CRITICAL THINKING AND REFLECTIVE PRACTICES-Unit 9-Communities of Practice and Knowledge-AIOU-8611

1. C O M M U N I T I E S O F P R A C T I C E A N D
K N O W L E D G E
Unit 9

2. What is meant by Community?
 Community is a social structure comprising a group
of people:
 Living in the same locale
OR
 Belonging to same religion/sect
OR
 Sharing same sociopolitical interests
OR
 Having same academic/ professional field
…culture; language; economic; hobies;…
The social construction of identity shapes each person's view and
interpretation of the world.

3. COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
 Lave and Wenger (1991) introduced the concept of community
of practice which describes a learning theory with a strong
relationship to the social construction of knowledge.
 A community of practice is not simply a club of friends or an
association of connections between people. It has an identity
defined by a shared domain of interest.
 In pursuing their interest in their domain, members engage in
joint activities and discussions, help each other, and share
information.
 A community of practice is not merely a community of
interest–people who like certain kinds of movies, for instance.
Members of a community of practice are practitioners. They
develop a shared repertoire of resources: experiences, stories,
tools, ways of addressing recurring problems—in short a
shared practice.

4. FORMS OF KNOWLEDGE
In Community of Practice
CONTENT
KNOWEDGE
PRACTICAL
KNOWEDGE
PROFESSIONAL
KNOWLEDGE
Actual Perceived
Critical Reflective

5. PERCEIVED KNOWLEDGE
When information passes through our knowledge
filter, one of three things happens:
 We decide that the information is not meaningful to us and the
perception stops there,
 We do not immediately recognize the information, but believe
it may be meaningful to us so we have some incentive to gain
more information
 The information is meaningful to us and therefore passes
through the next filter, the valuing filter.
 If a person always feels well informed, he or she may
engage in early closure, not seek out additional
information, and perhaps reach a faulty conclusion.

6. CRITICAL AND REFLECTIVE KNOWLEDGE
 Critical knowledge answers how and why the knowledge
exists in the current form and what is yet missing or not
included.
 Reflective knowledge has an important role in high-level
knowledge which requires justifiably taking one’s sources
to be reliable. Reflective knowledge turns out to be a
meta-competence.
 That is, a faculty or disposition to aptly evaluate the
circumstances. If one is to have reflective knowledge, one
must have “an understanding of its place in a wider
whole that include one’s beliefs and knowledge of it and
how these come about” (Sosa, 2007).

7. How the community of practice helps?
YOU
Junior
Colleagues
Global
Experts
Local
Experts
Senior
Colleagues

8. Community of Knowledge
 The community of knowledge is a group of people who
gather online and engage in the acquisition and exchange
of knowledge around a particular topic, either with
explicit goals of building new knowledge, or less
formally through shared interests and practice.
 In the current century we can easily go beyond the
geographical limits
 Most of these groups network and share knowledge in
conferences, seminars, webinars, and social media
networks etc. and then continue to share knowledge and
knowledge creation practices

9. More Definitions…
 "A group of individuals informally bound to one
another through exposure to a common class of
problems, common pursuit of solutions, and thereby
themselves embodying a store of knowledge"
(Stewart 2001 in Botha et al 2008).
 Wenger, McDermott & Snyder (2002) define it as:
“Group of people who share a concern, a set of
problems, or a passion about a topic, and who
deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by
interacting on an ongoing basis”.

10. Principles of Building Community of Knowledge
and Practice
Design for evolution:
 As community of knowledge and practice are dynamic in nature;
design should reflect adaptability.
Open a dialogue between inside and outside perspectives:
 Good community design requires the perspective of an insider, one
that is familiar with the types of activities within. However, the
perspective of an outsider may help members see the possibilities
within their own mechanisms, or in adopting other tools or
procedures.
Invite different levels of participation:
 In any community, there exist different levels of participation.
While those on the peripheral may not participate in the same ways
as those in the core, the peripheral members will still gain insights
and knowledge through this type of participation. All members,
regardless of participation levels, should be valued.

11. Develop both public and private community spaces:
 Members of communities interact with each other in both
public and private functions. Thus, the public and private
dimension of a community is interrelated. “The key to
designing community spaces is to orchestrate activities in
both public and private spaces that use the strength of the
individual relationships to enrich events and use events to
strengthen individual relationships.
Focus on value:
 As communities are voluntary, value is a key. For members
and prospective members, communities must offer value or
there will may not be the incentive for participation. While
value may not always be explicitly apparent, value should
grow over time as the community evolves.

12. Combine familiarity and excitement:
 Familiarity, like the comforts of a hometown, is important for
communities of knowledge and practice. However, excitement is
also as important, but in other ways. As communities mature, they
settle into familiar ways of meeting and conduct. Yet, communities
also need challenge and spontaneity to provide a break from
everyday occurrences.
Creating a rhythm for the community:
 Like individuals’ lives having a rhythm, “vibrant” communities also
have a rhythm. “At the heart of a community is a web of enduring
relationships among members, but the tempo of their interactions is
greatly influenced by the rhythm of community events”. While all
alive communities have a particular rhythm or tempo, it’s important
to find the right rhythm at each stage of a community’s
development.

13. Stages of Community Development
 The stages of building communities of knowledge and practice are
identified by Wenger, McDermott & Snyder (2002) as follows:
1) Formation (potential and unity):
 Here, initial networks are discovered, common ground is formed and
relationships are formed. The initial call (informally) is usually centered
round the generation of value.
2) Integration (maturing and stewardship):
 At this stage, there is a focus upon particular topics and the admission of
new members. Tools and methods are developed that are unique to the
community. New ideas are continually welcomed as the community
evolves.
3) Transformation
 At this stage, the community may fade away or officially close. This may
also mean that the community has become redundant, or that this stage
brings about the beginning of a new community. Other possibilities include
merging with other communities or becoming institutionalized as a formal
unit.

14. Sharing your knowledge
1. Insets – During summer term many institutions
arrange teachers insets for sharing the practical
knowledge
2. Conferences- Provide platform for presenting and
sharing research based findings
3. Seminars – Provide platform for analytical papers
and essays
4. Online Blogs- free writing and reflections to share
online
5. Webinars- short video messages and reviews
6. Publications- Magazines, Journals, and Books.

15. Thanks
ANY QUESTION?