concerning the inclusion of students with Special Educational Needs in Secondary Education in Greece. To reach this target, the researchers proceed to an ICT literature review associated with computer-mediated collaborative and inclusive learning methods in Greek Secondary Education. According to literature review findings, these learning methods are considered beneficial in terms of learning purposes directed to students with learning disabilities since they do raise students' interest and engagement in the learning procedure, enhance their cognitive abilities and assist them to develop self-esteem, problem-solving strategies and, finally, a solid collaborative attitude. Therefore, this paper concludes that there has been a lack of significant progress with respect to establishing collaborative inclusive learning environments in Greece.
... This concept accepts different definitions (Johnson, 2001). Wenger (1998) sets the basis of conceptualizing a CoP: it is an evolving process for learning inside a group. ...
The development of the Internet revolutionized multiple aspects of daily life, and particularly how one communicates with another. From the 1980s and the first newsgroup to today’s online social networks, people commonly exchange message online. Different political events over the world,such as the movement of the « Gilets Jaunes » in France, 2018, or the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the same year, highlight the place of Internet such as a powerful expression vector on the political sphere.Besides, we observe other impacts on the collaboration among individuals, through Internet. Wikipedia, the most popular online encyclopedia, is mainly the result of individual production. It counted at the end of 2018 more than 35 millions of registered users.All these phenomena highlight the notion of collective intelligence. The purpose of this doctoral work is to study the emergence of collective intelligence within open online fora. The case study Reddit –Change My View, is a forum where an individual exposes his opinion on a subject and asks to the community to bring him arguments to change his opinion.This case study allows to analyze the life cycle of online communities. But also the different processes leading to a constructive debate. Third, we study the process of this community to establish a consensus among his members. This last point highlighted a new concept: the Consent of the Crowd
... Platforms including Facebook, Amazon Marketplace, Uber, AirBnB, and YouTube are well-developed, and are used for not only personal interests but also serving professional needs. The most advanced among CoPs are known for using various cyberplaces, even collaborative virtual environments such as 3D simulations (Churchill and Snowdon 1998, Johnson 2001, Kimble and Hildreth 2005, Dudezert et al. 2006, Eustáquio and de Sousa 2019. However, social media can be a "double-edged sword." ...
Achieving sustainable development as an inclusive societal process in rural landscapes, and sustainability in terms of functional green infrastructures for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services, are wicked challenges. Competing claims from various sectors call for evidence-based adaptive collaborative governance. Leveraging such approaches requires maintenance of several forms of social interactions and capitals. Focusing on Pan-European regions with different environmental histories and cultures, we estimate the state and trends of two groups of factors underpinning rural landscape stewardship, namely, (1) traditional rural landscape and novel face-to-face as well as virtual fora for social interaction, and (2) bonding, bridging, and linking forms of social capital. We applied horizon scanning to 16 local landscapes located in 18 countries, representing Pan-European social-ecological and cultural gradients. The resulting narratives, and rapid appraisal knowledge, were used to estimate portfolios of different fora for social interactions and forms of social capital supporting landscape stewardship. The portfolios of fora for social interactions were linked to societal cultures across the European continent: “self-expression and secular-rational values” in the northwest, “Catholic” in the south, and “survival and traditional authority values” in the East. This was explained by the role of traditional secular and religious local meeting places. Virtual internet-based fora were most widespread. Bonding social capitals were the strongest across the case study landscapes, and linking social capitals were the weakest. This applied to all three groups of fora. Pan-European social-ecological contexts can be divided into distinct clusters with respect to the portfolios of different fora supporting landscape stewardship, which draw mostly on bonding and bridging forms of social capital. This emphasizes the need for regionally and culturally adapted approaches to landscape stewardship, which are underpinned by evidence-based knowledge about how to sustain green infrastructures based on both forest naturalness and cultural landscape values. Sharing knowledge from comparative studies can strengthen linking social capital.
Work and learning communities have become increasingly networked to support their members in developing the skills to solve complex, real-world problems. Though disciplinary knowledge remains important to tackle these problems, working effectively in these modern-day communities of practice demands the ability for one to learn how to access networked support (e.g., venues, tools, resource guides, or peers) throughout the community for one's needs. Against this backdrop, we study networked orchestration--how community members access and learn to access networked supports--in a community of practice for undergraduate research training. Through field observations and in-depth interviews, we find that students in the networked research community dynamically engage with their mentors and peers across multiple venues throughout the week in order to identify, clarify, and resolve their needs. Mentors in the community monitor how students are engaging with the supports available in the network, and provide coaching on effective strategies when students are ineffective on their own. Finally, we surface the challenges involved in each of these processes and offer practical insights for future ecosystem-level networked orchestration technologies that have an understanding of the interactions occurring across the venues and tools in a community, and can support the learning and practice of effective access strategies. Our paper presents important insights for supporting people's work and learning needs in networked future workplaces and learning communities, and provides guidance on designing new technologies for supporting networked ways of working and learning.
