Current communities

Generative AI and Teaching Community of Practice

A CoP open to Memorial faculty and instructors, staff and graduate students interested in the impact of generative AI on teaching and learning in higher education. Meets regularly (hybrid format). For more information or to join, contact educatordev@mun.ca

Graduate Student Teaching Community of Practice

A student-led group for graduate students to discuss, troubleshoot and share their experiences working as teaching assistants (TAs) and per-course instructors (PCIs) or other teaching-related opportunities. For more information or to join, contact educatordev@mun.ca

What is a Community of Practice?

Throughout human history, people have come together in informal communities with shared goals of learning and solving problems. The concept of a Community of Practice (CoP), first developed by cognitive anthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, established a framework for these communities.

A CoP is a group of people with a shared common concern, set of problems or interest in a topic, who come together to fulfill individual and group goals. Through ongoing interaction, CoPs often focus on sharing best practices and creating new knowledge to advance an area of professional practice, and share three characteristics:

• A shared domain of interest, competence and commitment, which creates common ground between its members.
• Collective learning as a community through joint activities, discussions, problem solving, information sharing and relationship building.
• The construction of a collective repertoire of ideas and resources for members to bring back to their practice in their domain of interest.¹

What is involved?

Every CoP is different, with a variety of structures, interaction frequencies, communication methods and locations of interaction. Members' goals determine the activities of each CoP. Those activities are not limited to but may include:

• Sharing expertise, resources and strategies.
• Advocating for shifts in priorities.
• Supporting work in areas of interest.
• Developing community resources.
• Engaging in professional development as a community.
• Addressing a particular issue or problem.

How do I create a new Community of Practice?

If you are interested in creating a new Community of Practice, the following resources may help:

• Introduction to communities of practice (Wenger-Trayner)
• Community of Practice - Everything you need to know! (Research Impact Canada)
• Creating Communities of Practice (Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium)

To share contact information for your community of practice on this page, please email educatordev@mun.ca.

(1) Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, & William Snyder, Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2002