During our first 408 seminar class, we were randomly sorted into Communities of Practice. Although I didn't know anyone yet, I felt comfortable opening up to them during our first group discussion. Our dynamic already felt good and we discussed what we would like to see our group accomplish during our conversations together. This laid out the groundwork for respecting each other during discussions and also how to get the most out of our time together.
Here are the summaries of our first 2 months of discussions together:
Here are the summaries of our first 2 months of discussions together:
Our discussion during our first 2 months as a COP proved fruitful, deepening our understandings of plenary classes and allowing us to make meaningful connections with our peers. Our next assignment was a presentation that would explain a metaphor for our Community of Practise. We chose Play-doh. Everyone has a certain colour they start off with. Through a meaningful group discussion, everyone contributes a bit of their own color and a whole new color is created. Sometimes it melds into one and sometimes it's a beautiful blending of all the colors. The Play-doh, like our perspectives, is very malleable. We are able to grow and morph it with each new experience. Everytime this happens, something new is created.
We met on a Sunday for a few hours and it was a great experience for our COP. We were seeing each other on our own terms to plan for our presentation and it felt even more open, relaxed and productive than usual. We were able to discuss many different things that we may not have had the chance in class due to limits on time. An important element to our presentation was that we wanted to engage our large COP, the entire class, in it. We wanted a format that was informal, yet engaging, just like our group discussions. We decided to not plan a script, to have our Powerpoint behind us for reference if discussion slowed down, but to just build off of what each other and other class members were saying. It was a success. We had worried no one would say anything or that we would get stuck, but that didn't happen. I felt relaxed during our presentation, which is very rare and it was an experience that was meaningful to many members of our COP.
Here is a link to our Powerpoint:
We met on a Sunday for a few hours and it was a great experience for our COP. We were seeing each other on our own terms to plan for our presentation and it felt even more open, relaxed and productive than usual. We were able to discuss many different things that we may not have had the chance in class due to limits on time. An important element to our presentation was that we wanted to engage our large COP, the entire class, in it. We wanted a format that was informal, yet engaging, just like our group discussions. We decided to not plan a script, to have our Powerpoint behind us for reference if discussion slowed down, but to just build off of what each other and other class members were saying. It was a success. We had worried no one would say anything or that we would get stuck, but that didn't happen. I felt relaxed during our presentation, which is very rare and it was an experience that was meaningful to many members of our COP.
Here is a link to our Powerpoint:
play-doh_powerpoint.pdf | |
File Size: | 724 kb |
File Type: |
I feel that Communities of Practice develop all the time without the members putting that specific label on it. However, it was nice to have a semi-inorganic process of choosing members of the COP because it allowed me to get to know people I may not have otherwise. I am lucky that my 408 COP works so well together and makes each of us feel like our contributions are important. I hope for this dynamic with fellow teachers in the schools I teach at during my career. I anticipate that it will be more difficult, or at least quite different in a school due to the fact that there will be much more of a variety of people in different stages of their careers and perhaps more power dynamics at play. In school, we are all in the same program and it equalizes us. I realize that not every experienced teacher is going to look down on inexperienced teachers methods, but some will. I will have to negotiate the terms of my COP very differently in a school. Even if this is the case, I believe COP's are very valuable resources, both for my classroom and for my own sanity as a teacher. My COP in 408 has shown me what a functioning group can look like and has given me valuable experience in working with people from various backgrounds with different experiences to contribute.