The lack of time available for staying up to date with the literature is a common issue for scholars and practitioners in many disciplines. A recent challenge issued on Twitter with the goal to read 100 papers in 100 days attracted the attention of several members of the chemistry education research community. In this paper, we report the outcomes of this reading challenge, including insights into the group composition, its reading preferences, and challenges participants face. We also provide an overview of the themes covered in the group’s readings obtained via natural language processing of the abstracts of the papers read by the group. Common themes in the papers were generally centered around students, learning, and chemistry, with an emphasis on research validity and the role of technology in chemistry instruction. Differences between individual participants’ reading choices and those of the group as a whole are visualized using semantic network plots.
Online education has been growing in demand over the years across universities and colleges. However, online learners frequently experience social isolation, which negatively impacts their learning experience and outcome. In this chapter, we investigate the design of AI-based social matching systems to help foster social connections among online learners in higher education context. Specifically, we seek to answer three core design questions: (1) What data should be collected to facilitate students’ social interaction process? (2) How to design technology to support students’ interactions with one another? (3) What are students’ concerns about the use of AI-based social matching systems? We begin by exploring the feasibility, design, and concerns of AI-based social matching through existing literature. We then present our ongoing work on the design and use of AI conversational agents as social matching systems in the online learning context. Finally, we outline future directions for research on designing human-centered social matching systems in online learning.KeywordsAI-based social matching systemsSocial interactionOnline learnersLearning analytics
Bu çalışmanın amacı, kullanımlar ve doyumlar yaklaşımı çerçevesinde Anadolu Üniversitesi Açıköğretim Sistemi Öğrenci Topluluklarına (Kitap, Fotoğraf, Tarih, Müzik, Sinema ve Bilişim) üye olan öğrenci/mezunların motivasyonlarını incelemektir. Çalışma, tarama modeli ile gerçekleştirilmiş ve belirlenen amaçlara ulaşmak için nicel veri toplama tekniklerinden yararlanılmıştır. Anadolu Üniversitesi Çevrimiçi Öğrenci Topluluklarına üye olan 627 katılımcıdan elde edilen veriler anket yöntemiyle toplanmıştır. Araştırma kapsamında elde edilen verilerin analizinde betimsel ve kestirimsel istatistik yöntemleri kullanılmıştır. Betimsel istatistik yöntem ve teknikleri kapsamında, elde edilen demografik bilgilere ilişkin veriler sıklık ve yüzde olarak gösterilmiştir. Çevrimiçi öğrenci topluluklarına üye olan katılımcıların motivasyonları için ise faktör analizi kullanılmıştır. Demografik özellikler ile motivasyonlar arasında anlamlı bir ilişki olup olmadığı ise t-testi ile analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre katılımcıların; bağlamsal gereksinimle ifade edilebilecek eğlenme, stresten uzaklaşma ve sosyal çevre edinme gereksinimlerinin, topluluklara katılım motivasyonunda etkili olduğu saptanmıştır. Araştırma, katılımcıların işlevsel gereksinimleri doğrultusunda çevrimiçi öğrenci topluluklarını, kişisel bir gelişim aracı olarak gördüklerini ortaya koymaktadır. Öğrenciler, “duyuşsal gereksinim” konusunda, diğer üyelerle daha çok iletişim kurmak ve sosyal etkileşimde bulunma motivasyonu ile hareket etmektedir. Ayrıca topluluk üyelerinin motivasyonlarının cinsiyet, yaş, öğrenci/mezun olma ve sosyal ağları kullanma durumuna göre farklılaştığı belirlenmiştir.
This study examined in-service teachers' use of e-platforms for registering students' profiles at the Examination Council of Eswatini. The main objective of the study was to establish if the use of e-registration platforms by teachers for registering students' profiles was prevalent and a function of two categorical variables: gender and location. There were 101 participants in the study; they completed a questionnaire, which was later analyzed using non-parametric statistics, mainly Chi-Square Goodness of Fit. The findings of this study revealed that e-registration of students' profiles at the Examination Council of Eswatini was prevalent and was not a function of gender X 2 (1, N =101) =1.19, p>.05 but of location X 2 (2, N =101) =27.5, p<.05. These findings have implications for further engagement by the Examination Council of Eswatini in realizing its obligation to strengthen the use of e-platforms for registration of students' profiles for assessment.
Purpose
This study aims to empirically investigate the relationship between enterprise risk management (ERM) and information technology (IT) security within the financial sector.
Design/methodology/approach
Risk officers of financial institutions licensed by the Central Bank of Ghana constituted the sample frame. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit data from the respondents. The structural equation modeling method was employed to analyze the hypothesized model.
Findings
The results revealed that ERM has a strong positive substantial effect on IT security within financial institutions. However, organizational culture failed to moderate the relationship between ERM and IT security.
Practical implications
A well-managed risk helps to eliminate ineffective, archaic and redundant technology as the originator of rising perils and organizational concerns in today's corporate financial institutions since ERM established a substantially strong positive correlation among the variables.
Originality/value
ERM studies in the African context are rare. This paper adds to contemporary literature by providing a new perspective toward the understanding of the relationship between ERM and IT security, especially in the financial industry.
In this essay, I take stock of the developments shaping distance learning and consider the implications for educational researchers and for the future of education. I proceed in four stages. First, I consider the constellation of forces leading to the development of distance education and the emerging shape of this part of the education sector. Second, I review the development of distance learning to date, a path of development based largely on the extension of and borrowing from existing educational arrangements and patterns in face-to-face education. Third, I explore developments at the leading edge of contemporary distance learning that depart in some more substantial way from patterns characteristic of face-to-face education. Fourth, I consider the implications for educational researchers as well as those for policy makers and educators.
Purpose
In a fast evolving labour market, higher education graduates need to develop employability competences. Key in becoming employable is the ability to reflect on learning experiences, both within a curriculum as well as extra-curricular and work placements. This paper wants to conceptualise how an online learning platform might entail a reflective practice that systematically supports students in reflecting on their learning experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
When studying online learning platforms for developing students' employability competences, it became clear that the effectiveness of the platform depends on how the platform guides students' reflective practice. In turn, the authors studied which features (tools, services and resources) of the online learning platform are guiding the reflective practice.
Findings
This resulted in the introduction of an online learning platform, containing a comprehensive set of online learning tools and services, which supports students' reflective practice and, in turn, their employability competences. The online platform facilitates both feedback from curricular and work-related learning experiences and can be used as a start by students for showcasing their employability competences. The reflective practice consists of a recurrent, systematic process of reflection, containing various phases: become aware, analyse current state, draft and plan a solution, take action and, finally, reflect in and on action.
Research limitations/implications
Future research revolves around studying the features of online learning platforms and their role in fostering students' reflection and employability competences.
Practical implications
The conceptual model provides concrete indicators on how to implement online learning platforms for supporting students' reflection and employability competences.
Originality/value
This is the first article that analyses an online learning platform that guides students' reflective practice and fosters their employability competences. The authors provide concrete suggestions on how to model the online platform, building further on reflective practice theory.
Who is the 21st Century learner and what strategies can Higher Ed implement to engage and prepare the 21st learner for the world they are entering? This thesis explores the roles that Project Based Learning, Interdisciplinary Study, STEAM, Intercultural Exchange, and Civic Engagement play in the education of the 21st Century learner and the role of Virtual Technology in achieving these Essential Learning Objectives.
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how the lived experience of online communities’ participants makes these communities evolve into online communities of practice (CoPs).
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative research design was used among backpackers. Data on backpackers’ lived experience and interactions were collected.
Findings
The results suggest a process of how online communities can become genuine online CoPs, thanks to participants’ lived experience. Their activities (information search, perceived benefits and electronic word-of-mouth) result in knowledge sharing and creation. The findings also emphasize the roles of expertise and offline interactions as process moderators.
Research limitations/implications
This study focuses on one specific practice to conduct the research (i.e. backpacking), which limits the generalizability of the results.
Practical implications
This study offers several implications for companies and stakeholders. First, it describes how the lived experience transforms online communities into CoPs and helps stakeholders obtain knowledge for customers to innovate. Second, it analyzes the processes of participation, interaction and promotion to share and create knowledge for customers to increase stakeholders’ competitiveness. Third, this study integrates members’ offline interactions by highlighting their potential effects on tacit knowledge loss in online CoPs.
Originality/value
The literature posits that online communities may evolve into online CoPs through a three-stage hierarchical path, but the underlying mechanisms and members’ contributions to the process have been largely neglected in the literature.
Environmental educators face many challenges in university settings, including improving students’ capacity for systems thinking, the effective use of educational technology, and supporting a sense of agency for participation in social change. This article presents a model for teaching “Social Responsibility and the World of Nature,” an undergraduate-level civic engagement course designed to address these challenges in a context of interdisciplinary environmental studies. The model draws upon strategies from the authentic learning sciences to support co-created, collaborative learning, formative evaluation, and a personally relevant, “affective awareness” of environmental issues. These strategies are combined with case studies on environmental ethics, ecological sciences, and social entrepreneurship to inform a social-ecological design project through which students can express a personal definition of environmental citizenship. A key in application is implementing a reflective teaching practice that questions the role of absolute knowledge in the classroom. The analysis draws upon a case study approach, informed by four semesters implementing and refining the model, to illustrate its use in practice while examining student outcomes to elicit insights on effectiveness. The results support trends in the learning sciences that can transform the teaching and learning of environmental studies in higher education, particularly, the role of personally relevant learning experiences in developing a sense of agency for social and environmental change. This study contributes to these trends, while offering forward-looking insights for environmental educators and researchers in a variety of learning settings.
Blogs are known for their information and knowledge sharing capabilities. Several theoretical frameworks have been proposed to study the factors that influence an individual's intention to use blogs for knowledge sharing. However, factors like content familiarity and design familiarity are lacking in the literature. Hence, this paper aims to extend past studies and investigate the influence of familiarity with blogs in knowledge sharing. Particularly, the purpose of this paper is twofold. The first objective is to explore the effect of familiarity in terms of content familiarity and design familiarity on individual intention to use a blog as a knowledge sharing tool. The second objective is to determine whether familiarity factors change with gender, blog experience, and cultural differences. The results show that content familiarity and design familiarity positively influence an individual's knowledge sharing behavior in blogs. In addition, content familiarity and design familiarity differ according to gender, blog experience, and cultural differences.
Purpose
This paper aims to understand the impact of the job switching behavior on different stages of the communities of practice’s life cycle. Job switching has been viewed from both positive and negative point of views, and its impact on certain organizational factors might be found in literature. Job switching/job hopping behavior of an individual might be fueled by socio-economic factors as well as fun, but it has serious implication for the companies. But an understanding of how this new employee might influence the communities of practice, given which stage is the community in, is something that has not been studied yet. This work is an attempt in that direction.
Design/methodology/approach
Using integrative review technique, this paper forwards a conceptual framework based on the literature reviewed and builds a model using an understanding of the nuances of each stage of the life cycle of communities of practice.
Findings
The model proposes the impact of switching on each stage of the life cycle of communities of practice. It is observed that at each stage a new entrant who is a “job hopper” might either help or hinder the progress of a community of practice.
Research limitations/implications
This paper gives a new impetus to the research on communities of practice in contemporary perspective. The model proposed could be tested using data from real communities of practice. This paper limits itself to the proposal of the model and does not engage in testing it.
Practical implications
Organizations and managers may use the model to understand how a new entrant to the organization will complement the existing life cycle phase of the communities of practice within.
Originality/value
The conceptual model proposed is unique in its context of job switching behavior and its effect on communities of practice. Research on communities of practice from this contemporary perspective might bring important research directions in future.
Research on learning communities has primarily focused on identifying institutional outcomes such as student achievement and retention. However, more research is needed on how the learning community experience impacts the motivation, beliefs, and perceptions associated with student success. This study investigates the psychosocial effects of participating in a residential research-oriented learning community regarding students’ interest and motivation in pursuing research-oriented careers, research and data self-efficacy beliefs, sense of belongingness with the learning community, and socialization levels and career awareness in research-oriented fields. This study also investigated the mediating effects of students’ initial research self-efficacy beliefs on differential gains regarding career awareness, motivation and interest, and sense of belongingness and socialization after one year of participating in a residential research-oriented learning community. Participants of the study consisted of five cohorts of the learning community, each composed of twenty students. Students in each cohort participated in a pretest-posttest design survey study. Findings suggest that alignment of student interest with the learning community discipline is a key mediator of student growth in their self-efficacy beliefs, sense of belongingness with the learning community and levels of socialization, and career awareness in the selected field. Implications include recommendations for the thoughtful design of learning communities that promote cognitive apprenticeships by orchestrating the content, method, sequencing, and sociology of the learning environment.
This paper presents a model of team learning and tests it in a multimethod field study. It introduces the construct of team psychological safety—a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking—and models the effects of team psychological safety and team efficacy together on learning and performance in organizational work teams. Results of a study of 51 work teams in a manufacturing company, measuring antecedent, process, and outcome variables, show that team psychological safety is associated with learning behavior, but team efficacy is not, when controlling for team psychological safety. As predicted, learning behavior mediates between team psychological safety and team performance. The results support an integrative perspective in which both team structures, such as context support and team leader coaching, and shared beliefs shape team outcomes.
This paper describes a study in which a WWW learning environment was created using socio-constructivist instructional design principles. A qualitative research method was used to investigate the learning behaviours of classroom-based students in this instructional setting. In particular the study sought to investigate collaborative learner behaviours in settings where the instructional materials involved open-ended investigations and learner support by means of a printed guide. Observations of student behaviours provided little to confirm our contentions that such environments will create an instructional setting which encourages cooperation, reflection and articulation among students.
Many writers argue for a place for the use the new educational technologies from the perspective of IT management (e.g., Holt & Thompson, 1998). This form of reasoning sees a technological, rather than educational, imperative as leading the move to embrace learning technologies. The technological imperative sees the need and place for information technologies in education being based on such organisational factors as opportunity, competition and efficiency. When such imperatives are driving change, the applications of learning technologies are more likely to be made through additive strategies which see existing strategies and methods being complemented by technology-oriented initiatives. Many writers argue for more integrated approaches which have the potential to redefine and transform the more fundamental aspects of teaching and learning (e.g., Collis,1997), that is, a pedagogical imperative. Teachers are using the Web for a variety of reasons and the extent and scope of the usage differs significantly. A majority of current Web-based learning environments have evolved from face-to-face teaching programs in the additive form described above. Typically the first step in the evolutionary process is the creation of an electronic form of existing course content. This content usually takes the form of HTML with hyperlinks to related information within and beyond the immediate course. An added feature is often a communicative element enabling interactions between learners and the teacher. What is characteristic in much of this development is the absence of any particular Web-based instructional design. The purpose of this paper is to explore a possible Web-based instructional design model that seeks to make optimal use of the opportunities and advantages of the Web as a learning environment and which can return enhanced learning outcomes. Purchase this chapter to continue reading all 14 pages >
This paper develops the motivation for collaborative discovery learning online and explains its application in master's course in information systems assurance. In discovery learning, participants learn to recognize a problem, characterize what a solution would look like, search for relevant information, develop a solution strategy, and executive the chose strategy. In collaborative discovery learning, participants, immersed in a community of practice, solve problems together. In collaborative discovery learning online, participants seek the knowledge they need and solve problems together in a virtual environment. For this purpose, virtual environments are characterized by web-based access to resource materials and participants' work and web-based discussions occurring in real time (synchronously). This approach to learning prepared students for work environments in which new problems are the norm and professionals work collaboratively to solve them in virtual spaces. The paper makes a case for the course being more effective than lecture-based instruction because of its use of collaborative discovery learning online, more accessible because participants may be anywhere whey have Internet access, and more affordable if the development and delivery efforts could be leveraged across multiple universities.
This paper reports on participation within on-line forums. The focus is on asynchronous text based discussion within small groups of learners following a learning event or course. Participation is a key issue within such forums and research was carried out into adult learners' experiences within three case studies. Learners were positive about the forums in which they took part but participation was less than many would have liked. This paper describes the constraints on participation and outlines three patterns of participation—non participation, quiet participation and communicative participation. Discussion focuses on the communicative leaner—someone who participates regularly in forums and in ways which are broadly welcomed by others in the group. A profile of the communicative learner is developed in which the importance of fluency, coherence and informality is highlighted. The paper summarises the issues associated with on-line participation and their implications for supporting communicative participation.
In this study, we examined three distance-learning programs conducted over Vision Athena, an interactive television distance-learning
system. Emphasis in each project was on using interactive television to engage learners in communities of practice in designed,
or intentional, learning environments. Specific findings of what kinds of communities emerged are reported for each case.
Cutting across the three cases, we found that interactive television was a useful tool for providing learners access to authentic
resources, and affording learners opportunities to participate in authentic communities of practice. How the instructors facilitated
student and expert interactions also played a key role in how each environment emerged. In these cases designing communities
of practice as learning environments in secondary school settings necessitates changing the role of the instructor, student,
and the expert from traditional models, allowing more access to community resources, and creating opportunities for trajectory
through communities of practice.
The purpose of this article is to illustrate the concept of the NetAcademy for the design and implementation of online learning communities as collaborative learning environments. This paper describes the concept and realization of the NetAcademy platform dealing with its component-based design based on the media concept. After explaining the motivation of the research as an introduction in the second chapter, theoretical basics are outlined such as the definition of learning communities and the concept of media. In Sect. 3 the NetAcademy is illustrated as a medium for scientific and learning communities. In Sect. 4, a reference model of online learning communities is presented that is conceptualized in four views (layers) and four phases. Finally, Sect. 5 presents some conclusions.
Distance learning is by no means a new phenomenon. However, new technologies provide a twist to distance learning that is making it grow and expand at an overwhelming rate. The National Center for Educational Statistics reported that in 1995, a third of U.S. post-secondary schools offered distance education courses with another quarter of these schools planning to do so in the next three years. During the summer of 1999, the UCLA Extension Service will offer more than 100 Web–based courses in continuing higher education to anyone and anywhere (Business Wire, 1999). When the rapid proliferation of Web-based courses as a distance learning option is considered, and then couple that proliferation with the fact that the World Wide Web (WWW) has only been “popular” for the past five years, this expansion is indeed overwhelming. While the numbers alone are enough to amaze and dazzle, what is more interesting, and should be of greater concern, are the instructional design and pedagogical issues that should form the foundation of Web-based courses (Ritchie & Hoffman, 1997). The technical proficiencies necessary to build a course Web site and all of its technological accompaniments are merely psychomotor skills that range from the simple to the highly complex. However, one of the reasons for the rapid proliferation of Web-based courses is the development of courseware packages (Web Course-In-A-Box, WebCT, ILN CourseInfo, etc.) that remedy the needs for instructors to worry about acquiring these technical skills (Hansen & Frick, 1997). Unfortunately, while these courseware packages, and the many Web editors available, may facilitate the development of Web-based courses, these tools don’t address the myriad of instructional design and pedagogical issues that must be considered before and during development. Hill (1997) lists some of these key issues, which include pedagogical, technological, organizational, institutional, and ethical questions. Many of these issues must be resolved prior to the development of the first Web page. In this chapter, we explore some of the research that has been done on Web-based courses, but our intent is to largely delve into the practical realities of designing pedagogically effective and accessible Web-based instruction (WBI). Specifically, we explore the importance of a needs assessment of learner characteristics in the design process to determine and therefore design for the technological abilities and capacities of target students. Additionally, potential solutions and recommendations on how to design a virtual classroom environment that fosters and facilitates active student learning are discussed. Finally, the authors examine the very real issue of course accessibility for all students and how various design elements can enhance the accessibility.
Like many instructors in higher education, I have found myself increasingly pressed to respond to demands for courses delivered with alternative technologies. This pressure is particularly dramatic today given the expanded access to and use of the Internet (NCES, 1997; NTIA, 1997). Web-based learning environments (WBLEs) are clearly the contemporary instructional “innovation of choice” in higher education. Feeling an obligation to extend my own professional preparation in this area, as well as a desire to determine the real issues associated with learning and teaching on the Web, I have ventured forward with a variety of WBLE experiences. This chapter is a case study description of my rookie experience teaching in an on-line environment that was custom designed to focus on learner and pedagogy issues found in the contemporary literature.
Many writers argue for a place for the use the new educational technologies from the perspective of IT management (e.g., Holt & Thompson, 1998). This form of reasoning sees a technological, rather than educational, imperative as leading the move to embrace learning technologies. The technological imperative sees the need and place for information technologies in education being based on such organisational factors as opportunity, competition and efficiency. When such imperatives are driving change, the applications of learning technologies are more likely to be made through additive strategies which see existing strategies and methods being complemented by technology-oriented initiatives. Many writers argue for more integrated approaches which have the potential to redefine and transform the more fundamental aspects of teaching and learning (e.g., Collis,1997), that is, a pedagogical imperative. Teachers are using the Web for a variety of reasons and the extent and scope of the usage differs significantly. A majority of current Web-based learning environments have evolved from face-to-face teaching programs in the additive form described above. Typically the first step in the evolutionary process is the creation of an electronic form of existing course content. This content usually takes the form of HTML with hyperlinks to related information within and beyond the immediate course. An added feature is often a communicative element enabling interactions between learners and the teacher. What is characteristic in much of this development is the absence of any particular Web-based instructional design. The purpose of this paper is to explore a possible Web-based instructional design model that seeks to make optimal use of the opportunities and advantages of the Web as a learning environment and which can return enhanced learning outcomes.
The design and distribution of cross-border higher education courses via global computer networks is a rapidly growing phenomenon (Davis 1998). This paper describes two rounds of an international graduate-level Web-based course in education. It presents research that focuses on the challenge of international, cross-cultural graduate course design in education. Using diverse methods of inquiry, successes and failures of the effort to address cross-cultural concerns are reported. This inquiry informs the work of teachers, researchers, course designers and program developers seeking to expand instructional horizons through international academic collaboration.
Prologue Part I. Practice: Introduction I 1. Meaning 2. Community 3. Learning 4. Boundary 5. Locality Coda I. Knowing in practice Part II. Identity: Introduction II 6. Identity in practice 7. Participation and non-participation 8. Modes of belonging 9. Identification and negotiability Coda II. Learning communities Conclusion: Introduction III 10. Learning architectures 11. Organizations 12. Education Epilogue.
This paper reports an interpretive study of three cross-functional teams in a single company. The teams were virtual because each was composed of workers located in a small southern U. S. town and a northern U. S. city. The conceptual framework of situated learning within communities of practice guided the interpretation of transcripts of interviews with 22 managers and team members. The results suggest that virtual teamwork creates special demands that require workers to devise local practices for coordinating their work with remote team members. Through different combinations of remote and face-to-face communication, using a variety of communication media, the learning of work practices became situated in the virtual community rather than imposed by managers or specially designed coordinating technologies.
Despite an extensive literature on the subject of learning, very little has been written about the ways in which young people's dispositions to learning transform over time. This article draws upon a longitudinal research project which focused on such transformations. The article centres on the case of Amanda Ball and considers the implications which her story holds for our understanding of learning. It is shown that dispositions can transform in a short period of time and that such transformations are often linked, in complex ways, to wider social, economic and cultural contexts.
This article argues for a social perspective of the new technical communication service course, a conclusion supported by several premises: the technical communication profession wants and needs accountability, accountability is demonstrated by evaluation, assessment requires that we define literacy, evaluating technical communication literacy requires portfolio evaluation, portfolio assessment supports the social perspective of learning, and the social construction concepts imply teaching strategies. The argument proceeds from a case study that demonstrates reliability, stability, and validity in its technical communication service course assessment, tasks, and instructor community. This article demonstrates that portfolios can help us both conceptualize and evaluate the new technical communication service course.
Interest in and delivery of distributed education has increased rapidly in the past decade. Technology brings the promise of creating superior learning environments relative to the traditional classroom as well as delivering these learning experiences to greater numbers and more diverse audiences. However, successful creation and delivery of distributed courses requires new dimensions in thought and creativity because a direct translation from classroom to computer will not enhance the learning experience. To make distributed education work, instructors have to rethink their role as teacher, and students must take charge of their own learning experience. Many accommodations must be made in distributed course creation to ensure a student-centered environment that overcomes the feeling of isolation. The authors discuss these themes in relation to their experiences in delivering an asynchronous distributed introductory course at the University of Arizona.
This article argues that a dominant set of current themes in the management literature themes of learning, participative leadership, collaboration, strategic thinking, and total quality management, converge around the creation of a set of metacapabilities. Metacapabilities allow organizations to adapt to change on a continuous basis by contributing the kinds of skill and knowledge that underlie the process of capability building itself. The creation of these metacapabilities, in turn, requires new metaphors for thinking about organizations. One such metaphor conceives of organizations as communities of practice. Communities of practice are composed of groups of individuals united in action. This view allows us to move beyond the emulation of fragmented best practices to focus on the underlying value system that is likely to support such communities. The author argues that this discussion is informed by more than a decade of work by feminist moral theorists on an ethic of care.
This article explores the growing interest in the use of asynchronous text-based discussion to support the professional development of teachers and other occupational groups. It describes a post-degree course in which teachers, lecturers and librarians at local schools and colleges used on-line forums to share and reflect on their professional knowledge. The particular focus of the article is on the experiences of forum participants and the opportunities which on-line discussion provides for their professional learning. The discussion in the article is developed around an extract from a forum and focuses on the initiating of on-line discussion, what participants might learn by taking part, and the style of contributions. The article suggests that electronic forums have huge potential for developing professional knowledge in that participants have opportunities to articulate ideas, have access to other information and other viewpoints and can seek clarification from colleagues. However, the process of discussion is not straightforward. Participation cannot be easily structured, contributors may prefer different styles of messages and text-based communication may not be appropriate for some kinds of discussion. On-line discussion is then valuable and complex.
Within work sites that engage in knowledge work, newcomers have particular difficulty acquiring knowledge because knowledge keeps changing. Newcomers have to assimilate currently accepted knowledge while remaining open to learning and even generating new knowledge. Such acquisition and generation of communal knowledge are examples of distributed cognition. In workplaces engaging in knowledge work (where knowledge is the primary product), distributed cognition aims at a less stable goal than the one that Hutchins describes for ship navigation. A study of six summer interns in an engineering development center shows that, for them and their more experienced colleagues, learning did not precede activity but rather was the means by which they remained attuned to activity and able to function. Cognition was distributed not only among people but also among people and their tools. Communication tools were particularly important because communication was the means by which the system functioned as a unified whole.
Describes a staff-development course for middle school teachers which builds a collaborative learning environment using the Internet and Lotus Notes Learning Space. The course features activities that demonstrate performance outcomes, interactive instructional strategies, authentic assessment, and a student-centered learning environment that maximizes cooperative learning while considering learning styles of students. (Author/LRW)
Created under the auspices of the field experience offices at two public, four-year institutions of higher education, and in conjunction with a local urban school district, the Teaching and Learning Collaborative (TLC) and Communities of Practice (COMPRAC) were constructed to support a year-long experience (practicum and student teaching) at the undergraduate and postbaccalaureate levels. These programs, structured to help preservice teachers junction effectively in an urban classroom, included clustering groups in the same school and providing additional support through course work, seminars, and interactive small and whole-group meetings. What began as two separate programs evolved into a reconceptualization of a model for field experiences that has transferability to any type of school district. Multiple face-to-face and electronic communication fora within and across triad roles are proposed for creating a community for professional development that celebrates talking about issues germane to teaching and learning.
Over the past several years, organizations have devoted increasing amounts of attention to a phenomenon called knowledge management. Despite its growing visibility, knowledge management nonetheless suffers from a multitude of definitions with little apparent consistency. In this article, I outline four of the most common definitions of knowledge management. I unify these definitions by explaining them as four points along a continuum of increasing depth and complexity. After outlining knowledge management in this manner, I explain how technical communicators usually play supporting roles, not leadership roles, in knowledge management efforts. I then argue that to overcome this challenge, technical communicators must carefully re-think how they define knowledge management, technical communication, and themselves as professionals. I further argue that technical communicators should define themselves not by the products they produce but by the core competencies with which they produce them. I then conclude the article by adding that although these competencies serve vital priorities of knowledge management, technical communicators must broaden their technological knowledge base to establish themselves as leaders in knowledge management.
Learning is high on the political agenda for post-compulsory education and training in England. Official discourses about learning assume a predominantly individualist stance, despite the development of theoretical models that stress the contextual and situated nature of learning. In a study following 50 young people through further education over 4 years, it became apparent that the institutional culture of the colleges had a significant impact upon students dispositions towards their learning. In this paper, we explore the nature and significance of this impact in a case-study sixth form college: an under-researched sector of educational provision. This is followed by a brief discussion of the implications of our analysis for issues of access, widening participation and inequality in relation to current proposals to reform age 1619 educational provision in England. We conclude by identifying some of the questions about the fine-grained nature of that college culture that our data does not permit us to address directly.
Organizations in changing environments need to become flexible, responsive and participative. We develop an understanding of governance in these organizations by drawing analogies between organization theory and theories of non-linear dynamics. We identify freedom and creativity as driving principles in 'chaotic' participative organizations, and explore the ethics of their exercise within organizational communities of practice, communities of discernment and communities of commitment.
Providing a complete portal to the world of case study research, the Fourth Edition of Robert K. Yin's bestselling text Case Study Research offers comprehensive coverage of the design and use of the case study method as a valid research tool. This thoroughly revised text now covers more than 50 case studies (approximately 25% new), gives fresh attention to quantitative analyses, discusses more fully the use of mixed methods research designs, and includes new methodological insights. The book's coverage of case study research and how it is applied in practice gives readers access to exemplary case studies drawn from a wide variety of academic and applied fields.Key Features of the Fourth Edition Highlights each specific research feature through 44 boxed vignettes that feature previously published case studies Provides methodological insights to show the similarities between case studies and other social science methods Suggests a three-stage approach to help readers define the initial questions they will consider in their own case study research Covers new material on human subjects protection, the role of Institutional Review Boards, and the interplay between obtaining IRB approval and the final development of the case study protocol and conduct of a pilot case Includes an overall graphic of the entire case study research process at the beginning of the book, then highlights the steps in the process through graphics that appear at the outset of all the chapters that follow Offers in-text learning aids including 'tips' that pose key questions and answers at the beginning of each chapter, practical exercises, endnotes, and a new cross-referencing tableCase Study Research, Fourth Edition is ideal for courses in departments of Education, Business and Management, Nursing and Public Health, Public Administration, Anthropology, Sociology, and Political Science.
This paper explores social support and community development among members of a computer-supported distance learning program. The research focuses on what characterizes this community, and how students define and maintain community while largely restricted to communication through media that have been viewed as unsuitable for the maintenance of close social bonds. Interviews conducted over a year with 17 students reveal the importance of community and its role in supporting them in their “different kind of world” and important temporal and technological dimensions associated with community development. Each cohort begins in physical proximity with an intensive, on-campus “boot camp” that acts as a lasting bonding experience. When students return home, they reinvent this physical proximity as virtual proximity, appropriating technology and the opportunities afforded them by class and program structures to socialize and work with people they met on-campus. They enjoy the temporal proximity of “live” lectures and appropriate Internet Relay Chat's “whispering” facility to socialize; they make near-synchronous use of email, and use the timing of assignment submission to initiate email exchanges. Those who fail to make such connections feel isolated and more stressed than those who are more active in the community. Recommendations include promoting initial bonding, monitoring and supporting continued interaction and participation, and providing multiple means of communication to support the need to engage in work and social interaction, both publicly and privately. Overall, our interviews show that belonging to a community brings benefits to the individuals and to the program, and supports efforts by educators who strive to provide such a community for their distance learners.
This paper presents a case study of an on-line workshop that was conducted via the WWW. Using the participant dialogues from the workshop bulletin boards, the author investigates whether Wenger's (1998) Community of Practice framework can be applied to this educational setting. The results indicate that participants interactions in the workshop demonstrated the characteristics of mutual engagement, joint enterprise, and shared repertoire. These three characteristics are what Wenger posits contribute to a cohesive community of practice. Using this framework, some principles are derived that educators can use to design more cohesive learning communities.
This study focused on the integration of a Web shell for supporting emergent-collaboration activities in six graduate courses (115 students) in the Tel-Aviv University School of Education. Emergent-collaboration is the process by which group configurations and transactional patterns evolve among participants during the course of learning. The research questions addressed in the study were related to: (a) the didactic modes that have been devised for supporting emergent-collaboration learning processes, and (b) the extent of participation of students and teachers in Web- supported emergent-collaboration learning processes. Six Web-based instructional modes evolved during the study supporting: social interaction; critical group reading; students- or teachers-moderated issue discussion; peer evaluation and review; collaborative construction of knowledge bases; and projects on-line presentation. Quantitative as well as qualitative dat a and analysis regarding the different modes is presented. The results indicated that the use of the technology affected learning and teaching processes in significant ways, increasing the students participation and involvement in the courses, supporting a wide range of transactional modes, and contributing to the groups' social climate and collaborative work.
The authors explain how development of employability and educational interest might be enhanced by a radically different division of labour between FECs (Further Education Colleges) and the institutions in which students live and work. They argue that, rather than looking for ways in which FECs could teach vocational knowledge in a more relevant way, the role of FECs might be to develop students’ educational interest through analytical reflection on their life and work. The authors tried out these ideas with 25 adult returners to formal education who hope to secure jobs as professional carers. The theoretical perspective known as situated learning is contrasted with one which implies that transfer of learning from classroom to workplaces is relatively unproblematic and that cognitive operations are relatively unaffected by culture.
This paper reports an interpretive study of three cross-functional teams in a single company. The teams were virtual because each was composed of workers located in a small southern U.S. town and a cosmopolitan northern U.S. city. The conceptual framework of situated learning within communities of practice guided the interpretation of transcripts of interviews with 22 managers and team members. The results suggest that virtual teamwork creates special demands, which require workers to devise local practices for coordinating their work with remote team members. Through different combinations of remote and face-to-face communication, using a variety of communication media, the learning of work practices becomes situated in the virtual community rather than imposed by managers or specially designed coordinating technologies. 3
A case study of lessons learned for the Web-based educator Instruc-tional and cognitive impacts of Web-based education
- K Persichitte
Persichitte, K. (2000). A case study of lessons learned for the Web-based educator. In: B. Abbey (Ed.), Instruc-tional and cognitive impacts of Web-based education ( pp. 192 – 199). Hershey, PA: Idea Publishing Group.
Learning through online discussion
- Hammond